diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e4597acb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2025 Lost City
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..81d32bd74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+<div align="center">
+    <h1>Lost City</h1>
+</div>
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> Learn about our history and ethos on our forum: https://lostcity.rs/t/faq-what-is-lost-city/16
+
+## Getting Started
+
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> If you run into issues, please see our [common issues](#common-issues).
+
+1. Download and extract this repo somewhere on your computer.
+2. Install our [dependencies](#dependencies).
+3. Open the folder you downloaded: **Run the start script and follow the on-screen prompts.** You may disregard any severity warnings you see.
+
+Once your setup process has completed, wait for it to tell you the world has started before trying to play.
+
+The server includes its own client, so you don't have to download anything else!
+
+## Dependencies
+
+- Git CLI - Windows users: [git-scm](https://git-scm.com/)
+- [NodeJS 22](https://nodejs.org/)
+- [Java 17 or newer](https://adoptium.net/)
+
+> [!TIP]
+> If you're using VS Code (recommended), [we have an extension to install on the marketplace.](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=2004scape.runescriptlanguage)
+
+## Workflow
+
+Content developers should run `npm start`. The server will watch for changes to scripts and configs, then automatically repack everything.
+
+Engine developers should run `npm run dev`. This does what `npm start` does above, but also completely restarts the server when engine code has changed.
+
+## Common Issues
+
+* `bad option: --import`  
+
+You are using an older version of Node. Reinstall and re-run.
+
+* `'"java"' is not recognized as an internal or external command`  
+
+You do not have Java installed.
+
+* `XXXXX has been compiled by a more recent version of the Java Runtime (class file version 61.0), this version of the Java Runtime only recognizes class file versions up to 52.0`  
+
+You are using Java 8 or Java 11. If you have multiple Java versions, you will need to set `JAVA_PATH=path-to-java.exe` in your .env file.
+
+## License
+This project is licensed under the [MIT License](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT). See the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.