From 452595255e99c7c62fe91b210920670cb533d606 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Stable Genius <stablegenius043@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2026 02:29:11 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] docs: add make install step before local dev (#955) (#963)

Co-authored-by: Stable Genius <259448942+stablegenius49@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Willem Jiang <willem.jiang@gmail.com>
---
 README.md | 11 ++++++++---
 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 59e4007..473b966 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -137,18 +137,23 @@ If you prefer running services locally:
    make check  # Verifies Node.js 22+, pnpm, uv, nginx
    ```
 
-2. **(Optional) Pre-pull sandbox image**:
+2. **Install dependencies**:
+   ```bash
+   make install  # Install backend + frontend dependencies
+   ```
+
+3. **(Optional) Pre-pull sandbox image**:
    ```bash
    # Recommended if using Docker/Container-based sandbox
    make setup-sandbox
    ```
 
-3. **Start services**:
+4. **Start services**:
    ```bash
    make dev
    ```
 
-4. **Access**: http://localhost:2026
+5. **Access**: http://localhost:2026
 
 ### Advanced
 #### Sandbox Mode