diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 8d913f3..66ac46e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,45 +1,11 @@
-.gradle
-build/
-!gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
-!**/src/main/**/build/
-!**/src/test/**/build/
-.kotlin
-
-### IntelliJ IDEA ###
-.idea/modules.xml
-.idea/jarRepositories.xml
-.idea/compiler.xml
-.idea/libraries/
-*.iws
-*.iml
-*.ipr
-out/
-!**/src/main/**/out/
-!**/src/test/**/out/
-
-### Eclipse ###
-.apt_generated
-.classpath
-.factorypath
-.project
-.settings
-.springBeans
-.sts4-cache
-bin/
-!**/src/main/**/bin/
-!**/src/test/**/bin/
+.claude/
+.gradle/
+.idea/
+.intellijPlatform/
+.kotlin/
 
-### NetBeans ###
-/nbproject/private/
-/nbbuild/
-/dist/
-/nbdist/
-/.nb-gradle/
-
-### VS Code ###
-.vscode/
-
-### Mac OS ###
-.DS_Store
+build/
 
-.intellijPlatform/
\ No newline at end of file
+chain.crt
+private.pem
+private_encrypted.pem
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/05-signing.md b/docs/05-signing.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b9c884
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/05-signing.md
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+# 05 · Signing Certificates for Plugin Publishing
+
+JetBrains requires plugins to be signed before they can be published to the Marketplace. This guide explains how to generate the signing certificates and configure the build.
+
+---
+
+## 1. Generate a private key and certificate chain
+
+Use `openssl` to create the key pair:
+
+```bash
+# Generate an encrypted RSA 4096-bit private key
+openssl genpkey -aes-256-cbc -algorithm RSA \
+  -out private_encrypted.pem -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:4096
+
+# Convert to plain RSA format (needed by the signing tooling)
+openssl rsa -in private_encrypted.pem -out private.pem
+
+# Generate a self-signed certificate (valid for 365 days)
+openssl req -key private.pem -new -x509 -days 365 -out chain.crt
+```
+
+This produces two files:
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `private.pem` | RSA private key used to sign the plugin ZIP |
+| `chain.crt` | Certificate chain that JetBrains uses to verify the signature |
+
+> **Important:** Never commit these files to version control. Add them to `.gitignore` if not already covered.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Configure Gradle for signing
+
+Add the `signPlugin` configuration block to `build.gradle.kts`:
+
+```kotlin
+intellijPlatform {
+    signing {
+        certificateChainFile = file("signing/chain.crt")
+        privateKeyFile = file("signing/private.pem")
+        password = providers.environmentVariable("PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD")
+    }
+}
+```
+
+> **Note:** The `password` property is only needed if your private key is encrypted. If you exported a plain key (`private.pem` from step 1), you can omit it.
+
+---
+
+## 3. Use environment variables (recommended for CI)
+
+For automated pipelines, pass the certificate content via environment variables instead of files:
+
+```kotlin
+intellijPlatform {
+    signing {
+        certificateChain = providers.environmentVariable("CERTIFICATE_CHAIN")
+        privateKey = providers.environmentVariable("PRIVATE_KEY")
+        password = providers.environmentVariable("PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD")
+    }
+}
+```
+
+Set the environment variables with the **full file contents** (including PEM headers):
+
+```bash
+export CERTIFICATE_CHAIN="$(cat signing/chain.crt)"
+export PRIVATE_KEY="$(cat signing/private.pem)"
+export PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD="your-passphrase"  # only if key is encrypted
+```
+
+---
+
+## 4. Sign the plugin
+
+Once configured, signing happens automatically during the `signPlugin` task:
+
+```bash
+mise run build
+# or directly:
+./gradlew signPlugin
+```
+
+The signed ZIP is written to `build/distributions/`.
+
+---
+
+## 5. Publish the signed plugin
+
+Publishing requires a Marketplace token in addition to signing:
+
+```bash
+export PUBLISH_TOKEN="<your-jetbrains-marketplace-token>"
+```
+
+```kotlin
+intellijPlatform {
+    publishing {
+        token = providers.environmentVariable("PUBLISH_TOKEN")
+    }
+}
+```
+
+Then publish:
+
+```bash
+./gradlew publishPlugin
+```
+
+> **Tip:** Generate your Marketplace token at https://plugins.jetbrains.com/author/me/tokens
+
+---
+
+## Summary of secrets
+
+| Secret | Where to store | Used by |
+|--------|---------------|---------|
+| `private.pem` | Local `signing/` dir or CI secret | `signPlugin` |
+| `chain.crt` | Local `signing/` dir or CI secret | `signPlugin` |
+| Private key password | Environment variable | `signPlugin` |
+| Marketplace token | Environment variable | `publishPlugin` |
+
+---
+
+## Previous step
+
+← [04-testing.md](04-testing.md) — Testing