From 1b87262861badd38d6f5089d418c3fbb32685317 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Storm Dragon <stormdragon2976@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2025 02:43:32 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] Updated README.

---
 README.md | 95 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 95 insertions(+)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b65eaf3..e76ff2a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -115,6 +115,101 @@ So, you want to write a script for Cthulhu?  The best thing to do is
 start by looking at other scripts under the src/cthulhu/scripts/ hierarchy
 of the source tree. Cthulhu also has an excellent plugin system, more documentation and examples coming soon.
 
+## Building and Installation
+
+### Prerequisites
+
+Ensure you have the development dependencies installed:
+
+**Arch Linux:**
+```bash
+sudo pacman -S python python-gobject gtk3 at-spi2-core at-spi2-atk \
+               python-speechd gstreamer python-pluggy python-dasbus \
+               meson ninja pkgconf intltool gettext
+```
+
+**Debian/Ubuntu:**
+```bash
+sudo apt install python3 python3-gi python3-gi-cairo gir1.2-gtk-3.0 \
+                 at-spi2-core libatk-adaptor python3-speechd \
+                 gstreamer1.0-plugins-base python3-pluggy python3-dasbus \
+                 meson ninja-build pkg-config intltool gettext
+```
+
+### Local Development Build (Recommended)
+
+For active development, build and install to your user directory:
+
+```bash
+# Build and install to ~/.local
+./build-local.sh
+
+# Test the local installation
+./test-local.sh
+
+# Run your local version
+~/.local/bin/cthulhu
+
+# Clean build artifacts and local installation
+./clean-local.sh
+```
+
+This approach:
+- Installs to `~/.local/bin/cthulhu` (won't conflict with system installation)
+- Loads modules from `~/.local/lib/python*/site-packages/cthulhu/`
+- Preserves any system-wide Cthulhu installation at `/usr/bin/cthulhu`
+
+### System Installation
+
+For system-wide installation:
+
+```bash
+# Configure the build
+meson setup _build --prefix=/usr
+
+# Compile
+meson compile -C _build
+
+# Install (requires sudo)
+sudo meson install -C _build
+```
+
+### Manual Meson Build
+
+If you prefer to use Meson commands directly instead of the convenience scripts:
+
+```bash
+# Configure for local installation
+meson setup _build --prefix=$HOME/.local
+
+# Or configure for system installation  
+meson setup _build --prefix=/usr
+
+# Compile
+meson compile -C _build
+
+# Install
+meson install -C _build
+
+# Clean
+rm -rf _build
+```
+
+### Testing
+
+Run the regression test suite:
+
+```bash
+# All tests
+test/harness/runall.sh
+
+# Single test
+test/harness/runone.sh <test.py> <app-name>
+
+# App-specific tests
+test/harness/runall.sh -a /path/to/app/tests
+```
+
 ## Self-voicing
 
 Cthulhu offers a mechanism through which messages may be spoken directly by the screen reader. Usage is as follows: