diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index de2301ca..12c8cec7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,18 +1,121 @@
-# snarkos-test
+# snarkOS Operations
 
-Crates for AOT transaction generation and repeatable testing infrastructure.
+This repository is home to the `snops` (snarkOS operations) ecosystem, and
+`snarkos-aot`, a crate for performing ahead-of-time ledger actions.
 
-Requires a local clone of `snarkos` and `snarkvm` in the parent directory. That
-is, your file tree should look like:
+snops is a suite of tools that can be used to maintain [Aleo](https://aleo.org/)
+network environments. The environments are defined in a manner similar to
+infrastructure-as-code, which means you can create repeatable infrastructure
+using the environment schema.
+
+This can be used to create devnets, simulate events on the network like outages
+and attacks, and guarantee metrics.
+
+## Architecture
+
+A snops "instance" is composed of a control plane and any number of agents:
+
+- **Control plane:** a machine that is running the `snops` crate. Responsible
+  for the deployment of snarkOS nodes on agents.
+- **Agents:** machines that run the `snops-agent` crate. Communicates with the
+  control plane to receive state reconciliations and other messages.
+
+In the default state, the control plane holds a pool of available agents that
+have connected to it. An agent is in inventory mode if it is not currently
+running a snarkOS node. It can be turned into a node by preparing an
+**environment**, in which the control plane will delegate agents in inventory to
+become real nodes that match the environment's topology.
+
+### Environments
+
+An environment is a collection of snops documents that describe a particular use
+case's storage, topology, timeline, and expected outcomes (see some
+[examples](./specs/)).
+
+<!-- TODO: more document types -->
+
+- **Storage:** describes the ledger that agents assigned to this environment
+  will use. Can be an existing ledger or a generated one.
+- **Topology:** describes the nodes that must be present for this environment to
+  be fully prepared. If a control plane does not have enough agents asked for by
+  an environment's topology, the control plane will refuse to prepare the
+  environment.
+- **Timeline:** an optional description of the _events_ that will be simulated.
+  Used to trigger actions like intentional outages, ledger manipulations, config
+  changes, and more. This is the primary vector by which snops can be used as a
+  testing platform.
+- **Outcomes:** optional descrption of expected outcomes after the execution of
+  a timeline. For some tests, such as guaranteeing a particular TPS after some
+  events have been simulated, it is useful to objectively verify whether or not
+  a test succeeded. Outcomes are based on PromQL queries, and a Prometheus
+  instance will be queried to check whether or not an environment's outcomes
+  were properly met.
+
+### Control plane
+
+The control plane runs as a daemon. It orchestrates any agents that connect to
+it, and listens for requests from implementors of its HTTP API (such as the
+[snops-cli](./crates/snops-cli/)) for further instructions, like preparing an
+environment.
+
+For metrics and outcome guarantees, the control plane can also be linked to a
+Prometheus server. TODO: how?
+
+In order to instruct the control plane after it has been started, you can use
+the included snops-cli. TODO: how?
+
+### Agents
+
+Similarly, agents can run as a daemon on separate machines.
+
+## Installation and usage
+
+snops requires a local clone of `snarkos` and `snarkvm` in the parent directory.
+That is, your file tree should look like:
 
 ```
 - <parent folder>
   - snarkos
-  - snarkos-test
+  - snarkops
   - snarkvm
 ```
 
-## Scripts
+For each of the snops binaries, use `--help` for information on how to use its
+CLI.
+
+### Starting the control plane
+
+To start the control plane, build and execute the `snops` crate binary or use
+
+```bash
+./scripts/control_plane.sh
+```
+
+### Starting agents
+
+<!-- TODO: agent containerization -->
+
+For local development, it is handy to use the agent script in the
+[scripts](./scripts/) directory:
+
+```bash
+# start four (indexed) agents
+./scripts/agent.sh 0
+./scripts/agent.sh 1
+./scripts/agent.sh 2
+./scripts/agent.sh 3
+```
+
+### Preparing an environment
+
+An environment can be prepared with `snops-cli`:
+
+```bash
+snops-cli env prepare my-env-spec.yaml
+```
+
+In a dev environment, you can use the following script:
 
-In order to use the [test scripts](/scripts/), you must build `snarkos` in
-release mode with `cargo build --release` from the `snarkos` directory.
+```bash
+./scripts/env_start.sh specs/test-4-validators.yaml
+```
diff --git a/scripts/control_plane.sh b/scripts/control_plane.sh
index 0a8c6b93..50aa3287 100755
--- a/scripts/control_plane.sh
+++ b/scripts/control_plane.sh
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
-cargo run -p snops
+cargo run --release -p snops