diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b65f4e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+docs/
+
+mess.egg-info/
+mess/__pycache__
+build/
+
+htmlcov/
+.tox/
+.coverage
+.coverage.*
+.cache
+nosetests.xml
+coverage.xml
+*,cover
+tests/__pycache__
+.pytest_cache
+
+.snakemake
+mess/workflow/conda
+mess/workflow/taxonkit
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 499ddce..adefc7e 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -14,4 +14,4 @@ RUN micromamba install -q -y -c bioconda -c conda-forge -n base \
     micromamba clean -afy
 
 ENV PATH /opt/conda/bin:${PATH}
-RUN pip install .
+RUN pip install .
\ No newline at end of file