diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index bb02d9f572..14b7ca5040 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-/output
 /dl
 /.auto.deps
 /.config.cmd
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a97ebe78e3..faaf0f165c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -63,6 +63,9 @@ ifneq ($(findstring @,$(CANONICAL_O)),)
 $(error The build directory can not contain a '@')
 endif
 
+# Create a default .gitignore file that ignores everything
+$(shell echo "*" > "$(CANONICAL_O)/.gitignore")
+
 CANONICAL_CURDIR = $(realpath $(CURDIR))
 
 REQ_UMASK = 0022