diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 3c4efe20..9e949db2 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ dlldata.c
 project.lock.json
 project.fragment.lock.json
 artifacts/
+!/artifacts/readme.md
 
 *_i.c
 *_p.c
@@ -258,4 +259,4 @@ paket-files/
 
 # Python Tools for Visual Studio (PTVS)
 __pycache__/
-*.pyc
\ No newline at end of file
+*.pyc
diff --git a/artifacts/readme.md b/artifacts/readme.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..46534f28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/artifacts/readme.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Dummy file to ensure this directory is available after cloning