diff --git a/docs/esp8266/tutorial/intro.rst b/docs/esp8266/tutorial/intro.rst
index 2db2ba5bd58d6211be777d38bb86670fda31a179..9b61737c529ea930d0e5b6f3e14872ac6411b8a1 100644
--- a/docs/esp8266/tutorial/intro.rst
+++ b/docs/esp8266/tutorial/intro.rst
@@ -51,7 +51,13 @@ For best results it is recommended to first erase the entire flash of your
 device before putting on new MicroPython firmware.
 
 Currently we only support esptool.py to copy across the firmware.  You can find
-this tool here: `<https://github.com/themadinventor/esptool/>`__ .  Any other
+this tool here: `<https://github.com/themadinventor/esptool/>`__, or install it
+using pip::
+
+    pip install esptool
+
+It requires Python 2.7, so you may need to use ``pip2`` instead of ``pip`` in
+the command above.  Any other
 flashing program should work, so feel free to try them out, or refer to the
 documentation for your board to see its recommendations.