diff --git a/guide/src/format/configuration/renderers.md b/guide/src/format/configuration/renderers.md
index b9c3086114..d5a16d12b8 100644
--- a/guide/src/format/configuration/renderers.md
+++ b/guide/src/format/configuration/renderers.md
@@ -279,6 +279,16 @@ The value can be any valid URI the browser should navigate to (e.g. `https://rus
 This will generate an HTML page which will automatically redirect to the given location.
 Note that the source location does not support `#` anchor redirects.
 
+### `[.mdbookignore]`
+
+You can use a `.mdbookignore` file to exclude files from the build process. The file is places in the `src` directory of your book and has the format known from [`.gitignore`](https://git-scm.com/docs/gitignore) files.
+
+For example:
+```
+*.rs
+/target/
+```
+
 ## Markdown Renderer
 
 The Markdown renderer will run preprocessors and then output the resulting
diff --git a/src/book/mod.rs b/src/book/mod.rs
index 5ec64d7c3a..cfd327c453 100644
--- a/src/book/mod.rs
+++ b/src/book/mod.rs
@@ -587,6 +587,7 @@ fn preprocessor_should_run(
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
     use std::str::FromStr;
+    use tempfile::Builder as TempFileBuilder;
     use toml::value::{Table, Value};
 
     #[test]
@@ -856,4 +857,21 @@ mod tests {
         let got = preprocessor_should_run(&BoolPreprocessor(should_be), &html, &cfg);
         assert_eq!(got, should_be);
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn build_test_book() {
+        let temp_dir = TempFileBuilder::new().prefix("mdbook-").tempdir().unwrap();
+        let test_book_dir = PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR")).join("test_book");
+
+        utils::fs::copy_files_except_ext(&test_book_dir, temp_dir.path(), true, None, None)
+            .expect("Error while copying test book to temp dir");
+
+        let book = MDBook::load(temp_dir.path()).expect("Unable to load book");
+        book.build().expect("Error while building book");
+
+        let book_dir = temp_dir.path().join("book");
+        assert!(book_dir.join("index.html").exists());
+        assert!(book_dir.join(".mdbookignore").exists());
+        assert!(!book_dir.join("ignored_file").exists());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/test_book/src/.mdbookignore b/test_book/src/.mdbookignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6a79f808a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_book/src/.mdbookignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+ignored_file
diff --git a/test_book/src/ignored_file b/test_book/src/ignored_file
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1ce1f71700
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_book/src/ignored_file
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+This will not be copied to the book directory.