diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 35cdaf3..8fafbb0 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -1,2 +1,6 @@
 .git
+.dockerignore
+circle.yml
+Makefile
 README.md
+test
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3eda887
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+.SILENT :
+.PHONY : test
+
+test:
+	docker build -t jwilder/nginx-proxy:bats .
+	bats test
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 80c4c6b..e619e35 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -218,3 +218,13 @@ If you are using multiple hostnames for a single container (e.g. `VIRTUAL_HOST=e
 If you want most of your virtual hosts to use a default single `location` block configuration and then override on a few specific ones, add those settings to the `/etc/nginx/vhost.d/default_location` file. This file
 will be used on any virtual host which does not have a `/etc/nginx/vhost.d/{VIRTUAL_HOST}` file associated with it.
 
+### Contributing
+
+Before submitting pull requests or issues, please check github to make sure an existing issue or pull request is not already open.
+
+#### Running Tests Locally
+
+To run tests, you'll need to install [bats 0.4.0](https://github.com/sstephenson/bats).
+
+    make test
+
diff --git a/circle.yml b/circle.yml
index d0c24ec..e808c6e 100644
--- a/circle.yml
+++ b/circle.yml
@@ -19,5 +19,4 @@ dependencies:
 
 test:
   override:
-    - docker build -t jwilder/nginx-proxy:bats .
-    - bats test
+    - make test