diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index aff9a396..3b242998 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -29,13 +29,25 @@ pip install spotipy --upgrade
 ## Quick Start
 
 A full set of examples can be found in the [online documentation](http://spotipy.readthedocs.org/) and in the [Spotipy examples directory](https://github.com/plamere/spotipy/tree/master/examples).
+These examples will only run with the **user authentication** option. Most Spotipy functions require user authentication to 
+function as expected.
 
 To get started, install spotipy and create an app on https://developers.spotify.com/.
-Add your new ID and SECRET to your environment:
+* After you have created your application, you will need to add a redirect URI in your application settings. You can use http://localhost
+* From your app settings, retreive the URI you created, Client ID and Client secret
+* You will need to add these secrets to your `.zshrc` or `.bash_profile` depending on what environment your terminal shell is in
 
-### Without user authentication
+```
+# spotipy credentials
+export SPOTIPY_CLIENT_ID='YOUR_CLIENT_ID'
+export SPOTIPY_CLIENT_SECRET='YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET'
+export SPOTIPY_REDIRECT_URI='http://localhost' # or whatever you chose to use here
+```
 
-```python
+### Without user authentication (this will not work with many of Python files in the example directory)
+
+```
+python
 import spotipy
 from spotipy.oauth2 import SpotifyClientCredentials
 
@@ -47,11 +59,12 @@ for idx, track in enumerate(results['tracks']['items']):
     print(idx, track['name'])
 ```
 
-### With user authentication
+### With user authentication (preferred method)
 
 A redirect URI must be added to your application at [My Dashboard](https://developer.spotify.com/dashboard/applications) to access user authenticated features.
 
-```python
+```
+python
 import spotipy
 from spotipy.oauth2 import SpotifyOAuth
 
@@ -66,6 +79,15 @@ for idx, item in enumerate(results['items']):
     print(idx, track['artists'][0]['name'], " – ", track['name'])
 ```
 
+* To test that you have completed the setup successfully, run [my_top_artists.py](https://github.com/spotipy-dev/spotipy/blob/master/examples/my_top_artists.py)
+* When you run the script (`python3 my_top_artists.py`) you may see the following prompt
+```
+Using `localhost` as redirect URI without a port. Specify a port (e.g. `localhost:8080`) to allow automatic retrieval of authentication code instead of having to copy and paste the URL your browser is redirected to.
+Enter the URL you were redirected to:
+```
+* A webpage should open on your device. Copy and paste the URL for that webpage and enter it in the prompt
+* After entering the URL, the script should return your top artists if everything has been setup correctly
+
 ## Reporting Issues
 
 For common questions please check our [FAQ](FAQ.md).