diff --git a/internal/cmd/commands/dev/dev.go b/internal/cmd/commands/dev/dev.go
index c0ed687ace..a0fd045c28 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/commands/dev/dev.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/commands/dev/dev.go
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ func (c *Command) Flags() *base.FlagSets {
 		Target:  &c.flagPassword,
 		Default: "password",
 		EnvVar:  "BOUNDARY_DEV_PASSWORD",
-		Usage:   "Initial login password.",
+		Usage:   "Initial login password. If set to the empty string, one will be autogenerated.",
 	})
 
 	f.StringVar(&base.StringVar{
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ func (c *Command) Flags() *base.FlagSets {
 		Target:  &c.flagLoginName,
 		Default: "admin",
 		EnvVar:  "BOUNDARY_DEV_LOGIN_NAME",
-		Usage:   "Initial admin login name.",
+		Usage:   "Initial admin login name. If set to the empty string, one will be autogenerated.",
 	})
 
 	f.StringVar(&base.StringVar{