diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index aa2f58bb8..c50e76e00 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -34,23 +34,91 @@ Markdown-formatted text, and understand it well. As a side benefit, Markdown con
 are also highly token-efficient.
 
 ## Prerequisites
+
 MarkItDown requires Python 3.10 or higher. It is recommended to use a virtual environment to avoid dependency conflicts.
 
-With the standard Python installation, you can create and activate a virtual environment using the following commands:
+### Virtual environment creation
+
+With the standard Python installation, you can create a virtual environment using the following commands:
 
 ```bash
 python -m venv .venv
-source .venv/bin/activate
 ```
 
 If using `uv`, you can create a virtual environment with:
 
 ```bash
 uv venv --python=3.12 .venv
-source .venv/bin/activate
 # NOTE: Be sure to use 'uv pip install' rather than just 'pip install' to install packages in this virtual environment
 ```
 
+### Virtual environment activation
+
+You can activate the virtual environment with a platform-specific command[^venv]:
+
+[^venv]: https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html#how-venvs-work
+
+<details open>
+
+<summary>bash/zsh</summary>
+
+```bash
+source .venv/bin/activate
+```
+
+</details>
+
+<details>
+
+<summary>fish</summary>
+
+```fish
+.venv/bin/activate.fish
+```
+
+</details>
+
+<details>
+
+<summary>csh/tcsh</summary>
+
+```csh/tcsh
+.venv/bin/activate.csh
+```
+
+</details>
+
+<details open>
+
+<summary>pwsh</summary>
+
+```powershell
+.venv/bin/Activate.ps1
+```
+
+</details>
+
+<details>
+
+<summary>cmd.exe</summary>
+
+```cmd
+.venv\Scripts\activate.bat
+```
+
+</details>
+
+<details open>
+
+<summary>Windows PowerShell</summary>
+
+```powershell
+Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope Process
+.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
+```
+
+</details>
+
 If you are using Anaconda, you can create a virtual environment with:
 
 ```bash