diff --git a/DEVELOP.md b/DEVELOP.md
index a4b163a2..b875be0f 100644
--- a/DEVELOP.md
+++ b/DEVELOP.md
@@ -2,7 +2,15 @@
 
 This is a monorepo managed with pnpm workspaces.
 
+## Package setup
+
+Some packages (e.g. `morecantile`, `geozarr`) reference files from git submodules.
+Initialize them before building.
+
 ```bash
+# Initialize git submodules (required for the build)
+git submodule update --init --recursive
+
 # Install dependencies
 pnpm install
 
@@ -11,7 +19,11 @@ pnpm build
 
 # Watch mode for development
 pnpm build:watch
+```
+
+## Package Testing
 
+```bash
 # Run tests in all packages
 pnpm test
 
diff --git a/examples/cog-basic/README.md b/examples/cog-basic/README.md
index b761e357..8d3b8534 100644
--- a/examples/cog-basic/README.md
+++ b/examples/cog-basic/README.md
@@ -19,20 +19,13 @@ The example displays 10m resolution RGB imagery of New Zealand from LINZ (Land I
 
 ## Setup
 
-1. Install dependencies from the repository root:
-   ```bash
-   pnpm install
-   ```
+1. Follow instructions for package setup in [DEVELOP.md](../../DEVELOP.md#package-setup).
 
-2. Build the packages:
-   ```bash
-   pnpm build
-   ```
+2. Run the development server:
 
-3. Run the development server:
    ```bash
    cd examples/cog-basic
    pnpm dev
    ```
 
-4. Open your browser to http://localhost:3000
+3. Open your browser to http://localhost:3000