diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..87c26fbdc91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+.PHONY: help
+
+VERSION="unset"
+
+help:
+	@echo "CakePHP Makefile"
+	@echo "================"
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "release"
+	@echo "  Create a new release of CakePHP. Requires the VERSION parameter."
+	@echo "  Packages up a new app skeleton tarball and uploads it to github."
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "test"
+	@echo "  Run the tests for CakePHP."
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "bump-version"
+	@echo "  Bumps the version to VERSION"