diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b8dd350..0e11707 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -29,8 +29,10 @@ share/python-wheels/
 .installed.cfg
 *.egg
 MANIFEST
-#static/
-!apps/*/static
+# Ignore only the top-level static/ directory
+/static/
+# But do not ignore app-level static directories (e.g. viewer/static/)
+!*/static/
 
 # PyInstaller
 #  Usually these files are written by a python script from a template
@@ -360,4 +362,3 @@ Icon
 Network Trash Folder
 Temporary Items
 .apdisk
-