have a more descriptive readme with build/run instructions

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e39a65367c17d2c575ea58f37b365cd7e1fd7dae..5ae6d5624872bf4384f8a9ed3969fc1346cdabcc 100644 (file)
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -9,3 +9,45 @@
 ## About <a name = "about"></a>
 
 Cinny is a [Matrix](https://matrix.org) client focusing primarily on simple, elegant and secure interface.
+
+## Building and Running
+
+### Running pre-compiled
+
+A pre-compiled version of the app exists in this repo. You can serve the application with a webserver of your choosing
+by simply copying these files to the webroot:
+
+  - `olm.wasm`
+  - `_redirects`
+  - all files in the `dist/` directory
+
+### Building from source
+
+Execute the following commands to compile the app from its source code:
+
+```
+npm install #installs all dependencies
+npm build #compiles the app into the dist/ directory
+```
+
+To serve a development version of the app for testing, you may also use the command `npm start`.
+
+### Running with Docker
+
+This repository includes a Dockerfile, which builds the application from source and serves it with Nginx on port 80. To
+use this locally, you can build the container like so:
+
+```
+docker build -t cinny:latest .
+```
+
+You can then run the container you've built with a command similar to this:
+
+```
+docker run -p 8080:80 cinny:latest
+```
+
+This will forward your `localhost` port 8080 to the container's port 80. You can visit the app in your browser by
+navigating to `http://localhost:8080`.
+
+