diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 52dde98ed43b..cc811fcc5a61 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -290,6 +290,11 @@ tmp-php.ini
 /junit.out.xml
 /.ccache/
 
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Intellij IDEA configuration directory
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+/.idea
+
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Special cases to invert previous ignore patterns
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c5376f67725c..eb2a49f738ab 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -42,28 +42,49 @@ a default build, you will additionally need libxml2 and libsqlite3.
 
 On Ubuntu, you can install these using:
 
-    sudo apt install -y pkg-config build-essential autoconf bison re2c \
-                        libxml2-dev libsqlite3-dev
+```shell
+sudo apt install -y pkg-config build-essential autoconf bison re2c libxml2-dev libsqlite3-dev
+```
+
+On MacOS, you can install these using:
+
+```shell
+brew install autoconf bison re2c iconv libxml2 sqlite
+```
 
 On Fedora, you can install these using:
 
-    sudo dnf install re2c bison autoconf make libtool ccache libxml2-devel sqlite-devel
+```shell
+sudo dnf install re2c bison autoconf make libtool ccache libxml2-devel sqlite-devel
+```
 
 Generate configure:
 
-    ./buildconf
+```shell
+./buildconf
+```
 
 Configure your build. `--enable-debug` is recommended for development, see
 `./configure --help` for a full list of options.
 
-    # For development
-    ./configure --enable-debug
-    # For production
-    ./configure
+```shell
+# For development
+./configure --enable-debug
+# For production
+./configure
+```
+
+Build PHP. To speed up the build, specify the maximum number of jobs using `-j` argument:
 
-Build PHP. To speed up the build, specify the maximum number of jobs using `-j`:
+On Windows:
+```shell
+make -j4
+```
 
-    make -j4
+On Unix system:
+```shell
+make -j$(nproc)
+```
 
 The number of jobs should usually match the number of available cores, which
 can be determined using `nproc`.
@@ -76,11 +97,19 @@ successful compilation of the sources to run this test suite.
 It is possible to run tests using multiple cores by setting `-jN` in
 `TEST_PHP_ARGS`:
 
-    make TEST_PHP_ARGS=-j4 test
+```shell
+make TEST_PHP_ARGS=-j4 test
+```
 
 Shall run `make test` with a maximum of 4 concurrent jobs: Generally the maximum
 number of jobs should not exceed the number of cores available.
 
+Use `TESTS` variable to tests only specific directories:
+
+```shell
+make TESTS=tests/lang/ test
+```
+
 The [qa.php.net](https://qa.php.net) site provides more detailed info about
 testing and quality assurance.
 
@@ -88,9 +117,11 @@ testing and quality assurance.
 
 After a successful build (and test), PHP may be installed with:
 
-    make install
+```shell
+make install
+```
 
-Depending on your permissions and prefix, `make install` may need super user
+Depending on your permissions and prefix, `make install` may need superuser
 permissions.
 
 ## PHP extensions