diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1805877b..1fb92889 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -305,6 +305,96 @@ you can install everything you need with a command like:
         mesa-common-dev libgtksourceview2.0-dev libcairo2-dev libsdl1.2-dev \
         libxv-dev libao-dev libopenal-dev libudev-dev
 
+Once you have all the dependencies installed:
+
+ 1. Put the higan source code in some convenient location,
+    like `~/higan-src`
+ 2. Open a terminal window
+ 3. Type `cd ~/higan-src`
+    (or wherever you put the higan source)
+    and press Enter
+ 4. Type `make -C icarus compiler=g++` and press Enter
+    to build the icarus import tool
+ 5. Type `make -C higan compiler=g++` and press Enter
+    to build the main higan executable
+
+Installing a compiled build on Linux
+------------------------------------
+
+Assuming you have successfully compiled higan
+as described in the previous section:
+
+ 1. Open a terminal window
+ 2. Type `cd ~/higan-src`
+    (or wherever you put the higan source)
+    and press Enter
+ 3. Type `make -C icarus install` and press Enter
+    to install icarus and its game database
+ 4. Type `make -C higan install` and press Enter
+    to install higan and its supporting files
+
+This installs higan and its associated data files
+into the `~/.local` directory hierarchy.
+
+To confirm higan is installed correctly,
+type `higan` in a terminal and press Enter.
+If the higan window appears,
+everything is working.
+On the other hand,
+if you get an error message like "command not found",
+you should double-check that the directory `~/.local/bin`
+is included in your `$PATH` environment variable
+by running the following command in a terminal:
+
+    echo "$PATH" | tr ':' '\n' | grep ~/.local/bin
+
+If the above command prints the full path of `~/.local/bin`
+(for example: `/home/yourname/.local/bin`)
+then you should be good.
+If it prints nothing,
+you need to add the following line to `~/.profile`:
+
+    export PATH=~/.local/bin:$PATH
+
+(this line must be in `~/.profile` because
+most GUIs do not read any other files at login)
+
+If you also have a `~/.bash_profile`,
+make sure it reads the contents of `~/.profile`
+with a line like this:
+
+    source ~/.profile
+
+You will need to log out and log back in
+for changes to `~/.profile` or `~/.bash_profile`
+to take effect.
+
+Before you can actually play games,
+you'll need to [import them][#importing-games]
+and [configure higan][#configuring-higan].
+
+Uninstalling a compiled build on Linux
+--------------------------------------
+
+To uninstall higan,
+as installed by the above instructions:
+
+ 1. Open a terminal window
+ 2. Type `cd ~/higan-src`
+    (or wherever you put the higan source)
+    and press Enter
+ 3. Type `make -C icarus uninstall` and press Enter
+ 4. Type `make -C higan uninstall` and press Enter
+
+To remove higan's configuration,
+delete the directory `~/.config/higan` as well.
+
+To remove the games imported into higan's library
+(including in-game saves and save-states),
+delete the directory `~/Emulation`.
+
+You may also wish to delete the higan source directory.
+
 Installing the GBA BIOS
 -----------------------