diff --git a/briar-headless/README.md b/briar-headless/README.md
index 7c7301fb6..29aa1cec5 100644
--- a/briar-headless/README.md
+++ b/briar-headless/README.md
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ The REST API peer comes as a `jar` file
 and needs a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) that supports at least Java 8.
 It currently works only on GNU/Linux operating systems.
 
+To build the `jar` file, you can do this:
+
+    $ ./gradlew --configure-on-demand briar-headless:jar
+
 You can start the peer (and its API server) like this:
 
     $ java -jar briar-headless/build/libs/briar-headless.jar