diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index f916040..8d193a2 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ TWITTER_CONSUMER_SECRET=
 TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN=
 TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET=
 
-REDIS_HOSTNAME=
+REDIS_HOSTNAME=localhost
 REDIS_PORT=6379
 REDIS_PASSWORD=
 
@@ -11,11 +11,11 @@ LAMBDA_FUNCTION_NAME=testLambdaFunction
 LAMBDA_FUNCTION_ARN="arn:aws:lambda:<region>:<account-id>:function:testLambdaFunction"
 
 TWITTER_SCREEN_NAME=RemindMe_OfThis
-TWITTER_CALLBACK_URL=http://127.0.0.1:4000/_/completetwittersignin
+TWITTER_CALLBACK_URL=http://localhost:3000/_/completetwittersignin
 
-EXTERNAL_URL=remindmeofthis.app
+EXTERNAL_URL=http://localhost:3000
 
 FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=remindmeofthistweet
 SENTRY_DSN=
 
-NODE_ENV=
\ No newline at end of file
+NODE_ENV=development
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8996c46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# Contribution and Development
+
+## Requirements
+- Node.js v12 or later
+- A Redis server. You can run one easily with Docker: `docker run --name remindme-redis -d -p 6379:6379redis redis-server --appendonly yes`
+- The Serverless framework: `npm i -g serverless`
+- If you're going to use the Sign In With Twitter functionality, you'll need to create a Twitter app at [developer.twitter.com](http://developer.twitter.com). Alternately, you can use the local Twitter mock API (not implemented yet).
+
+## Setting up
+1. Clone the repo and install dependencies.
+2. Create a `.env` file by copying the `.env.example` file.
+3. Set the `TWITTER_CONSUMER_KEY`,`TWITTER_CONSUMER_SECRET`,`TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN`, and `TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET` values in your `.env` file to the values from your Twitter app.
+4. Enable 3-legged OAuth on your Twitter app dashboard, and include `http://localhost:3000/_/completetwittersignin` as one of your callback URLs.
+5. Ensure your Redis server is running.
+6. Start the service by running `npm run local`. This will start all the http functions (accessible from http://localhost:3000) as well as schedule the `checkForRemindersAndSend` function to run every minute.
+
+
+## Tests
+- Tests are written in Jest, and cover mainly the time parsing features and some end-to-end tests (with the Twitter API mocked to an extent). To run tests: `npm run tests`.
+
+
+## Linting
+Linting is used to help catch errors: `npm run lint`.
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diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 688645f..da50e70 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,6 +78,4 @@ This architecture isn't perfect, and I'm open to criticism and suggestions. It's
 
 
 ## Development
-- To run a function locally, use the `npm run invoke` script It calls `serverless invoke local`, so see the [available list of options](https://www.serverless.com/framework/docs/providers/aws/cli-reference/invoke-local/).
-- Tests are written in Jest, and cover mainly the time parsing features and some end-to-end tests (with the Twitter API mocked to an extent). To run tests: `npm run tests`.
-- Linting is used to help catch errors: `npm run lint`.
\ No newline at end of file
+See the [contributing and development guide](./CONTRIBUTING.md) for details on working on this project.
\ No newline at end of file