From 5eb40500a1008bb2f88cb433f5d4c761fde65d61 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: fullsend-code
 <278716306+fullsend-ai-coder[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:23:43 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] docs(#3343): add prerequisites section to README

Add a Prerequisites section before the Building heading that
lists the required toolchain for building and developing ec-cli:
Go 1.25.8+, Make, Podman/Docker, and Node.js 18+. Includes
minimum versions derived from go.mod and package.json, and a
cross-reference to the Podman troubleshooting section for
Fedora/RHEL users.

Closes #3343
---
 README.md | 16 ++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 79746c43c..aed338095 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -11,6 +11,22 @@ such as:
 Consult the [documentation][docs] for available sub-commands, descriptions and
 examples of use.
 
+## Prerequisites
+
+The following tools are required to build and work with `ec`:
+
+- **[Go](https://go.dev/dl/)** 1.25.8 or later — the project's minimum
+  version is defined in [`go.mod`](go.mod)
+- **[Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/)** — used by all build,
+  test, and lint targets
+- **[Podman](https://podman.io/)** or **[Docker](https://www.docker.com/)**
+  — required for running acceptance tests (Testcontainers). On
+  Fedora/RHEL, ensure Podman runs as a **user service** rather than a
+  system service (see [Troubleshooting](#21-variety-of-issues---podman-running-as-a-system-service)
+  below)
+- **[Node.js](https://nodejs.org/)** 18 or later — required for
+  `tekton-lint`, which is run as part of `make lint`
+
 ## Building
 
 Run `make build` from the root directory and use the `dist/ec` executable, or