diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 351fe428..86e6b8a2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -126,17 +126,17 @@ If you don't have redis running locally, you can start it with:
 docker compose -f docker-compose.redis.yml up -d
 ```
 
-Then run:
+Run these two commands  first to ensure the `./dist` folder is properly populated  and all required packages are installed:
 
-```
-npm run dev
+```shell
+npm ci
+npm run build
 ```
 
-or
+Then run this to start a local dev instance and reload the app when it sees changes to local files:
 
-```
-npm run build
-npm start
+```shell
+npm run dev
 ```
 
 ### Docker with static code