diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e739e0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+### Install From Source
+To install Sandstone IDE, first clone the repository and enter the project directory:
+
+```
+git clone https://github.com/SandstoneHPC/sandstone-ide.git
+cd sandstone-ide
+```
+
+Then, build the dependencies for the front-end components:
+
+```
+cd sandstone/client
+npm install
+```
+
+For OSX users that don't have ```npm``` installed please make sure to have homebrew installed first.  After installing homebrew, you can then install the Node Package Manager (NPM) 
+with the following homebrew command
+
+```
+brew install npm
+```
+
+Switch back to the project root and install the python package (a virtualenv is recommended):
+
+```
+python setup.py install
+```
+
+### Run Sandstone IDE
+Sandstone IDE can now be run with the following command:
+
+```
+sandstone
+```
+
+To use Sandstone IDE, point your browser to `localhost:8888`. For documentation on how to configure Sandstone to run over SSL or on a different port, read about [configuring Sandsto
+ne settings](/docs/core/settings/).
diff --git a/_docs/quick-start.md b/_docs/quick-start.md
index bc88caf..700577c 100644
--- a/_docs/quick-start.md
+++ b/_docs/quick-start.md
@@ -21,6 +21,13 @@ cd sandstone/client
 npm install
 ```
 
+For OSX users that don't have ```npm``` installed please make sure to have homebrew installed first.  After installing homebrew, you can then install the Node Package Manager (NPM) 
+with the following homebrew command
+
+```
+brew install npm
+```
+
 Switch back to the project root and install the python package (a virtualenv is recommended):
 
 ```