diff --git a/cmd/skaffold/app/cmd/init.go b/cmd/skaffold/app/cmd/init.go
index 3da720cac30..5a1f734483a 100644
--- a/cmd/skaffold/app/cmd/init.go
+++ b/cmd/skaffold/app/cmd/init.go
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ func NewCmdInit() *cobra.Command {
 			{Value: &enableJibGradleInit, Name: "XXenableJibGradleInit", DefValue: false, Usage: "", Hidden: true, IsEnum: true},
 			{Value: &enableBuildpacksInit, Name: "XXenableBuildpacksInit", DefValue: false, Usage: "", Hidden: true, IsEnum: true},
 			{Value: &buildpacksBuilder, Name: "XXdefaultBuildpacksBuilder", DefValue: "gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1", Usage: "", Hidden: true},
-			{Value: &enableManifestGeneration, Name: "XXenableManifestGeneration", DefValue: false, Usage: "", Hidden: true, IsEnum: true},
+			{Value: &enableManifestGeneration, Name: "generate-manifests", DefValue: false, Usage: "Allows skaffold to try and generate basic kubernetes resources to get your project started", IsEnum: true},
 		}).
 		NoArgs(doInit)
 }
diff --git a/docs/content/en/docs/references/cli/_index.md b/docs/content/en/docs/references/cli/_index.md
index 1e7183abb3a..45559f72fbf 100644
--- a/docs/content/en/docs/references/cli/_index.md
+++ b/docs/content/en/docs/references/cli/_index.md
@@ -714,6 +714,7 @@ Options:
       --default-kustomization='': Default Kustomization overlay path (others will be added as profiles)
   -f, --filename='skaffold.yaml': Path or URL to the Skaffold config file
       --force=false: Force the generation of the Skaffold config
+      --generate-manifests=false: Allows skaffold to try and generate basic kubernetes resources to get your project started
   -k, --kubernetes-manifest=[]: A path or a glob pattern to kubernetes manifests (can be non-existent) to be added to the kubectl deployer (overrides detection of kubernetes manifests). Repeat the flag for multiple entries. E.g.: skaffold init -k pod.yaml -k k8s/*.yml
       --skip-build=false: Skip generating build artifacts in Skaffold config
 
@@ -732,6 +733,7 @@ Env vars:
 * `SKAFFOLD_DEFAULT_KUSTOMIZATION` (same as `--default-kustomization`)
 * `SKAFFOLD_FILENAME` (same as `--filename`)
 * `SKAFFOLD_FORCE` (same as `--force`)
+* `SKAFFOLD_GENERATE_MANIFESTS` (same as `--generate-manifests`)
 * `SKAFFOLD_KUBERNETES_MANIFEST` (same as `--kubernetes-manifest`)
 * `SKAFFOLD_SKIP_BUILD` (same as `--skip-build`)
 
diff --git a/integration/init_test.go b/integration/init_test.go
index ec3c3d653bb..dbded151caa 100644
--- a/integration/init_test.go
+++ b/integration/init_test.go
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ func TestInitManifestGeneration(t *testing.T) {
 		{
 			name:                  "hello",
 			dir:                   "testdata/init/hello",
-			args:                  []string{"--XXenableManifestGeneration"},
+			args:                  []string{"--generate-manifests"},
 			expectedManifestPaths: []string{"deployment.yaml"},
 		},
 		// TODO(nkubala): add this back when the --force flag is fixed
diff --git a/pkg/skaffold/initializer/build/util.go b/pkg/skaffold/initializer/build/util.go
index 63f26a90823..c63d83e61ba 100644
--- a/pkg/skaffold/initializer/build/util.go
+++ b/pkg/skaffold/initializer/build/util.go
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package build
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
-	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 
 	"github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/pkg/skaffold/build/tag"
@@ -77,7 +75,6 @@ func Artifacts(artifactInfos []ArtifactInfo) []*latest.Artifact {
 			workspace = filepath.Dir(info.Builder.Path())
 		}
 		if workspace != "." {
-			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "using non standard workspace: %s\n", workspace)
 			artifact.Workspace = workspace
 		}
 
diff --git a/pkg/skaffold/initializer/prompt/prompt.go b/pkg/skaffold/initializer/prompt/prompt.go
index cd515df8d0c..d949cd7eaa9 100644
--- a/pkg/skaffold/initializer/prompt/prompt.go
+++ b/pkg/skaffold/initializer/prompt/prompt.go
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ func portForwardResource(out io.Writer, imageName string) (int, error) {
 		Prompt: &survey.Input{Message: fmt.Sprintf("Select port to forward for %s (leave blank for none): ", imageName)},
 		Validate: func(val interface{}) error {
 			str := val.(string)
-			if _, err := strconv.Atoi(str); err != nil {
+			if _, err := strconv.Atoi(str); err != nil && str != "" {
 				return errors.New("response must be a number, or empty")
 			}
 			return nil