diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ea4ea2e4cb..8cc9a5652c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ docker run --rm -i -v "$PWD:$PWD" -w "$PWD" ghcr.io/jqlang/jq:latest '.version'
 git submodule update --init # if building from git to get oniguruma
 autoreconf -i               # if building from git
 ./configure --with-oniguruma=builtin
+make clean        # if upgrading from a version previously built from source
 make -j8
 make check
 sudo make install