Add compilation instructions to readme

README.md

@@ -4,3 +4,37 @@ Lecture notes and teaching material used for the Delft University of Technology
 
 The compiled materials are available at http://solidstate.quantumtinkerer.tudelft.nl
 
+## How to compile
+To compile it is advised to use a separate environment. We use miniconda for environment management, which can be found at https://docs.conda.io/en/latest/miniconda.html
+
+First create a new conda environment named `lectures` with Python 3.6 and activate it. You can also use another environment manager of your choice.
+
+```sh
+conda create -n lectures python=3.6
+conda activate lectures
+```
+
+Clone this repository and enter the directory.
+
+```sh
+git clone https://gitlab.kwant-project.org/solidstate/lectures.git
+cd lectures
+```
+Install the required packages from `requirements.txt`.
+
+```sh
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+```
+
+And finally run `execute.py` to prepare the source files for `mkdocs`.
+
+```sh
+python execute.py
+```
+
+Now that all the files are where they should be, you can either run a development server or build the files for deployment using `mkdocs`. The commands to achieve this are:
+
+```sh
+mkdocs serve  # Run a development server
+mkdocs build  # Build for deployment
+```