diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index a6c262c0d..4550ee1d3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -15,11 +15,17 @@
 
 # Ignore all logfiles and tempfiles.
 /log
-/tmp
+/tmp/*
+/tmp/pids/*
 /public/assets/*.*
 /public/assets/app
 /public/assets/custom
 
+# except /tmp/pids/ which is needed for certain Zammad processes
+!/tmp
+!/tmp/pids
+!/tmp/pids/.keep
+
 # Ignore custom gem file
 /Gemfile.local
 
diff --git a/tmp/pids/.keep b/tmp/pids/.keep
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb