diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 15f67b8e0..27a7afb52 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ deps
 *.plt
 erl_crash.dump
 ebin
+!ebin/.placeholder
 rel/emqttd
 rel/emqttd*
 .concrete/DEV_MODE
diff --git a/ebin/.placeholder b/ebin/.placeholder
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5a885e5ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ebin/.placeholder
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+emqttd plugin cannot include "emqttd/include/emqttd.hrl" without this directory:(