diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index b267233e4d..56e86bc5fa 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -309,10 +309,20 @@ IQUE_LD_PATH := $(TOOLS_DIR)/ique_ld
 # detect prefix for MIPS toolchain
 ifneq      ($(call find-command,mips-linux-gnu-ld),)
   CROSS := mips-linux-gnu-
+else ifneq ($(call find-command,mips-unknown-linux-gnu-ld),)
+  CROSS := mips-unknown-linux-gnu-
 else ifneq ($(call find-command,mips64-linux-gnu-ld),)
   CROSS := mips64-linux-gnu-
+else ifneq ($(call find-command,mips64-unknown-linux-gnu-ld),)
+  CROSS := mips64-unknown-linux-gnu-
+else ifneq ($(call find-command,mips-elf-ld),)
+  CROSS := mips-elf-
+else ifneq ($(call find-command,mips-none-elf-ld),)
+  CROSS := mips-none-elf-
 else ifneq ($(call find-command,mips64-elf-ld),)
   CROSS := mips64-elf-
+else ifneq ($(call find-command,mips64-none-elf-ld),)
+  CROSS := mips64-none-elf-
 else
   $(error Unable to detect a suitable MIPS toolchain installed)
 endif
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e708a8b8a8..1ea25df523 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -44,23 +44,27 @@ There are 3 steps to set up a working build.
 #### Step 1: Install dependencies
 
 The build system has the following package requirements:
- * binutils-mips
- * pkgconf
- * python3 >= 3.6
+
+* binutils-mips
+* pkgconf
+* python3 >= 3.6
 
 Dependency installation instructions for common Linux distros are provided below:
 
 ##### Debian / Ubuntu
 To install build dependencies:
-```
+
+```bash
 sudo apt install -y binutils-mips-linux-gnu build-essential git pkgconf python3
 ```
 
 ##### Arch Linux
 To install build dependencies:
-```
+
+```bash
 sudo pacman -S base-devel python
 ```
+
 Install the following AUR packages:
 * [mips64-elf-binutils](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/mips64-elf-binutils) (AUR)
 
@@ -81,11 +85,12 @@ You may also use [Docker](#docker-installation) to handle installing an image wi
 For each version (jp/us/eu/sh/cn) for which you want to build a ROM, put an existing ROM at
 `./baserom.<VERSION>.z64` for asset extraction.
 
-##### Step 3: Build the ROM
+#### Step 3: Build the ROM
 
 Run `make` to build the ROM (defaults to `VERSION=us`).
 Other examples:
-```
+
+```bash
 make VERSION=jp -j4       # build (J) version instead with 4 jobs
 make VERSION=eu COMPARE=0 # build (EU) version but do not compare ROM hashes
 ```
@@ -106,14 +111,15 @@ With macOS, you may either use Homebrew or [Docker](#docker-installation).
 
 #### Homebrew
 
-#### Step 1: Install dependencies
+##### Step 1: Install dependencies
 Install [Homebrew](https://brew.sh) and the following dependencies:
-```
+
+```bash
 brew update
 brew install coreutils make pkg-config tehzz/n64-dev/mips64-elf-binutils
 ```
 
-#### Step 2: Copy baserom(s) for asset extraction
+##### Step 2: Copy baserom(s) for asset extraction
 
 For each version (jp/us/eu/sh/cn) for which you want to build a ROM, put an existing ROM at
 `./baserom.<VERSION>.z64` for asset extraction.
@@ -122,36 +128,42 @@ For each version (jp/us/eu/sh/cn) for which you want to build a ROM, put an exis
 
 Use Homebrew's GNU make because the version included with macOS is too old.
 
-```
+```bash
 gmake VERSION=jp -j4       # build (J) version instead with 4 jobs
 ```
 
-### Docker Installation
+#### Docker Installation
 
-#### Create Docker image
+##### Create Docker image
 
 After installing and starting Docker, create the docker image. This only needs to be done once.
-```
+
+```bash
 docker build -t sm64 .
 ```
 
-#### Build
+##### Build
 
 To build, mount the local filesystem into the Docker container and build the ROM with `docker run sm64 make`.
 
-##### macOS example for (U):
-```
+###### macOS example for (U):
+```bash
 docker run --rm --mount type=bind,source="$(pwd)",destination=/sm64 sm64 make VERSION=us -j4
 ```
 
-##### Linux example for (U):
+###### Linux example for (U):
 For a Linux host, Docker needs to be instructed which user should own the output files:
-```
+
+```bash
 docker run --rm --mount type=bind,source="$(pwd)",destination=/sm64 --user $UID:$GID sm64 make VERSION=us -j4
 ```
 
 Resulting artifacts can be found in the `build` directory.
 
+#### Nix Shell Environment
+
+Those using the Nix package manager can run `nix-shell` to load an environment that provides the required dependencies.
+
 ## Project Structure
 
 	sm64
diff --git a/shell.nix b/shell.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6d937fe873
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shell.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {
+    # https://nixos.org/manual/nixpkgs/stable/#sec-cross-usage
+    crossSystem = (import <nixpkgs/lib>).systems.examples.mips-linux-gnu;
+  }
+}:
+
+let
+  hostPlatformCheck =
+    with pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform;
+    if isMips then null
+    else abort "cross platform target must be a MIPS target";
+in
+pkgs.callPackage
+  ({ mkShell
+   , gnumake42
+   }: mkShell {
+    # pulled from https://github.com/n64decomp/sm64#step-1-install-dependencies-1
+    depsBuildBuild = [
+      gnumake42 # v4.4 breaks the build!
+    ];
+    strictDeps = true;
+
+    shellHook = ''
+      NEW_PATH_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+      export PATH="$NEW_PATH_DIR:$PATH"
+
+      MAKE_PATH=$(which make)
+      ln -s $MAKE_PATH $NEW_PATH_DIR/gmake
+    '';
+  })
+{ }
diff --git a/tools/Makefile b/tools/Makefile
index f3f9496fe9..e91c08d4ef 100644
--- a/tools/Makefile
+++ b/tools/Makefile
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ HOST_ENV := $(patsubst MINGW%,MinGW,$(HOST_ENV))
 
 CC           := gcc
 CXX          := g++
+AR           := ar
 CFLAGS       := -I . -I sm64tools -Wall -Wextra -Wno-unused-parameter -pedantic -O2 -s
 LDFLAGS      := -lm
 ALL_PROGRAMS := armips textconv patch_elf_32bit aifc_decode aiff_extract_codebook vadpcm_enc tabledesign extract_data_for_mio skyconv