diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -105,6 +105,10 @@
 arc install-certificate
 ```
 
+Note: Arcanist tooling will tend to fail if your remote origin is set to something other
+than the above.  A common mistake is to clone from Github and then forget to update
+your remotes.
+
 Follow instructions provided by `arc install-certificate` to provide your API token.
 
 6. Code formatting tools
diff --git a/doc/developer-notes.md b/doc/developer-notes.md
--- a/doc/developer-notes.md
+++ b/doc/developer-notes.md
@@ -451,6 +451,12 @@
 Git and GitHub tips
 ---------------------
 
+- Github is not typically the source of truth for pull requests.  See CONTRIBUTING.md for instructions
+  on setting up your repo correctly.
+
+- Similarly, your git remote origin should be set to: `ssh://vcs@reviews.bitcoinabc.org:2221/source/bitcoin-abc.git`
+  instead of github.com.  See CONTRIBUTING.md for details.
+
 - For resolving merge/rebase conflicts, it can be useful to enable diff3 style using
   `git config merge.conflictstyle diff3`. Instead of