diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0295c4d..51443ad 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,18 @@
 # pubtester
 
-a set of scripts to spin up local environments containing many fediverse implementations for federation testing
\ No newline at end of file
+a set of scripts to spin up local environments containing many fediverse implementations for federation testing
+
+## setup
+
+add the following to your `/etc/hosts`
+```
+127.0.0.1		mastodon.pubtester.local	localhost
+127.0.0.1		pleroma.pubtester.local	localhost
+```
+
+run
+```
+git clone ... && cd pubtester
+./mastodon_setup.sh
+docker-compose up
+```