diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 658f3bc6d629d280013e781a9ff2241155ff9b58..d23d60ee8b0a15ac6af54280e6ad382ef5f2478c 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ venv
 
 # configurations
 qualitycheck_config.toml
+pylinkahead.ini
 
 # build artifacts
 *.egg-info
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0e450f7ccb0e9ec907e16ef7d912f96d292be630..f1edc18d2474d28b356ce73cb57e3175e484ec38 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -9,6 +9,13 @@ the data, stores the results in a [LinkAhead](https://getlinkahead.com) instance
 
 ## Usage
 
+### Virtual Environment (Optional)
+
+Before installing create a virtual environment:
+
+* `python -m venv .venv`
+* `source .venv/bin/activate`
+
 ### Installation ###
 
 Simply install with: