diff --git a/.config/kak/autoload/local-kakrc.kak b/.config/kak/autoload/local-kakrc.kak
index 0bc508e3..20b73c02 100644
--- a/.config/kak/autoload/local-kakrc.kak
+++ b/.config/kak/autoload/local-kakrc.kak
@@ -12,9 +12,14 @@ provide-module local-kakrc %—
     # ensures that the file exists
     define-command -hidden local-kakrc-ensure-file %{
         nop %sh{
-            if [ ! -f "$kak_opt_local_kakrc_trusted" ]; then
-                mkdir -p "$kak_opt_local_kakrc_trusted"
-                touch "$kak_opt_local_kakrc_trusted"
+            file="$kak_opt_local_kakrc_trusted"
+            dir="$(dirname "$file")"
+            if [ ! -f "$file" ]; then
+                [ ! -d "$dir" ] || mkdir -p "$dir"
+                base="$(basename "$file")"
+                # add to gitignore by default
+                printf '%s\n' "$base" >>"$dir/.gitignore"
+                touch "$file"
             fi
         }
     }