diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6893d75b9..c31afc5e2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ storage and must have network connectivity with the GitHub Enterprise appliance.
 ##### Backup host requirements
 
 Backup host software requirements are modest: Linux or other modern Unix
-operating system with bash and [rsync][4] v2.6.4 or newer.
+operating system with [bash][13], [git][14], and [rsync][4] v2.6.4 or newer.
 
 The backup host must be able to establish network connections outbound to the
 GitHub appliance over SSH. TCP port 122 is used to backup GitHub Enterprise 2.0
@@ -282,3 +282,5 @@ site setup or recovery, please contact our [Enterprise support team][7] instead.
 [10]: https://help.github.com/enterprise/2.0/admin-guide/migrating-to-a-different-platform-or-from-github-enterprise-11-10-34x/
 [11]: https://help.github.com/enterprise/2.0/admin-guide/
 [12]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_link
+[13]: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/
+[14]: https://git-scm.com/