diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9e07702..e0dd48c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -10,7 +10,16 @@ See [the website](https://laminar.ohwg.net) and the [documentation](https://lami
 
 ## Building from source
 
-First install development packages for `capnproto (version 0.7.0 or newer)`, `rapidjson`, `sqlite` and `boost` (for the header-only `multi_index_container` library) from your distribution's repository or other source. Then:
+First install development packages for `capnproto (version 0.7.0 or newer)`, `rapidjson`, `sqlite` and `boost` (for the header-only `multi_index_container` library) from your distribution's repository or other source.
+
+On Debian Buster, this can be done with:
+
+```bash
+sudo apt install \
+		 capnproto cmake g++ libboost-dev libcapnp-dev libsqlite-dev libsqlite3-dev make rapidjson-dev zlib1g-dev
+```
+
+Then compile and install laminar with:
 
 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/ohwgiles/laminar.git