diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c01fba1b01b..8d9c7fb37c3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
 *.so
 __pycache__
 
+# ignore version cache file (generated automatically when setup.py is run)
+ctapipe/VERSION
+
 # Ignore .c files by default to avoid including generated code. If you want to
 # add a non-generated .c extension, use `git add -f filename.c`.
 *.c