diff --git a/INSTALL b/INSTALL
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..597c17d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/INSTALL
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+Basic install instructions:
+
+git clone https://github.com/Tripwire/tripwire-open-source
+cd tripwire-open-source
+./bootstrap.sh
+./configure
+make
+make install
diff --git a/bootstrap.sh b/bootstrap.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..bc934c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bootstrap.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+if test -x "`which autoreconf`"; then
+  AUTORECONF="autoreconf -i"
+  exec $AUTORECONF
+else
+  echo "autoreconf does not exist in $PATH - unable to bootstrap. Feel free to try running"
+  echo "./configure"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+exit 0