diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index a60603c7d..7f51045aa 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -22,3 +22,6 @@ public/assets
 .env.production
 node_modules/
 neo4j/
+
+# Ignore Vagrant files
+.vagrant/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2d84062a7..59aa409d5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -117,6 +117,36 @@ Which will re-create the updated containers, leaving databases and data as is. D
 
 Docker is great for quickly trying out software, but it has its drawbacks too. If you prefer to run Mastodon without using Docker, refer to the [production guide](https://github.com/Gargron/mastodon/wiki/Production-guide) for examples, configuration and instructions.
 
+## Development with Vagrant
+
+A quick way to get a development environment up and running is with Vagrant. You will need recent versions of [Vagrant](https://www.vagrantup.com/) and [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/) installed.
+
+Install the latest version for your operating systems, and then run:
+
+    vagrant plugin install vagrant-hostsupdater
+
+This is optional, but will update your 'hosts' file when you start the virtual machine, allowing you to access the site at http://mastodon.dev (instead of http://localhost:3000).
+
+To create and provision a new virtual machine for Mastodon development:
+
+    git clone git@github.com:Gargron/mastodon.git
+    cd mastodon
+    vagrant up
+
+Running `vagrant up` for the first time will run provisioning, which will:
+
+- Download the Ubuntu 14.04 base image, if there isn't already a copy on your machine
+- Create a new VirtualBox virtual machine from that image
+- Run the provisioning script (located inside the Vagrantfile), which installs the system packages, Ruby gems, and JS modules required for Mastodon
+
+Once this has completed, the virtual machine will start a rails process. You can then access your development site at http://mastodon.dev (or at http://localhost:3000 if you haven't installed vagrants-hostupdater). Any changes you make should be reflected on the server instantly.
+
+When you are finished with your session, run `vagrant halt` to stop the VM. Next time, running `vagrant up` should boot the VM, and skip provsioning.
+
+If you no longer need your environment, or if things have gone terribly wrong, running `vagrant destroy` will delete the virtual machine (after which, running `vagrant up` will create a new one, and run provisioning).
+
+
+
 ## Contributing
 
 You can open issues for bugs you've found or features you think are missing. You can also submit pull requests to this repository. This section may be updated with more details in the future.
diff --git a/Vagrantfile b/Vagrantfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dabfd70c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Vagrantfile
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+# -*- mode: ruby -*-
+# vi: set ft=ruby :
+
+$script = <<SCRIPT
+cd /vagrant # This is where the host folder/repo is mounted
+
+# Add repo for Ruby 2.3 binaries
+sudo apt-add-repository ppa:brightbox/ruby-ng
+
+# Add repo for NodeJS
+curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_4.x | sudo bash -
+
+# Add firewall rule to redirect 80 to 3000 and save
+sudo iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 80 -j REDIRECT --to-port 3000
+echo iptables-persistent iptables-persistent/autosave_v4 boolean true | sudo debconf-set-selections
+echo iptables-persistent iptables-persistent/autosave_v6 boolean true | sudo debconf-set-selections
+sudo apt-get install iptables-persistent -y
+
+# Add packages to build and run Mastodon
+sudo apt-get install \
+  git-core \
+  ruby-build \
+  libpq-dev \
+  libxml2-dev \
+  libxslt1-dev \
+  imagemagick \
+  nodejs \
+  ruby2.3 \
+  ruby2.3-dev \
+  ruby-switch \
+  redis-server \
+  redis-tools \
+  postgresql \
+  postgresql-contrib \
+  -y
+
+# Set Ruby 2.3 as 'ruby'
+sudo ruby-switch --set ruby2.3
+
+# Configure database
+sudo -u postgres createuser -U postgres vagrant -s
+sudo -u postgres createdb -U postgres mastodon_development
+
+# Install gems and node modules
+sudo gem install bundler
+bundle install
+yarn install
+
+# Build Mastodon
+bundle exec rails db:setup
+bundle exec rails assets:precompile
+
+SCRIPT
+
+VAGRANTFILE_API_VERSION = "2"
+
+Vagrant.configure(VAGRANTFILE_API_VERSION) do |config|
+
+  config.vm.box = "ubuntu/trusty64"
+
+  config.vm.provider :virtualbox do |vb|
+    vb.name = "mastodon"
+    vb.customize ["modifyvm", :id, "--memory", "1024"]
+  end
+
+  config.vm.hostname = "mastodon.dev"
+
+  # This uses the vagrant-hostsupdater plugin, and lets you
+  # access the development site at http://mastodon.dev.
+  # To install:
+  #   $ vagrant plugin install hostsupdater
+  if defined?(VagrantPlugins::HostsUpdater)
+    config.vm.network :private_network, ip: "192.168.42.42"
+    config.hostsupdater.remove_on_suspend = false
+  else
+    # Otherwise, you can access the site at http://localhost:3000
+    config.vm.network :forwarded_port, guest: 80, host: 3000
+  end
+
+  # Full provisioning script, only runs on first 'vagrant up' or with 'vagrant provision'
+  config.vm.provision :shell, inline: $script, privileged: false
+
+  # Start up script, runs on every 'vagrant up'
+  config.vm.provision :shell, inline: "cd /vagrant && rails s -d -b 0.0.0.0", run: 'always', privileged: false
+
+end