diff --git a/.dir-locals.el b/.dir-locals.el
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce4f7f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dir-locals.el
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+((nix-mode . ((apheleia-formatter . alejandra))))
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d923c2f..1fcce5c 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -41,9 +41,6 @@ flycheck_*.el
 # projectiles files
 .projectile
 
-# directory configuration
-.dir-locals.el
-
 # network security
 /network-security.data