From bafc34a576d56ee4293cd24e0d0c49366048772c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Sean Starkey <sean@seanstarkey.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2026 11:52:44 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] Add instructions on running the program to README

---
 README.md | 34 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 34 insertions(+)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 76279dc..b0008de 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,5 +1,39 @@
 # Secure Notes Vault API
 
+## Running the program
+
+This project requires Java 21 and Maven. The API starts on `http://localhost:8080`.
+
+For the fastest local setup, run the app with the in-memory H2 database:
+
+```bash
+make dev
+```
+
+To run the test suite:
+
+```bash
+make test
+```
+
+To run the API and PostgreSQL with Docker Compose:
+
+```bash
+JWT_SECRET=dev-secret-change-me-do-not-use-in-production make docker-up
+```
+
+Stop the Docker Compose stack with:
+
+```bash
+make docker-down
+```
+
+You can also run the Spring Boot app directly:
+
+```bash
+JWT_SECRET=dev-secret-change-me-do-not-use-in-production mvn spring-boot:run
+```
+
 ## Design decisions
 - Java programming language since Bluestaq is a Java shop
 - Maven for building