diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index f74c9b3ab..e6ee13d47 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -197,6 +197,19 @@ Both issue lists are sorted by total number of comments. While not perfect, numb
 
 If you want to read about using Atom or developing packages in Atom, the [Atom Flight Manual](http://flight-manual.atom.io) is free and available online. You can find the source to the manual in [atom/flight-manual.atom.io](https://github.com/atom/flight-manual.atom.io).
 
+#### Local development
+
+All packages can be developed locally, by checking out the corresponding repository and registering the package to Atom with `apm`:
+
+```
+$ git clone url-to-git-repository
+$ cd path-to-package/
+$ apm link -d
+$ atom -d .
+```
+
+By running Atom with the `-d` flag, you signal it to run with development packages installed. `apm link` makes sure that your local repository is loaded by Atom.
+
 ### Pull Requests
 
 * Fill in [the required template](PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md)