diff --git a/base/pkg/generate.jl b/base/pkg/generate.jl
index cb8665f7ba444..12d39cd6191d6 100644
--- a/base/pkg/generate.jl
+++ b/base/pkg/generate.jl
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ function package(
             Generate.entrypoint(pkg,force=force)
             Generate.tests(pkg,force=force)
             Generate.travis(pkg,force=force)
+            Generate.gitignore(pkg,force=force)
 
             msg = """
             $pkg.jl $(isnew ? "generated" : "regenerated") files.
@@ -153,6 +154,15 @@ function travis(pkg::AbstractString; force::Bool=false)
     end
 end
 
+function gitignore(pkg::AbstractString; force::Bool=false)
+    genfile(pkg,".gitignore",force) do io
+        print(io, """
+        *.jl.cov
+        *.jl.mem
+        """)
+    end
+end
+
 function entrypoint(pkg::AbstractString; force::Bool=false)
     genfile(pkg,"src/$pkg.jl",force) do io
         print(io, """