--- /dev/null
+## How to install GNU social
+
+There are two ways to install GNU social -- from git, or from a snapshot.
+
+### Install from git
+
+0. Make sure you have all the things you need installed:
+
+ sudo locale-gen en_US en_US.UTF-8
+ sudo dpkg-reconfigure locales
+ sudo apt-get update -q
+ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade -y
+ sudo apt-get install -y pound varnish php5 rsync htop emacs23-nox apache2 php5-mysql dtrx mysql-server exim4
+
+1. SSH to your server
+
+ ssh mattl@mattl.io
+
+2. Make a directory for your installation and let the webserver write to it.
+
+ mkdir www/mattl.io -p
+ chown www-data:www-data www/mattl.io
+
+3. Check out GNU social into your directory.
+
+ cd www/mattl.io
+ git clone git://gitorious.org/social/mainline.git .
+
+4. Make a database.
+
+ mysql -u root -p
+ create database social;
+ exit
+
+5. Visit your website and enter your name, database details, etc.
+
+6. You're all set!