diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ccde115..4873b60 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ I recommend you store your `ftp-password` as a secret.
 | `local-dir`    | No        | deploy/                                       | ./      | Which local folder to deploy, path should be relative to the root and should include trailing slash. `./` is the root of the project  |
 | `git-ftp-args` | No        | See `git-ftp-args` section below              |         | Custom git-ftp arguments, this field is passed through directly into the git-ftp script |
 | `known-hosts`  | No        | hostname ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1y ...             |         | The desired contents of your .ssh/known_hosts file. See [known hosts setup](#known-hosts-setup) |
+| `ignore-github` | No       | false                                         | true    | Ignore the `.github` folder when deploying. For security reasons, the `.github`-folder is excluded from the deployed files per default    |
 
 #### Advanced options using `git-ftp-args`
 Custom arguments, this field is passed through directly into the git-ftp script. See [git-ftp's manual](https://github.com/git-ftp/git-ftp/blob/master/man/git-ftp.1.md) for all options.
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index 42ba065..89cbde7 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ inputs:
     description: 'The local folder to copy, defaults to root project folder'
     defaults: ./
     required: false
+  ignore-github:
+    description: 'Whether the .github directory should be excluded from synchronization'
+    default: "true"
+    required: false
   git-ftp-args:
     description: 'Passes through options into git-ftp'
     defaults: 
diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index ffb3699..1cf718f 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -5,12 +5,14 @@ import { promisify } from 'util';
 import { IActionArguments } from './types';
 
 const writeFileAsync = promisify(fs.writeFile);
+const appendFileAsync = promisify(fs.appendFile);
 
 async function run() {
   const userArguments = getUserArguments();
   
   try {
     await configureHost(userArguments);
+    await excludeGithub(userArguments);
     await syncFiles(userArguments);
 
     console.log("✅ Deploy Complete");
@@ -33,7 +35,7 @@ async function configureHost(args: IActionArguments): Promise<void> {
 
     await exec.exec(`mkdir -v -p ${sshFolder}`);
     await exec.exec(`chmod 700 ${sshFolder}`);
-    writeFileAsync(`${sshFolder}/known_hosts`, args.knownHosts);
+    await writeFileAsync(`${sshFolder}/known_hosts`, args.knownHosts);
     await exec.exec(`chmod 755 ${sshFolder}/known_hosts`);
 
     console.log("✅ Configured known_hosts");
@@ -44,6 +46,19 @@ async function configureHost(args: IActionArguments): Promise<void> {
   }
 }
 
+async function excludeGithub(args: IActionArguments) {
+  if (args.ignoreGithub?.toLowerCase() != "true") {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    await appendFileAsync(".git-ftp-ignore", "\n.github");
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error("⚠️ Error adding .github-folder to .git-ftp-ignore", error);
+    core.setFailed(error);
+    throw error;
+  }
+}
 function getUserArguments(): IActionArguments {
   return {
     ftp_server: core.getInput("ftp-server", { required: true }),
@@ -51,7 +66,8 @@ function getUserArguments(): IActionArguments {
     ftp_password: core.getInput("ftp-password", { required: true }),
     local_dir: withDefault(core.getInput("local-dir"), "./"),
     gitFtpArgs: withDefault(core.getInput("git-ftp-args"), ""),
-    knownHosts: withDefault(core.getInput("known-hosts"), "")
+    knownHosts: withDefault(core.getInput("known-hosts"), ""),
+    ignoreGithub: withDefault(core.getInput("ignore-github"), "true"),
   };
 }
 
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index 9110ddc..1dc4be4 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ export interface IActionArguments {
 
     /** @default "" */
     knownHosts: string | undefined;
+
+    /** @default "true" */
+    ignoreGithub: string | undefined;
 }
 
 /**