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diff --git a/compat/vcbuild/README b/compat/vcbuild/README
index 60fd873fe8..1b6dabf5a2 100644
--- a/compat/vcbuild/README
+++ b/compat/vcbuild/README
@@ -1,3 +1,65 @@
+The Steps to Build Git with VS2015 or VS2017 from the command line.
+
+1. Install the "vcpkg" open source package manager and build essential
+   third-party libraries.  The steps for this have been captured in a
+   set of convenience scripts.  These can be run from a stock Command
+   Prompt or from an SDK bash window:
+
+   $ cd <repo_root>
+   $ ./compat/vcbuild/vcpkg_install.bat
+
+   The vcpkg tools and all of the third-party sources will be installed
+   in this folder:
+      <repo_root>/compat/vcbuild/vcpkg/
+
+   A file will be created with a set of Makefile macros pointing to a
+   unified "include", "lib", and "bin" directory (release and debug) for
+   all of the required packages.  This file will be included by the main
+   Makefile:
+      <repo_root>/compat/vcbuild/MSVC-DEFS-GEN
+
+2. OPTIONALLY copy the third-party *.dll and *.pdb files into the repo
+   root to make it easier to run and debug git.exe without having to
+   manipulate your PATH.  This is especially true for debug sessions in
+   Visual Studio.
+
+   Use ONE of the following forms which should match how you want to
+   compile git.exe.
+
+   $ ./compat/vcbuild/vcpkg_copy_packages.bat debug
+   $ ./compat/vcbuild/vcpkg_copy_packages.bat release
+
+3. Build git using MSVC from an SDK bash window using one of the
+   following commands:
+
+   $ make MSVC=1
+   $ make MSVC=1 DEBUG=1
+
+================================================================
+
+Alternatively, run `make vcxproj` and then load the generated `git.sln` in
+Visual Studio. The initial build will install the vcpkg system and build the
+dependencies automatically. This will take a while.
+
+Instead of generating the `git.sln` file yourself (which requires a full Git
+for Windows SDK), you may want to consider fetching the `vs/master` branch of
+https://github.com/git-for-windows/git instead (which is updated automatically
+via CI running `make vcxproj`). The `vs/master` branch does not require a Git
+for Windows to build, but you can run the test scripts in a regular Git Bash.
+
+Note that `make vcxproj` will automatically add and commit the generated `.sln`
+and `.vcxproj` files to the repo. This is necessary to allow building a
+fully-testable Git in Visual Studio, where a regular Git Bash can be used to
+run the test scripts (as opposed to a full Git for Windows SDK): a number of
+build targets, such as Git commands implemented as Unix shell scripts (where
+`@@SHELL_PATH@@` and other placeholders are interpolated) require a full-blown
+Git for Windows SDK (which is about 10x the size of a regular Git for Windows
+installation).
+
+If your plan is to open a Pull Request with Git for Windows, it is a good idea
+to drop this commit before submitting.
+
+================================================================
 The Steps of Build Git with VS2008
 
 1. You need the build environment, which contains the Git dependencies