diff --git a/femto.txt b/femto.txt
index 53f08d5..b11f070 100644
--- a/femto.txt
+++ b/femto.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,17 @@ turned off. the `femto` wrapper script achieves this
 using `sttry raw -echo` (it also restores the previous
 terminal settings on exit).
 
+---- WARNING ----
+
+this is alpha quality software, still under active
+development. although it seems to work fairly reliably
+it has bugs!
+
+please consider making backups (or using version control)
+before femto this to modify important files.
+
+---- getting started ----
+
 you must provide a path to a file when starting femto:
 
     ./femto femto.tal
@@ -23,7 +34,7 @@ the femto launcher script makes many assumptions:
 once femto is not in active development a more robust
 packaging process can be explored.
 
------ current status -----
+---- current status ----
 
  - can't create new directories while saving
  - doesn't support horizontal scrolling for long lines
@@ -31,7 +42,7 @@ packaging process can be explored.
  - few help messages
  - doesn't support function keys, mouse, etc.
 
------ status line -----
+---- status line ----
 
 the femto status line contains a lot of information:
 
@@ -40,7 +51,7 @@ the femto status line contains a lot of information:
  3. the number of bytes/lines (e.g. "[49 bytes, 8 lines]"
  4. the x/y cursor position (e.g. "(1,8)" for col 1, row 8)
 
------ special key bindings -----
+---- special key bindings ----
 
  C-g   cancel
  C-o   save