diff --git a/qt/linux/Makefile.dist b/qt/linux/Makefile.dist
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2c5823f27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qt/linux/Makefile.dist
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+PREFIX=/usr/local
+
+all:
+	@echo "You can run Anki with ./bin/Anki"
+	@echo "If you wish to install it system wide, type 'sudo make install',"
+	@echo "then run with 'anki'."
+	@echo "Uninstall with 'sudo make uninstall'"
+
+install:
+	rm -rf ${PREFIX}/share/anki
+	mkdir -p ${PREFIX}/share/anki
+	cp -av * ${PREFIX}/share/anki/
+	mkdir -p ${PREFIX}/bin
+	ln -sf ${PREFIX}/share/anki/bin/Anki ${PREFIX}/bin/anki
+	# fix a previous packaging issue where we created this as a file
+	(test -f ${PREFIX}/share/applications && rm ${PREFIX}/share/applications)||true
+	mkdir -p ${PREFIX}/share/pixmaps
+	mkdir -p ${PREFIX}/share/applications
+	mkdir -p ${PREFIX}/share/man/man1
+	cd ${PREFIX}/share/anki && (\
+	mv anki.xpm anki.png ${PREFIX}/share/pixmaps/;\
+	mv anki.desktop ${PREFIX}/share/applications/;\
+	mv anki.1 ${PREFIX}/share/man/man1/)
+	xdg-mime install anki.xml --novendor
+	xdg-mime default anki.desktop application/x-colpkg
+	xdg-mime default anki.desktop application/x-apkg
+	xdg-mime default anki.desktop application/x-ankiaddon
+	@echo
+	@echo "Install complete. Type 'anki' to run."
+
+uninstall:
+	-xdg-mime uninstall ${PREFIX}/share/anki/anki.xml
+	rm -rf ${PREFIX}/share/anki
+	rm -rf ${PREFIX}/bin/anki
+	rm -rf ${PREFIX}/share/pixmaps/anki.xpm
+	rm -rf ${PREFIX}/share/pixmaps/anki.png
+	rm -rf ${PREFIX}/share/applications/anki.desktop
+	rm -rf ${PREFIX}/share/man/man1/anki.1
+	@echo
+	@echo "Uninstall complete."
diff --git a/qt/linux/README.dist b/qt/linux/README.dist
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5ba3f62c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qt/linux/README.dist
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+To run, change to this folder in a terminal and run the following command:
+
+./bin/Anki
+
+- To install system wide, ensure you have make installed
+(eg in Ubuntu, run 'sudo apt install make' in a terminal)
+- Run 'sudo make install'
+- Start Anki with 'anki'
+- To remove in the future, run 'sudo make uninstall' from the same folder.
+
+To play and record audio, mpv and lame must be installed. If mpv is not
+installed or too old, Anki will try to fall back on using mplayer.
+
+If Anki fails to start, please run it from a terminal to see what errors it
+outputs, and then post on our support site.
diff --git a/qt/linux/README.md b/qt/linux/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bf6ff6ac2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qt/linux/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+These files are distributed with the packaged Linux version.