diff --git a/go/cli/mcap/README.md b/go/cli/mcap/README.md
index 0c89ef8b47..91dd288280 100644
--- a/go/cli/mcap/README.md
+++ b/go/cli/mcap/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
 ## MCAP CLI
 
 A command line tool to work with MCAP files. See https://mcap.dev/guides/cli for documentation.
+
+## Build from source
+
+You can build the CLI tool from source by running `make build` in the same directory as this README.
+
+```
+$ make build
+```
+
+The binary will be built to a `bin` folder in the same directory.
diff --git a/website/docs/guides/cli.md b/website/docs/guides/cli.md
index 5b1637bff5..4d60195775 100644
--- a/website/docs/guides/cli.md
+++ b/website/docs/guides/cli.md
@@ -26,17 +26,16 @@ To install using [Homebrew](https://brew.sh) on macOS or Linux, run:
 
     $ brew install mcap
 
-### Using Go
+### From Source
 
 :::caution
-Installing via 'go install' is not recommended, and is not guaranteed to work.
+Installing via `go install` is not supported. To build from source you must clone the repository.
 :::
 
-To install from the latest commit, use
-
-    $ go install github.com/foxglove/mcap/go/cli/mcap@latest
-
-Ensure that the go installation directory is in your path (e.g. `$HOME/go/bin` by default on Ubuntu).
+1. Clone the [mcap repository](https://github.com/foxglove/mcap).
+2. `$ cd go/cli/mcap`
+3. `$ make build`
+4. The binary will be built into the a newly created `bin` folder.
 
 ## Usage