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+###############
+Getting Started
+###############
+
+***********
+Downloading
+***********
+
+Serd is distributed in several ways.
+There are no "official" binaries, only source code releases which must be compiled.
+However, many operating system distributions do package binaries.
+Check if your package manager has a reasonably recent package,
+if so,
+that is the easiest and most reliable installation method.
+
+Release announcements with links to source code archives can be found at `<https://drobilla.net/category/serd/>`_.
+All release archives and their signatures are available in the directory `<http://download.drobilla.net/>`_.
+
+The code can also be checked out of `git <https://gitlab.com/drobilla/serd>`_::
+
+  git clone https://gitlab.com/drobilla/serd.git
+
+*********
+Compiling
+*********
+
+Serd uses the `meson <https://mesonbuild.com/>`_ build system.
+From within an extracted release archive or repository checkout,
+the library can be built and tested with default options like so::
+
+  meson setup build
+  cd build
+  ninja test
+
+There are many configuration options,
+which can be displayed by running ``meson configure``.
+
+See the `meson documentation <https://mesonbuild.com/Quick-guide.html>`_ for more details on using meson.
+
+**********
+Installing
+**********
+
+If the library compiled successfully,
+then ``ninja install`` can be used to install it.
+Note that you may need superuser privileges, for example::
+
+  sudo ninja install
+
+The installation prefix can be changed by setting the ``prefix`` option, for example::
+
+  meson configure -Dprefix=/opt/serd
+
+If you do not want to install anything,
+you can also "vendor" the code in your project
+(provided, of course, that you adhere to the terms of the license).
+If you are using meson,
+then it should simply work as a subproject without modification.
+Otherwise,
+you will need to set up the build yourself.
+
+*********
+Including
+*********
+
+Serd installs a `pkg-config <https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/pkg-config/>`_ file,
+which can be used to set the appropriate compiler and linker flags for projects to use it.
+If installed to a standard prefix,
+then it should show up in ``pkg-config`` automatically::
+
+  pkg-config --list-all | grep serd
+
+If not, you may need to adjust the ``PKG_CONFIG_PATH`` environment variable to include the installation prefix, for example::
+
+  export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/serd/lib/pkgconfig
+  pkg-config --list-all | grep serd
+
+Most popular build systems natively support pkg-config.
+For example, in meson::
+
+  serd_dep = dependency('serd-1')
+
+On systems where pkg-config is not available,
+you will need to set up compiler and linker flags manually,
+by adding something like ``-I/opt/serd/include/serd-1``,
+and ``-lserd-1``, respectively.
+
+Once things are set up, you should be able to include the API header and start using Serd in your code.