diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1f8bd8e..829a822 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -38,3 +38,6 @@ yarn-error.log*
 
 # typescript
 *.tsbuildinfo
+
+# IDEs
+.idea/
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diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9d48cb1..08e78cf 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,14 +2,38 @@
 
 [![Deployment Status](https://github.com/WillNilges/meshforms/actions/workflows/publish-and-deploy.yaml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/WillNilges/meshforms/actions/workflows/publish-and-deploy.yaml)
 
-Forms for [meshdb](https://github.com/andybaumgar/meshdb)
+Forms for [meshdb](https://github.com/nycmeshnet/meshdb). Live version hosted at https://forms.grandsvc.mesh.nycmesh.net/
+
+This repo currently powers three separate forms:
+- Join Form, used to collect contact information from interested future mesh members
+- NN Assign form, used by mesh volunteers to provision network numbers for new installs
+- Query form, a legacy interface used by mesh volunteers to query information from meshDB
+   (use of https://db.grandsvc.mesh.nycmesh.net/admin/) is recommended instead for new workflows
 
 # Development
 
-You need a copy of `meshdb` running locally
+You will either need a copy of `meshdb` running locally, or point your local copy of this package to the beta/production
+endpoints in order to do development:
+- To setup against beta/prod, continue to the next section and use `https://db.grandsvc.mesh.nycmesh.net` as the value for `NEXT_PUBLIC_MESHDB_URL`
+- To setup a local copy of meshdb, follow the instructions in the readme [there](https://github.com/nycmeshnet/meshdb) first.  
+    Then continue to the next section below and use the value `http://127.0.0.1:8000` for `NEXT_PUBLIC_MESHDB_URL`
+
+To get started with this package, first, create your own copy of the `.env` file:
+```
+cp .env.sample .env
+```
+
+Edit the `NEXT_PUBLIC_MESHDB_URL` based on your choice above in your favorite text editor. For example:
+```
+nano .env
+# Press Ctrl-X and then y to exit
+```
 
+Next run the following commands to run the nextjs app on your local machine:
 ```
 npm install
 
 npm run dev
 ```
+
+Finally, open `http://127.0.0.1:3000` in your web browser to interact with your copy of the application
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