diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index bc8c48326..b0cb2964e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # Secrets
 .env
 
+# Runtime databases (not tracked — created on startup)
+server/settings.db
+
 # Build and cache
 .cache/
 .tmp/