diff --git a/deployment.md b/deployment.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..be8e8f14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment.md
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+# Montage deployment instructions
+
+These are basic instructions to deploy montage on Toolforge.
+
+## 1. Set up the Toolforge project
+
+ - Visit [toolsadmin](https://toolsadmin.wikimedia.org/tools/)
+
+## 2. Set up the OAuth credentials.
+ 
+ - [Register your app](https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:OAuthConsumerRegistration/propose)
+ - Save your consumer token and secret token for later -- you will need these for the config (step 5).
+
+## 3. In the Toolforge project, clone the montage repo
+
+## 4. Create your database
+
+ - Open up MariaDB with `sql local` (or `mysql --defaults-file=~/replica.my.cnf`)
+ - Create a [Toolforge user database](https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Toolforge/Database#User_databases) (`create database <user>__<db name>;`), and remember the name for the config (step 5)
+
+## 5. Set up montage config
+ 
+ - Make a copy of `config.default.yaml` for your environment
+   * You may need to update `USER_ENV_MAP` in `montage/utils.py` if you need to detect a new environment
+ - Add the `oauth_consumer_token` and `oauth_secret_token` from step 2
+ - Add a `cookie_secret: <your secret>`
+ - Add the `db_url` with your user database name from step 4, and the password from `~/.replica.my.cnf`
+    * The format is: `mysql://<user>:<password>@tools.labsdb/<db name>?charset=utf8`
+ - Add `api_log_path: /data/project/<project>/logs/montage_api.log`
+ - Add `replay_log_path: /data/project/<project>/logs/montage_replay.log`
+ - Add `labs_db: True`
+ - Add `db_echo: False`
+ - Add `root_path: '/<project>/'`
+
+## 6. Setting up Toolforge:
+
+The project will look like this:
+
+```
+/data/projects/<project>/<montage repo, with app.py>
+/data/projects/<project>/www/python/uwsgi.ini
+/data/projects/<project>/www/python/src -> <montage repo, with app.py>
+/data/projects/<project>/www/python/venv
+```
+
+ - Create `~/logs`
+ - Create `~/www/python`
+ - Enter the kubernetes (k8s) python2 shell with `webservice --backend=kubernetes python2 shell`. While in the k8s shell:
+   * In `~/www/python`, create a virtualenv with `virtualenv venv`
+   * In the virtualenv, install the Python requirements with `pip install -r ~/montage/requirements.txt`
+   * Run `python montage/tools/create_schema.py` (you're done with the k8s shell for now)
+ - Link `~/www/python/src` to the montage repo
+   * Create `~/www/python/src/app.py`
+ - Create `~/www/python/uwsgi.ini`
+ - Add the venv to `.bash_profile` for ease of use -- `source ~/www/python/venv/bin/activate`
+
+## 7. Build the front end
+
+(it's probably easier to do this locally, and then move to labs)
+
+In `montage/client`...
+
+ - Install node dependencies with `npm install` 
+ - Set your environment with `export NODE_ENV=<local,dev,beta,etc>` -- if you're creating a new env, create `montage/client/src/index_<env>.ejs`
+ - Build the client with `npm run build`
+ - Copy `montage/montage/static/dist` and `montage/montage/static/index.html` to your Toolforge project
+
+## 8. Start the webservice 
+
+ - Run `webservice --backend=kubernetes python2 start`
+ - Investigate `~/uwsgi.log` for errors
+
+## Testing
+ 
+ - Visit /meta to see the API
+ - **Full test**
+   * Make sure your username is set as `superuser` in the remote version config
+   * Log into the remote version of montage, open your cookies, and copy the value from your `clastic_cookie`
+   * In the config for a local version of montage, add your `clastic_cookie` value to `dev_remote_cookie_value`
+   * Run `python run_server_test.py --remote --url <url>`
diff --git a/run_server_test.py b/run_server_test.py
index c01c4ce7..42b5445e 100644
--- a/run_server_test.py
+++ b/run_server_test.py
@@ -804,11 +804,20 @@ def main():
 
     prs = argparse.ArgumentParser('test the montage server endpoints')
     add_arg = prs.add_argument
-    add_arg('--remote', action="store_true", default=False)
+    add_arg('--remote', type=str,
+            help='run tests on a remote montage installation')
+    add_arg('--remote_prod', action='store_true',
+            help='run tests on https://tools.wmflabs.org/montage')
+    add_arg('--remote_dev', action='store_true',
+            help='run tests on https://tools.wmflabs.org/montage-dev')
 
     args = prs.parse_args()
 
     if args.remote:
+        base_url = args.remote
+    elif args.remote_prod:
+        base_url = 'https://tools.wmflabs.org/montage'
+    elif args.remote_dev:
         base_url = 'https://tools.wmflabs.org/montage-dev'
     else:
         base_url = 'http://localhost:5000'