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+# cove
+
+Cove is a TUI client for [euphoria.io](https://euphoria.io/), a threaded
+real-time chat platform.
+
+![A very meta screenshot](screenshot.png)
+
+It runs on Linux, Windows and macOS.
+
+## Manual installation
+
+This section contains instructions on how to install cove by compiling it yourself.
+It doesn't assume you know how to program, but it does assume basic familiarity with the command line on your platform of choice.
+Cove runs in the terminal, after all.
+
+### Installing rustup
+
+Cove is written in Rust, so the first step is to install rustup. Either install
+it from your package manager of choice (if you have one) or use the
+[installer](https://rustup.rs/).
+
+Test your installation by running `rustup --version` and `cargo --version`. If
+rustup is installed correctly, both of these should show a version number.
+
+Cove is designed on the current version of the stable toolchain. If cove doesn't
+compile, you can try switching to the stable toolchain and updating it using the
+following commands:
+```bash
+$ rustup default stable
+$ rustup update
+```
+
+### Installing cove
+
+To install or update to the latest release of cove, run the following command:
+```bash
+$ cargo install --force --git https://github.com/Garmelon/cove --branch latest
+```
+
+If you like to live dangerously and want to install or update to the latest,
+bleeding-edge, possibly-broken commit from the repo's main branch, run the
+following command:
+```bash
+$ cargo install --force --git https://github.com/Garmelon/cove
+```
+
+To install a specific version of cove, run the following command and substitute
+in the full version you want to install:
+```bash
+$ cargo install --force --git https://github.com/Garmelon/cove --tag v0.1.0
+```
+
+### Using cove
+
+To start cove, simply run `cove` in your terminal. For more info about the
+available subcommands such as exporting room logs or resetting cookies, run
+`cove --help`.
+
+If you delete rooms, cove's vault (the database it stores messages and other
+things in) won't automatically shrink. If it takes up too much space, try
+running `cove gc` and waiting for it to finish. This isn't done automatically
+because it can take quite a while.
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