diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 683c47817b7..980f84a3800 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -47,6 +47,16 @@ In general, things we find useful when reviewing suggestions are:
 
 # Instructions for Contributing Code
 
+## Tips
+
+### Faster clones
+
+The TypeScript repository is relatively large. To save some time, you might want to clone it without the repo's full history using `git clone --depth=1`.
+
+### Using local builds
+
+Run `gulp build` to build a version of the compiler/language service that reflects changes you've made. You can then run `node <repo-root>/built/local/tsc.js` in place of `tsc` in your project. For example, to run `tsc --watch` from within the root of the repository on a file called `test.ts`, you can run `node ./built/local/tsc.js --watch test.ts`.
+
 ## Contributing bug fixes
 
 TypeScript is currently accepting contributions in the form of bug fixes. A bug must have an issue tracking it in the issue tracker that has been approved ("Milestone == Community") by the TypeScript team. Your pull request should include a link to the bug that you are fixing. If you've submitted a PR for a bug, please post a comment in the bug to avoid duplication of effort.