diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 6611592d6..87b598219 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ ChangeLog
 cover/*
 dist/*
 doc/build
-doc/source/_static/
 etc/aodh/aodh.conf
 subunit.log
 
diff --git a/doc/source/_static/.placeholder b/doc/source/_static/.placeholder
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb