diff --git a/news/changelog-1.9.md b/news/changelog-1.9.md
index 51f9f904b8..c6f919abb1 100644
--- a/news/changelog-1.9.md
+++ b/news/changelog-1.9.md
@@ -217,6 +217,7 @@ All changes included in 1.9:
 - ([#13856](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13856)): Add code annotation support for Typst and Observable.js code blocks. (author: @mcanouil)
 - ([#13890](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13890)): Fix render failure when using `embed-resources: true` with input path through a symlinked directory. The cleanup now resolves symlinks before comparing paths.
 - ([#13907](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13907)): Ignore AI assistant configuration files (`CLAUDE.md`, `AGENTS.md`) when scanning for project input files and in extension templates, similar to how `README.md` is handled.
+- ([#14198](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/14198)): Ignore `.local.md` variants of AI assistant configuration files (`CLAUDE.local.md`, `AGENTS.local.md`) during project render and `quarto use template`.
 - ([#13935](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13935)): Fix `quarto install`, `quarto update`, and `quarto uninstall` interactive tool selection.
 - ([#13992](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13992)): Fix crash when rendering div with both cross-reference ID and conditional visibility to PDF.
 - ([#13997](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13997)): Fix Windows dart-sass theme compilation failing when Quarto is installed in a path with spaces (e.g., `C:\Program Files\`) and the project path also contains spaces.
diff --git a/src/extension/template.ts b/src/extension/template.ts
index 87e4302900..84c1243139 100644
--- a/src/extension/template.ts
+++ b/src/extension/template.ts
@@ -58,5 +58,7 @@ const kBuiltInExcludes = [
   "LICENSE",
   "_extensions",
   "CLAUDE.md",
+  "CLAUDE.local.md",
   "AGENTS.md",
+  "AGENTS.local.md",
 ];
diff --git a/src/project/project-context.ts b/src/project/project-context.ts
index df308c0d4f..f68be8bb46 100644
--- a/src/project/project-context.ts
+++ b/src/project/project-context.ts
@@ -880,8 +880,8 @@ function projectHiddenIgnoreGlob(dir: string) {
     .concat(["**/_*", "**/_*/**"]) // underscore prefix
     .concat(["**/.*", "**/.*/**"]) // hidden (dot prefix)
     .concat(["**/README.?([Rrq])md"]) // README
-    .concat(["**/CLAUDE.md"]) // Anthropic claude code file
-    .concat(["**/AGENTS.md"]) // https://agents.md/
+    .concat(["**/CLAUDE.md", "**/CLAUDE.local.md"]) // Anthropic claude code file
+    .concat(["**/AGENTS.md", "**/AGENTS.local.md"]) // https://agents.md/
     .concat(["**/*.llms.md"]); // llms.txt companion markdown files
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/smoke/project/project-ai-config.test.ts b/tests/smoke/project/project-ai-config.test.ts
index b5a2752bc8..fab64c00df 100644
--- a/tests/smoke/project/project-ai-config.test.ts
+++ b/tests/smoke/project/project-ai-config.test.ts
@@ -10,12 +10,16 @@
 import { docs } from "../../utils.ts";
 import { join } from "../../../src/deno_ral/path.ts";
 import { existsSync } from "../../../src/deno_ral/fs.ts";
+import { removeIfExists } from "../../../src/core/path.ts";
 import { testQuartoCmd } from "../../test.ts";
 import { fileExists, pathDoNotExists, noErrors } from "../../verify.ts";
 
 const projectDir = docs("project/ai-config-files");
 const outputDir = join(projectDir, "_site");
 
+// .local.md fixture files are created at runtime to avoid .gitignore conflicts
+const localFiles = ["CLAUDE.local.md", "AGENTS.local.md"];
+
 // Test that AI assistant config files are properly excluded
 testQuartoCmd(
   "render",
@@ -25,10 +29,22 @@ testQuartoCmd(
     fileExists(join(outputDir, "index.html")),           // Control: regular file should be rendered
     pathDoNotExists(join(outputDir, "CLAUDE.html")),     // CLAUDE.md should be ignored
     pathDoNotExists(join(outputDir, "AGENTS.html")),     // AGENTS.md should be ignored
+    pathDoNotExists(join(outputDir, "CLAUDE.local.html")), // CLAUDE.local.md should be ignored
+    pathDoNotExists(join(outputDir, "AGENTS.local.html")), // AGENTS.local.md should be ignored
   ],
   {
+    setup: async () => {
+      for (const file of localFiles) {
+        await Deno.writeTextFile(
+          join(projectDir, file),
+          "This is a local AI config file that should be ignored during project scanning.\n",
+        );
+      }
+    },
     teardown: async () => {
-      // Clean up _site directory
+      for (const file of localFiles) {
+        removeIfExists(join(projectDir, file));
+      }
       if (existsSync(outputDir)) {
         await Deno.remove(outputDir, { recursive: true });
       }
diff --git a/tests/smoke/use/template-ai-config.test.ts b/tests/smoke/use/template-ai-config.test.ts
index 12e81b7854..904cad2804 100644
--- a/tests/smoke/use/template-ai-config.test.ts
+++ b/tests/smoke/use/template-ai-config.test.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,14 @@ Deno.writeTextFileSync(
   join(templateSourceDir, "AGENTS.md"),
   "# Agents Configuration\n\nThis should be excluded."
 );
+Deno.writeTextFileSync(
+  join(templateSourceDir, "CLAUDE.local.md"),
+  "# Claude Local Configuration\n\nThis should be excluded."
+);
+Deno.writeTextFileSync(
+  join(templateSourceDir, "AGENTS.local.md"),
+  "# Agents Local Configuration\n\nThis should be excluded."
+);
 Deno.writeTextFileSync(
   join(templateSourceDir, "README.md"),
   "# Template README\n\nThis should also be excluded."
@@ -46,6 +54,8 @@ testQuartoCmd(
     fileExists(`${templateFolder}.qmd`),             // Template file should be copied and renamed
     pathDoNotExists(join(workingDir, "CLAUDE.md")), // CLAUDE.md should be excluded
     pathDoNotExists(join(workingDir, "AGENTS.md")), // AGENTS.md should be excluded
+    pathDoNotExists(join(workingDir, "CLAUDE.local.md")), // CLAUDE.local.md should be excluded
+    pathDoNotExists(join(workingDir, "AGENTS.local.md")), // AGENTS.local.md should be excluded
     pathDoNotExists(join(workingDir, "README.md")), // README.md should also be excluded (sanity check)
   ],
   {