diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 09d159b..1a58c30 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -133,6 +133,15 @@ git config --add gtr.copy.exclude "**/.env"
 ./bin/gtr new test-copy
 # Expected: Copies .env.example but not .env
 
+# Test .worktreeinclude file
+printf '# Test patterns\n**/.env.example\n*.md\n' > .worktreeinclude
+echo "TEST=value" > .env.example
+./bin/gtr new test-worktreeinclude
+# Expected: Copies .env.example and *.md files to worktree
+ls "$(./bin/gtr go test-worktreeinclude)/.env.example"
+./bin/gtr rm test-worktreeinclude
+rm .worktreeinclude .env.example
+
 # Test directory copying with include/exclude patterns
 git config --add gtr.copy.includeDirs "node_modules"
 git config --add gtr.copy.excludeDirs "node_modules/.cache"
@@ -402,6 +411,7 @@ All config keys use `gtr.*` prefix and are managed via `git config`:
 - `gtr.ai.default`: Default AI tool (aider, claude, codex, etc.)
 - `gtr.copy.include`: Multi-valued glob patterns for files to copy
 - `gtr.copy.exclude`: Multi-valued glob patterns for files to exclude
+- `.worktreeinclude`: File in repo root with glob patterns (merged with `gtr.copy.include`)
 - `gtr.copy.includeDirs`: Multi-valued directory patterns to copy (e.g., "node_modules", ".venv", "vendor")
 - `gtr.copy.excludeDirs`: Multi-valued directory patterns to exclude when copying (supports globs like "node_modules/.cache", "\*/.cache")
 - `gtr.hook.postCreate`: Multi-valued commands to run after creating worktree
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ce8518b..c462c92 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -369,6 +369,21 @@ git gtr config add gtr.copy.exclude "**/.env"
 git gtr config add gtr.copy.exclude "**/secrets.*"
 ```
 
+#### Using .worktreeinclude file
+
+Alternatively, create a `.worktreeinclude` file in your repository root:
+
+```gitignore
+# .worktreeinclude - files to copy to new worktrees
+# Comments start with #
+
+**/.env.example
+**/CLAUDE.md
+*.config.js
+```
+
+The file uses `.gitignore`-style syntax (one pattern per line, `#` for comments, empty lines ignored). Patterns from `.worktreeinclude` are merged with `gtr.copy.include` config settings - both sources are used together.
+
 #### Security Best Practices
 
 **The key distinction:** Development secrets (test API keys, local DB passwords) are **low risk** on personal machines. Production credentials are **high risk** everywhere.
diff --git a/bin/gtr b/bin/gtr
index cc3de6f..5bc781f 100755
--- a/bin/gtr
+++ b/bin/gtr
@@ -240,10 +240,22 @@ cmd_create() {
 
   # Copy files based on patterns
   if [ "$skip_copy" -eq 0 ]; then
-    local includes excludes
+    local includes excludes file_includes
     includes=$(cfg_get_all gtr.copy.include)
     excludes=$(cfg_get_all gtr.copy.exclude)
 
+    # Read .worktreeinclude file if exists
+    file_includes=$(parse_pattern_file "$repo_root/.worktreeinclude")
+
+    # Merge patterns (newline-separated)
+    if [ -n "$file_includes" ]; then
+      if [ -n "$includes" ]; then
+        includes="$includes"$'\n'"$file_includes"
+      else
+        includes="$file_includes"
+      fi
+    fi
+
     if [ -n "$includes" ]; then
       log_step "Copying files..."
       copy_patterns "$repo_root" "$worktree_path" "$includes" "$excludes"
diff --git a/lib/copy.sh b/lib/copy.sh
index 35bf626..2d89222 100644
--- a/lib/copy.sh
+++ b/lib/copy.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,20 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # File copying utilities with pattern matching
 
+# Parse .gitignore-style pattern file
+# Usage: parse_pattern_file file_path
+# Returns: newline-separated patterns (comments and empty lines stripped)
+parse_pattern_file() {
+  local file_path="$1"
+
+  if [ ! -f "$file_path" ]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  # Read file, strip comments and empty lines
+  grep -v '^#' "$file_path" 2>/dev/null | grep -v '^[[:space:]]*$' || true
+}
+
 # Copy files matching patterns from source to destination
 # Usage: copy_patterns src_root dst_root includes excludes [preserve_paths]
 # includes: newline-separated glob patterns to include