diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fa5694710a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+MAKEFLAGS += --no-builtin-rules
+MAKEFLAGS += --no-builtin-variables
+
+# allow overriding the name of the venv directory
+VENV_DIR ?= venv
+
+# make tasks run all commands in a single shell
+.ONESHELL:
+
+# these targets don't produce files:
+.PHONY: clean filecheck pytest pytest-nb tests rerun-notebooks precommit-install precommit black pyright
+
+# remove all caches and the venv
+clean:
+	rm -rf ${VENV_DIR} .pytest_cache *.egg-info .coverage.*
+
+# run filecheck tests
+filecheck:
+	lit -vv tests/filecheck
+	lit -vv docs/Toy/examples
+
+# run pytest tests
+pytest:
+	pytest tests -W error -vv
+
+# run pytest on notebooks
+pytest-nb:
+	pytest -W error --nbval -vv docs --ignore=docs/mlir_interoperation.ipynb
+
+# run all tests
+tests: pytest pytest-nb filecheck pyright
+	echo test
+
+# re-generate the output from all jupyter notebooks in the docs directory
+rerun-notebooks:
+	jupyter nbconvert --ClearMetadataPreprocessor.enabled=True --inplace --to notebook --execute docs/*.ipynb
+
+# set up all precommit hooks
+precommit-install:
+	pre-commit install
+
+# run all precommit hooks and apply them
+precommit:
+	pre-commit run --all
+
+# run pyright on all files in the current git commit
+pyright:
+	pyright $(shell git diff --staged --name-only)
+
+# run black on all files currently staged
+black:
+	staged_files="$(shell git diff --staged --name-only)"
+	# run black on all of xdsl if no staged files exist
+	black $${staged_files:-xdsl}
+
+# set up the venv with all dependencies for development
+venv: requirements-optional.txt requirements.txt
+	python3 -m venv ${VENV_DIR}
+	source ${VENV_DIR}/bin/activate
+	pip install -r requirements-optional.txt -r requirements.txt
+	pip install -e ".[extras]"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 44fa09729f..ec2feb1d0d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@ for users interested in that use case.
 - [A DSL for defining new IRs](https://xdsl.dev/xdsl/retro/notebooks/?path=irdl.ipynb)
 - [Connecting xDSL with MLIR](docs/mlir_interoperation.md)
 
+We provide a Makefile containing a lot of common tasks, which might provide
+an overview of common actions.
+
 ## xDSL Developer Setup
 
 To contribute to the development of xDSL follow the subsequent steps.
@@ -67,7 +70,10 @@ To contribute to the development of xDSL follow the subsequent steps.
 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/xdslproject/xdsl.git
 cd xdsl
-pip install --editable ".[extras]"
+# set up the venv and install everything
+make venv
+# activate the venv
+source venv/bin/activate
 ```
 
 ### Testing
@@ -81,9 +87,12 @@ pytest
 
 # Executes filecheck tests
 lit tests/filecheck
+
+# run all tests using makefile
+make tests
 ```
 
-### Formatting
+### Formatting and Typechecking
 
 All python code used in xDSL uses [black](https://github.com/psf/black) to
 format the code in a uniform manner.
@@ -92,17 +101,18 @@ To automate the formatting, we use pre-commit hooks from the
 [pre-commit](https://pypi.org/project/pre-commit/) package.
 
 ```bash
-# Install pre-commit version in the optional requirement files
-pip install --requirement requirements-optional.txt
-
 # Install the pre-commit on your `.git` folder
-# Be sure to run this in your virtual environment
-pre-commit install
-
-# Optionally test the hook by running it on all files
-pre-commit run --all-files
+make precommit-install
+# to run the hooks:
+make precommit
+# alternatively, running black on all staged files:
+make black  # or simply black $(git diff --staged --name-only)
 ```
 
+Furthermore, all python code must run through [pyright](https://github.com/microsoft/pyright)
+without errors. Pyright can be run on all staged files through the
+makefile using `make pyright`.
+
 ### Discussion
 
 You can also join the discussion at our [Zulip chat room](https://xdsl.zulipchat.com), kindly supported by community hosting from [Zulip](https://zulip.com/).