diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 9afabbc..fd679aa 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -28,3 +28,6 @@ Thumbs.db
 # smoke artifacts (ephemeral)
 pilonuxt-home-smoke.jpeg
 .playwright-mcp/
+
+# harness scratchpad (plan-mode plans, session artifacts) — not project code
+.zcode/