diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 6394ebd..78b1ff1 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-*/bower_components/
+bower_components
 *.db
-node_modules/
-__pycache__
-*/Drew/*
\ No newline at end of file
+/node_modules
+/__pycache__
+*.pyc
+/venv
+*/Drew/*
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d9a8e7d..9151109 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -22,14 +22,21 @@ Needed to run this program:
 	- Flask (http://flask.pocoo.org/)
 - Google Chrome
 
-HOW TO RUN:
+## Development setup
 
-in the PiaNote directory, go to the static directory and run:
+Optional: set up a Python virtualenv by running
 
-bower install
+    virtualenv venv
+    source venv/bin/activate
 
-After that completes, in the PiaNote directory, run:
+Install dependencies by running
 
-python server.py
+    bower install
+    pip install -r requirements.txt
 
-Open up Google Chrome on Localhost:5000
+After that completes, start the server with
+
+    export DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///pianote.db
+    python server.py
+
+Open <http://localhost:5000> in Google Chrome.
diff --git a/server.py b/server.py
index a7c8209..a9c216a 100644
--- a/server.py
+++ b/server.py
@@ -243,11 +243,13 @@ def __repr__(self):
 def wsgi(environ, start_response):
 	port = int(os.environ.get("PORT", 5000))
 	app.secret_key = os.urandom(24)
+	db.create_all()
 	app.run(debug=True, host='0.0.0.0', port=port, use_reloader=True)
 
 def main():
 	port = int(os.environ.get("PORT", 5000))
 	app.secret_key = os.urandom(24)
+	db.create_all()
 	app.run(debug=True, host='0.0.0.0', port=port)
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":