diff --git a/docs/Performance.md b/docs/Performance.md
index ee2cafc93..2aeb5ba15 100644
--- a/docs/Performance.md
+++ b/docs/Performance.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ title: Performance
 layout: docs
 category: Guides
 permalink: docs/performance.html
-next: upgrading
+next: understanding-cli
 previous: navigation
 ---
 
diff --git a/docs/UnderstandingCLI.md b/docs/UnderstandingCLI.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c179387cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/UnderstandingCLI.md
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+id: understanding-cli
+title: Understanding the CLI
+layout: docs
+category: Guides
+permalink: docs/understanding-cli.html
+next: upgrading
+previous: performance
+---
+
+Though you may have installed the `react-native-cli` via npm as a separate module, it is a shell for accessing the CLI embedded
+in the React Native of each project. Your commands and their effects are dependent on the version of the module of `react-native`
+in context of the project. This guide will give a brief overview of the CLI in the module.
+
+# The local CLI
+
+React Native has a [`local-cli`](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/tree/master/local-cli) folder with a file named
+[`cliEntry.js`](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/blob/master/local-cli/cliEntry.js).  Here, the commands are read
+from `commands.js` and added as possible CLI commands.  _E.G._ the `react-native link` command, exists in the
+[`react-native/local-cli/link`](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/blob/master/local-cli/link/) folder, and is
+required in `commands.js`, which will register it as a documented command to be exposed to the CLI.
+
+# Command definitions
+
+At the end of each command entry is an export.  The export is an object with a function to perform, description of the command, and the command name.  The object structure for the `unlink` command looks like so:
+
+```js
+module.exports = {
+  func: link,
+  description: 'links all native dependencies',
+  name: 'link [packageName]',
+};
+```
+
+### Parameters
+
+The command name identifies the parameters that a command would expect.  When the command parameter is surrounded by greater-than, less-than symbols `< >`, this indicates that the parameter is expected.  When a parameter is surrounded by brackets `[ ]`, this indicates that the parameter is optional.
+
diff --git a/docs/Upgrading.md b/docs/Upgrading.md
index a4db93a6f..ba51c2e74 100644
--- a/docs/Upgrading.md
+++ b/docs/Upgrading.md
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ layout: docs
 category: Guides
 permalink: docs/upgrading.html
 next: platform-specific-code
-previous: performance
+previous: understanding-cli
 ---
 
 Upgrading to new versions of React Native will give you access to more APIs, views, developer tools