diff --git a/docs/windows.md b/docs/windows.md
index 588fe269416..c5819395591 100644
--- a/docs/windows.md
+++ b/docs/windows.md
@@ -1,142 +1,147 @@
# Building on Windows
-
-## Install Git For Windows
-
-As Git is used by the Go language to download dependencies, you need
-to install Git, for example from http://git-scm.com/.
-
-You also must make sure that the directory that contains the Git For
-Windows binary is in the Path environment variable. Note that Git For
-Windows has a 'git' binary in a 'Git\bin' directory and another one in
-a 'Git\cmd' directory. You should only put the 'Git\cmd' directory in
-the Path environment variable.
+![](https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmccXW7JSZMVXidSc7tHsU6aktuaiV923q4yBGHUsdymYo/build.gif)
## Install Go
+`go-ipfs` is built on Golang and thus depends on it for all building methods.
+https://golang.org/doc/install
+The `GOPATH` environment variable must be set as well.
+https://golang.org/doc/code.html#GOPATH
-Please install the Go language as explained on
-https://golang.org/doc/install.
-
-To properly install Go, you will need to set some environment
-variables. We recommend you to set them globally using the Control
-Panel, as explained in the documentation above, so that these
-environment variables are automatically available in all the possible
-environments that you might want to use like Git Bash, Windows's cmd,
-Cygwin's terminal, Windows' PowerShell and so on.
-
-You must make sure that the GOROOT environment variable is set and
-that the %GOROOT%/bin directory is in the Path environment variable.
-
-The GOPATH environment variable should also be set to a directory that
-you have created, and the %GOPATH/bin directory should also be in the
-Path environment variable.
+## Choose the way you want to proceed
+`go-ipfs` utilizes `make` to automate builds and run tests, but can be built without it using only `git` and `go`.
+No matter which method you choose, if you encounter issues, please see the [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) section.
-## Download go-ipfs and fix Git authentication
+**Using `make`:**
+MSYS2 and Cygwin provide the Unix tools we need to build `go-ipfs`. You may use either, but if you don't already have one installed, we recommend MSYS2.
+[MSYS2→](#msys2)
+[Cygwin→](#cygwin)
-Use the following command to download go-ipfs source code:
+**Using build tools manually:**
+This section assumes you have a working version of `go` and `git` already setup. You may want to build this way if your environment restricts installing additional software, or if you're integrating IPFS into your own build system.
+[Minimal→](#minimal)
+## MSYS2
+1. Install msys2 (http://www.msys2.org)
+2. Run the following inside a normal `cmd` prompt (Not the MSYS2 prompt, we only need MSYS2's tools).
+An explanation of this block is below.
```
+SET PATH=%PATH%;\msys64\usr\bin
+pacman --noconfirm -S git make unzip
go get -u github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs
+cd %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs\go-ipfs
+make install
+%GOPATH%\bin\ipfs.exe version --all
```
-The above command uses Git to download go-ipfs from its GitHub
-repository. If you get authentication problems with Git, you might
-want to take a look at
-https://help.github.com/articles/caching-your-github-password-in-git/
-and use the suggested solution:
+If there were no errors, the final command should output version information similar to "`ipfs version 0.4.14-dev-XXXXXXX`" where "XXXXXXX" should match the current short-hash of the `go-ipfs` repo. You can retrieve said hash via this command: `git rev-parse --short HEAD`.
+If `ipfs.exe` executes and the version string matches, then building was successful.
+
+|Command|Explanation|
+| ---: | :--- |
+|`SET PATH=%PATH%;\msys64\usr\bin` |Add msys2's tools to our [`PATH`](https://ss64.com/nt/path.html); Defaults to: (\msys64\usr\bin)|
+|`pacman --noconfirm -S git make unzip` |Install `go-ipfs` build dependencies|
+|`go get -u github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs` |Fetch / Update `go-ipfs` source|
+|`cd %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs\go-ipfs` |Change to `go-ipfs` source directory|
+|`make install` |Build and install to `%GOPATH%\bin\ipfs.exe`|
+|`%GOPATH%\bin\ipfs.exe version --all` |Test the built binary|
+To build again after making changes to the source, run:
```
-git config --global credential.helper wincred
+SET PATH=%PATH%;\msys64\usr\bin
+cd %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs\go-ipfs
+make install
```
-## Choose the way you want to proceed
-
-Now there are two ways to download, install the dependencies and to
-build go-ipfs:
-
-1) There is the "Manual Way", where you don't need to install anymore
-software except the dependencies, but you have a number of commands to
-type.
-
-2) There is a way by installing 'make' through Cygwin and using it to
-do nearly everything. We call this way the "Cygwin Way". It may take
-much more time, because installing Cygwin can take a lot of time, but
-after that it might be easier as many procedures are just a 'make'
-command away.
-
-So use the next steps below that start with "Manual Way" if that's the
-way you want, otherwise scroll down a bit and use the "Cygwin Way"
-steps below.
-
-## Manual Way: download and install dependencies
-
-The following commands should download or update go-ipfs dependencies
-and then install them:
-
+**Tip:** To avoid setting `PATH` every time (`SET PATH=%PATH%;\msys64\usr\bin`), you can lock it in permanently using `setx` after it's been set once:
```
-go get -u github.com/whyrusleeping/gx
-go get -u github.com/whyrusleeping/gx-go
-cd %GOPATH%/src/github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs
-gx --verbose install --global
+SETX PATH %PATH%
```
-## Manual Way: build go-ipfs
-
-To actually build go-ipfs, first go to the cmd/ipfs directory:
-
+## Cygwin
+1. Install Cygwin (https://www.cygwin.com)
+2. During the install, select the following packages. (If you already have Cygwin installed, run the setup file again to install additional packages.) A fresh install should look something like [this reference image](https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmaYFSQa4iHDafcebiKjm1WwuKhosoXr45HPpfaeMbCRpb/cygwin%20-%20install.png).
+ - devel packages
+ - `git`
+ - `make`
+ - archive packages
+ - `unzip`
+ - net packages
+ - `curl`
+3. Run the following inside a normal `cmd` prompt (Not the Cygwin prompt, we only need Cygwin's tools)
+An explanation of this block is below.
```
-cd cmd\ipfs
+SET PATH=%PATH%;\cygwin64\bin
+mkdir %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs
+cd %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs
+git clone https://github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs.git
+cd %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs\go-ipfs
+make install
+%GOPATH%\bin\ipfs.exe version --all
```
-Then get the current Git commit:
+If there were no errors, the final command should output version information similar to "`ipfs version 0.4.14-dev-XXXXXXX`" where "XXXXXXX" should match the current short-hash of the `go-ipfs` repo. You can retrieve said hash via this command: `git rev-parse --short HEAD`.
+If `ipfs.exe` executes and the version string matches, then building was successful.
+
+|Command|Explanation|
+| ---: | :--- |
+|`SET PATH=%PATH%;\cygwin64\bin` |Add Cygwin's tools to our [`PATH`](https://ss64.com/nt/path.html); Defaults to: (\cygwin64\bin)|
+|`mkdir %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs`
`cd %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs`
`git clone https://github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs.git` |Fetch / Update `go-ipfs` source|
+|`cd %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs\go-ipfs` |Change to `go-ipfs` source directory|
+|`make install` |Build and install to `%GOPATH%\bin\ipfs.exe`|
+|`%GOPATH%\bin\ipfs.exe version --all` |Test the built binary|
+To build again after making changes to the source, run:
```
-git rev-parse --short HEAD
+SET PATH=%PATH%;\cygwin64\bin
+cd %GOPATH%\src\github.com\ipfs\go-ipfs
+make install
```
-It will output a small number of hex characters that you must pass to
-the actual build command (replace XXXXXXX with these characters):
-
+**Tip:** To avoid setting `PATH` every time (`SET PATH=%PATH%;\cygwin64\bin`), you can lock it in permanently using `setx` after it's been set once:
```
-go install -ldflags="-X "github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/repo/config".CurrentCommit=XXXXXXX"
+SETX PATH %PATH%
```
-After that ipfs should have been built and should be available in
-"%GOPATH%\bin".
+## Minimal
+While it's possible to build `go-ipfs` with `go` alone, we'll be using `git` and `gx` for practical source management.
+You can use whichever version of `git` you wish but we recommend the Windows builds at . `git` must be in your [`PATH`](https://ss64.com/nt/path.html) for `go get` to recognize and use it.
-You can check that the ipfs you built has the right version using:
+### `gx`
+You may install prebuilt binaries for [`gx`](https://dist.ipfs.io/#gx) & [`gx-go`](https://dist.ipfs.io/#gx-go) if they're available for your platform.
+Alternatively, you can build them from source and install them to `%GOPATH%\bin` by running the following:
```
-ipfs version --commit
+go get -u github.com/whyrusleeping/gx
+go get -u github.com/whyrusleeping/gx-go
```
-It should output something like "ipfs version 0.4.0-dev-XXXXXXX" where
-XXXXXXX is the current commit that you passed to the build command.
-
-## Cygwin way: install Cygwin
-
-Install Cygwin as explained in the Cygwin documentation:
+### `go-ipfs`
-http://cygwin.com/install.html
-
-By default Cygwin will not install 'make', so you should click on the
-"Devel" category during the Cygwin installation process and then check
-the 'make' package.
-
-## Cygwin way: build go-ipfs
-
-To build go-ipfs using Cygwin you just need to open a Cygwin Terminal
-and then type the following commands:
+```
+SET PATH=%PATH%;%GOPATH%\bin
+go get -u -d github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs
+cd %GOPATH%/src/github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs
+gx --verbose install --global
+cd cmd\ipfs
+```
+We need the `git` commit hash to be included in our build so that in the extremely rare event a bug is found, we have a reference point later for tracking it. We'll ask `git` for it and store it in a variable. The syntax for the next command is different depending on whether you're using the interactive command line or writing a batch file. Use the one that applies to you.
+- interactive: `FOR /F %V IN ('git rev-parse --short HEAD') do set SHA=%V`
+- interpreter: `FOR /F %%V IN ('git rev-parse --short HEAD') do set SHA=%%V`
+Finally, we'll build and test `ipfs` itself.
```
-cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs
-make install
+go install -ldflags="-X "github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/repo/config".CurrentCommit=%SHA%"
+%GOPATH%\bin\ipfs.exe version --all
```
+You can check that the ipfs output versions match with `go version` and `git rev-parse --short HEAD`.
+If `ipfs.exe` executes and everything matches, then building was successful.
-After that ipfs should have been built and should be available in
-"%GOPATH%\bin".
+## Troubleshooting
+- **Git auth**
+If you get authentication problems with Git, you might want to take a look at https://help.github.com/articles/caching-your-github-password-in-git/ and use the suggested solution:
+`git config --global credential.helper wincred`
-You can check that the ipfs you built has the right version using:
+- **Anything else**
+Please search [https://discuss.ipfs.io](https://discuss.ipfs.io/search?q=windows%20category%3A13) for any additional issues you may encounter. If you can't find any existing resolution, feel free to post a question asking for help.
-```
-ipfs version --commit
-```
+If you encounter a bug with `go-ipfs` itself (not related to building) please use the [issue tracker](https://github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/issues) to report it.