diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1f36ab9..032ae82 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+*.err
 *.odt
 *.html
 .~lock*
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8049c2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# fediversity proposal
+
+## usage
+
+```sh
+nix-shell -p pandoc mermaid-filter --command 'pandoc fediversity.md -o fediversity.html -F mermaid-filter'
+```