diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 715cba9..84b8b6e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -24,13 +24,13 @@ git2gpt [flags] /path/to/git/repository
 
 ### Ignoring Files
 
-By default, your `.git` directory and your `.gitignore` and `LICENSE` files are ignored. If you want to change this behavior, you should add a `.gptignore` file to your repository. The `.gptignore` file should contain a list of files and directories to ignore, one per line. The `.gptignore` file should be in the same directory as your `.gitignore` file. Please note that this overwrites the default ignore list, so you should include the default ignore list in your `.gptignore` file if you want to keep it.
+By default, your `.git` directory and your `.gitignore` files are ignored. Any files in your `.gitignore` are also skipped. If you want to change this behavior, you should add a `.gptignore` file to your repository. The `.gptignore` file should contain a list of files and directories to ignore, one per line. The `.gptignore` file should be in the same directory as your `.gitignore` file. Please note that this overwrites the default ignore list, so you should include the default ignore list in your `.gptignore` file if you want to keep it.
 
 ### Flags
 
-* `-p`,          `--preamble`: Path to a text file containing a preamble to include at the beginning of the output file.
-* `-o`,          `--output`: Path to the output file. If not specified, will print to standard output.
-* `-e`,       `--estimate`: Estimate the tokens of the output file. If not specified, does not estimate.
+* `-p`, `--preamble`: Path to a text file containing a preamble to include at the beginning of the output file.
+* `-o`, `--output`: Path to the output file. If not specified, will print to standard output.
+* `-e`, `--estimate`: Estimate the tokens of the output file. If not specified, does not estimate.
 
 ## Contributing
 
diff --git a/lib/lib.go b/lib/lib.go
index ccf889d..20e0dab 100644
--- a/lib/lib.go
+++ b/lib/lib.go
@@ -38,13 +38,21 @@ func shouldIgnore(filePath string, ignoreList []string) bool {
 
 func ProcessGitRepo(repoPath, preambleFile string) (string, error) {
 	ignoreFilePath := filepath.Join(repoPath, ".gptignore")
+	gitignoreFilePath := filepath.Join(repoPath, ".gitignore")
 
 	var ignoreList []string
-	ignoreList = append(ignoreList, ".git/*", ".gitignore", "LICENSE")
 	if _, err := os.Stat(ignoreFilePath); err == nil {
 		// .gptignore file exists
 		ignoreList, _ = getIgnoreList(ignoreFilePath)
 	}
+	ignoreList = append(ignoreList, ".git/*", ".gitignore")
+
+	if _, err := os.Stat(gitignoreFilePath); err == nil {
+		// .gitignore file exists
+		// append .gitignore to ignoreList
+		gitignoreList, _ := getIgnoreList(gitignoreFilePath)
+		ignoreList = append(ignoreList, gitignoreList...)
+	}
 
 	var repoBuilder strings.Builder