diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c308ec2d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# following files are skipped when exporting using git archive
+test export-ignore
+docs export-ignore
+.gitattributes export-ignore
+.gitignore export-ignore
+
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..99a44158f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+node_modules/
+coverage/
+webadmin/dist/
+setup/splash/website/
+installer/src/certs/server.key
+
+# vim swap files
+*.swp
+
+
diff --git a/.jshintrc b/.jshintrc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..30d7ea440
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.jshintrc
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+    "node": true,
+    "browser": true,
+    "unused": true,
+    "globalstrict": true,
+    "predef": [ "angular", "$" ],
+    "esnext": true
+}