diff --git a/src/auto_commit_service/__pycache__/app.cpython-312.pyc b/src/auto_commit_service/__pycache__/app.cpython-312.pyc
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diff --git a/src/auto_commit_service/__pycache__/config.cpython-312.pyc b/src/auto_commit_service/__pycache__/config.cpython-312.pyc
index 5279235..02cf655 100644
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diff --git a/src/auto_commit_service/__pycache__/models.cpython-312.pyc b/src/auto_commit_service/__pycache__/models.cpython-312.pyc
index 84d56ed..be12b0a 100644
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diff --git a/src/auto_commit_service/git/operations.py b/src/auto_commit_service/git/operations.py
index d2cdda4..d5cb050 100644
--- a/src/auto_commit_service/git/operations.py
+++ b/src/auto_commit_service/git/operations.py
@@ -34,12 +34,19 @@ async def _run_git_command(
     *args: str,
     cwd: Path,
     check: bool = True,
+    stdin: bytes | None = None,
 ) -> tuple[str, str, int]:
     """Run a git command asynchronously.
 
     Uses asyncio subprocess with argument list (safe, no shell injection).
     This is equivalent to Node.js execFile - arguments are passed directly
     to the process without shell interpretation.
+
+    Args:
+        *args: Git command arguments
+        cwd: Working directory for the command
+        check: Raise GitError on non-zero exit code
+        stdin: Optional stdin data to send to the process
     """
     # asyncio.create_subprocess_exec is safe - no shell, args passed directly
     create_process = asyncio.create_subprocess_exec
@@ -49,8 +56,9 @@ async def _run_git_command(
         cwd=str(cwd),
         stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
         stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+        stdin=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE if stdin is not None else None,
     )
-    stdout, stderr = await proc.communicate()
+    stdout, stderr = await proc.communicate(input=stdin)
     stdout_str = stdout.decode().strip()
     stderr_str = stderr.decode().strip()
     returncode = proc.returncode or 0
@@ -157,8 +165,46 @@ async def git_add_all(repo_path: Path) -> None:
     await _run_git_command("add", "-A", cwd=repo_path)
 
 
+async def git_check_ignored(repo_path: Path, files: list[str]) -> list[str]:
+    """Check which files are ignored by .gitignore.
+
+    Args:
+        repo_path: Path to the repository
+        files: List of file paths to check
+
+    Returns:
+        List of files that are NOT ignored (safe to stage)
+    """
+    if not files:
+        return []
+
+    try:
+        # Use git check-ignore to filter out ignored files
+        # --stdin allows us to check multiple files efficiently
+        # -v flag would show matches, but we want non-matches
+        # Exit code 0 = files are ignored, 1 = files are NOT ignored
+        file_list = "\n".join(files)
+        stdout, stderr, returncode = await _run_git_command(
+            "check-ignore", "--stdin",
+            cwd=repo_path,
+            check=False,
+            stdin=file_list.encode()
+        )
+
+        # Files in stdout are ignored - we want to exclude these
+        ignored_files = set(stdout.strip().split("\n")) if stdout.strip() else set()
+
+        # Return only non-ignored files
+        return [f for f in files if f not in ignored_files]
+
+    except GitError:
+        # If check-ignore fails, return all files (safer than blocking commits)
+        logger.warning(f"git check-ignore failed in {repo_path}, proceeding without filter")
+        return files
+
+
 async def git_add_specific(repo_path: Path, files: list[str]) -> None:
-    """Stage specific files only.
+    """Stage specific files only, filtering out gitignored files.
 
     Args:
         repo_path: Path to the repository
@@ -166,8 +212,20 @@ async def git_add_specific(repo_path: Path, files: list[str]) -> None:
     """
     if not files:
         return
+
+    # Filter out gitignored files before staging
+    stageable_files = await git_check_ignored(repo_path, files)
+
+    if not stageable_files:
+        logger.warning(f"All {len(files)} files are gitignored, nothing to stage")
+        return
+
+    if len(stageable_files) < len(files):
+        ignored_count = len(files) - len(stageable_files)
+        logger.debug(f"Filtered out {ignored_count} gitignored files, staging {len(stageable_files)}")
+
     # Add files in a single command for efficiency
-    await _run_git_command("add", "--", *files, cwd=repo_path)
+    await _run_git_command("add", "--", *stageable_files, cwd=repo_path)
 
 
 async def git_commit(repo_path: Path, message: str) -> CommitResult:
diff --git a/src/auto_commit_service/scheduler/__pycache__/daemon.cpython-312.pyc b/src/auto_commit_service/scheduler/__pycache__/daemon.cpython-312.pyc
index fa73ed5..ca40ec1 100644
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