diff --git a/scratch/.gitignore b/scratch/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7932ba266
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scratch/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Ignore everything on scratch by default, except the provided examples
+/*
+!.gitignore
+!subdir/
+!scratch-simulator.cc