diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 88b5fda8e..789812914 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -20,3 +20,4 @@ rest/.miredot-offline.json
 itests/src/main
 dependency_tree.txt
 .mvn/.develocity/develocity-workspace-id
+/.local-notes/
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 25360797d..174e68308 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -641,6 +641,8 @@
                                 <exclude>**/*.js.map</exclude>
                                 <!-- Exclude dependency tree generated files -->
                                 <exclude>**/dependency_tree.txt</exclude>
+                                <!-- local developer notes (not part of the release) -->
+                                <exclude>**/.local-notes/**</exclude>
                             </excludes>
                         </configuration>
                     </plugin>