diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
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index 0000000..7086cbd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
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+# IDEs
+.idea/
+
+# https://www.packer.io/guides/hcl/variables
+# Exclude all .pkrvars.hcl files, which are likely to contain sensitive data,
+# such as password, private keys, and other secrets. These should not be part of
+# version control as they are data points which are potentially sensitive and
+# subject to change depending on the environment.
+#
+*.pkrvars.hcl
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+# Packer for Creating GraphDB GCP VM Image