diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7da6894f..bb942298 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,3 +7,17 @@ A note about the codebase: the goal is to minimize dependencies and have
 the maximum range of supported compiler versions. Therefore, we avoid
 anything "complicated." For example, instead of using the text package,
 we use Strings everywhere.
+
+Getting Started
+---------------
+
+As this project is just starting, we don't really have a solid set of steps. In
+general, the following set of commands should be good for getting started:
+
+    cabal update
+    cabal install cabal-dev
+    git clone https://github.com/snoyberg/stackage
+    cd stackage
+    git submodule update --init # get the Haskell Platform files
+    runghc app/stackage.hs build # takes a *long* time
+    runghc app/stackage.hs init # modifies your ~/.cabal/config file