diff --git a/docs/contributing.rst b/docs/contributing.rst
index be34bf98c..548d3d18d 100644
--- a/docs/contributing.rst
+++ b/docs/contributing.rst
@@ -146,6 +146,14 @@ tests requires `tox`_.
 Running tests
 -------------
 
+Make sure you have a recent enough `tox`_ installation:
+
+    ``tox --version``
+
+If your version is older than 1.7.0, please update it first:
+
+    ``pip install -U tox``
+
 To run all tests go to the root directory of Scrapy source code and run:
 
     ``tox``
diff --git a/docs/intro/install.rst b/docs/intro/install.rst
index 67507016d..3adb4e6b0 100644
--- a/docs/intro/install.rst
+++ b/docs/intro/install.rst
@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@ The installation steps assume that you have the following things installed:
 * `Python`_ 2.7
 
 * `pip`_ and `setuptools`_ Python packages. Nowadays `pip`_ requires and
-  installs `setuptools`_ if not installed.
+  installs `setuptools`_ if not installed. Python 2.7.9 and later include
+  `pip`_ by default, so you may have it already.
 
 * `lxml`_. Most Linux distributions ships prepackaged versions of lxml.
   Otherwise refer to http://lxml.de/installation.html
@@ -58,7 +59,8 @@ Windows
 
   Be sure you download the architecture (win32 or amd64) that matches your system
 
-* Install `pip`_ from https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/installing.html
+* *(Only required for Python<2.7.9)* Install `pip`_ from
+  https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/installing.html
 
   Now open a Command prompt to check ``pip`` is installed correctly:: 
 
@@ -79,6 +81,21 @@ Instead, use the official :ref:`Ubuntu Packages <topics-ubuntu>`, which already
 solve all dependencies for you and are continuously updated with the latest bug
 fixes.
 
+If you prefer to build the python dependencies locally instead of relying on
+system packages you'll need to install their required non-python dependencies
+first::
+
+    sudo apt-get install python-dev python-pip libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev zlib1g-dev libffi-dev libssl-dev
+
+You can install Scrapy with ``pip`` after that::
+
+    pip install Scrapy
+
+.. note::
+
+    The same non-python dependencies can be used to install Scrapy in Debian
+    Wheezy (7.0) and above.
+
 Archlinux
 ---------
 
@@ -86,6 +103,58 @@ You can follow the generic instructions or install Scrapy from `AUR Scrapy packa
 
     yaourt -S scrapy
 
+Mac OS X
+--------
+
+Building Scrapy's dependencies requires the presence of a C compiler and
+development headers. On OS X this is typically provided by Apple’s Xcode
+development tools. To install the Xcode command line tools open a terminal
+window and run::
+
+    xcode-select --install
+
+There's a `known issue <https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/2468>`_ that
+prevents ``pip`` from updating system packages. This has to be addressed to
+successfully install Scrapy and its dependencies. Here are some proposed
+solutions:
+
+* *(Recommended)* **Don't** use system python, install a new, updated version
+  that doesn't conflict with the rest of your system. Here's how to do it using
+  the `homebrew`_ package manager:
+
+  * Install `homebrew`_ following the instructions in http://brew.sh/
+
+  * Update your ``PATH`` variable to state that homebrew packages should be
+    used before system packages (Change ``.bashrc`` to ``.zshrc`` accordantly
+    if you're using `zsh`_ as default shell)::
+
+      echo "export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:$PATH" >> ~/.bashrc
+
+  * Reload ``.bashrc`` to ensure the changes have taken place::
+
+      source ~/.bashrc
+
+  * Install python::
+
+      brew install python
+
+  * Latest versions of python have ``pip`` bundled with them so you won't need
+    to install it separately. If this is not the case, upgrade python::
+
+      brew update; brew upgrade python
+
+* *(Optional)* Install Scrapy inside an isolated python environment.
+
+  This method is a workaround for the above OS X issue, but it's an overall
+  good practice for managing dependencies and can complement the first method.
+
+  `virtualenv`_ is a tool you can use to create virtual environments in python.
+  We recommended reading a tutorial like
+  http://docs.python-guide.org/en/latest/dev/virtualenvs/ to get started.
+
+After any of these workarounds you should be able to install Scrapy::
+
+  pip install Scrapy
 
 .. _Python: https://www.python.org/
 .. _pip: https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/installing.html
@@ -95,3 +164,6 @@ You can follow the generic instructions or install Scrapy from `AUR Scrapy packa
 .. _OpenSSL: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pyOpenSSL
 .. _setuptools: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/setuptools
 .. _AUR Scrapy package: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/scrapy/
+.. _homebrew: http://brew.sh/
+.. _zsh: http://www.zsh.org/
+.. _virtualenv: https://virtualenv.pypa.io/en/latest/