diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50f7766
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# dotfiles
+
+In the prcess of moving system setup/configration to nix. Still getting the
+hang of nix so there may be some things I'm ding that aren't "the nix way."
+
+## Usage
+
+Clone this repo to `~/dotfiles` (scripts depend on the repo living in this
+location but should be updated to not rely on a specific path).
+
+Run `apply-system.sh` to apply the NixOS configuration and `apply-users.sh` to
+apply the home-manager configuration.
+
+**NOTE** `apply-system.sh` depends on the machine's host name matching one of
+the configuration names in `flake.nix`.
+
+Run `update.sh` to (you guessed it) update packages.
+
+## Development
+
+Set up direnv (should be available after applying the user configuration):
+
+```bash
+echo 'use flake' > .envrc
+```
+
+And setup pre-commit hooks (manual step for now but can probably be automated
+with some dev shell wizardry):
+
+```bash
+pre-commit install
+```
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 924b270..bd42f8f 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@
           nixFlakes
           alejandra
           pre-commit
+          direnv
         ];
 
         shellHook = ''