diff --git a/README.adoc b/README.adoc
index ef6e5d40f65..c63d6043171 100644
--- a/README.adoc
+++ b/README.adoc
@@ -33,7 +33,15 @@ You can **format the code** using `cargo fmt`.  Make sure to run this before pus
 
 You can **run the https://github.com/rust-lang/rust-clippy[Clippy linter]** using `cargo clippy \-- -D warnings -A clippy::style`.  Make sure to run this before pushing changes.  The CI checks that the code is clippy-clean.
 
-**Prerequisites:**
+=== Installing Prerequisite Software
+
+The following software may be installed automatically with the following scripts:
+
+----
+$ ./tools/install_prerequisites.sh
+----
+
+Alternatively, the manual installation steps as follows:
 
 Both normal execution and the test suite expect certain binaries (described below) on your PATH.
 
@@ -83,6 +91,10 @@ pkg install pkg:/package/pkg
 pkg update
 ----
 
+=== Running (Simulated) Omicron
+
+NOTE: If you'd like to run on Helios, refer to <<Deploying Omicron>> below.
+
 To **run Omicron** you need to run four programs:
 
 * a CockroachDB cluster.  For development, you can use the `omicron-dev` tool in this repository to start a single-node CockroachDB cluster **that will delete the database when you shut it down.**
diff --git a/tools/install_prerequisites.sh b/tools/install_prerequisites.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..b8a09f856cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/install_prerequisites.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -eu
+
+# Set the CWD to Omicron's source.
+SOURCE_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )"
+cd "${SOURCE_DIR}/.."
+
+function on_exit
+{
+  echo "Something went wrong, but this script is idempotent - If you can fix the issue, try re-running"
+}
+
+trap on_exit ERR
+
+# Offers a confirmation prompt.
+#
+# Args:
+#  $1: Text to be displayed
+function confirm
+{
+  read -r -p "$1 (y/n): " response
+  case $response in
+    [yY])
+      true
+      ;;
+    *)
+      false
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+HOST_OS=$(uname -s)
+if [[ "${HOST_OS}" == "Linux" ]]; then
+  packages=(
+    'libpq-dev'
+    'pkg-config'
+  )
+  confirm "Install (or update) [${packages[*]}]?" && sudo apt-get install ${packages[@]}
+elif [[ "${HOST_OS}" == "SunOS" ]]; then
+  packages=(
+    'pkg:/package/pkg'
+    'build-essential'
+    'library/postgresql-13'
+    'pkg-config'
+    'brand/omicron1/tools'
+  )
+
+  # Install/update the set of packages.
+  # Explicitly manage the return code using "rc" to observe the result of this
+  # command without exiting the script entirely (due to bash's "errexit").
+  rc=0
+  confirm "Install (or update) [${packages[*]}]?" && { pfexec pkg install -v "${packages[@]}" || rc=$?; }
+  # Return codes:
+  #  0: Normal Success
+  #  4: Failure because we're already up-to-date. Also acceptable.
+  if [[ "$rc" -ne 4 ]] && [[ "$rc" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    exit "$rc"
+  fi
+
+  pkg list -v "${packages[@]}"
+elif [[ "${HOST_OS}" == "Darwin" ]]; then
+  packages=(
+    'postgresql'
+    'pkg-config'
+  )
+  confirm "Install (or update) [${packages[*]}]?" && brew install ${packages[@]}
+else
+  echo "Unsupported OS: ${HOST_OS}"
+  exit -1
+fi
+
+./tools/ci_download_cockroachdb
+./tools/ci_download_clickhouse