diff --git a/man/ostree.xml b/man/ostree.xml
index 8a79cd04..f8d3e2fc 100644
--- a/man/ostree.xml
+++ b/man/ostree.xml
@@ -111,14 +111,14 @@ Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
                 <term><option>--repo</option></term>
 
                 <listitem><para>
-                    For most commands,
-                    when run as non-root, repository is
-                    required.  If
-                    <command>ostree</command> is run as
-                    root, it is assumed operations will be
-                    performed on the
-                    <filename>/sysroot/ostree/repo</filename>
-                    repository.
+                    For most commands, a repository is
+                    required.  If unspecified, the current
+                    directory is used if it appears to be an
+                    OSTree repository. If it isn't, either
+                    the <envar>OSTREE_REPO</envar>
+                    environment variable is used, or the
+                    system repository located at
+                    <filename>/sysroot/ostree/repo</filename>.
                 </para></listitem>
             </varlistentry>
 
diff --git a/src/ostree/ot-main.c b/src/ostree/ot-main.c
index 237427a2..148c8371 100644
--- a/src/ostree/ot-main.c
+++ b/src/ostree/ot-main.c
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ static GOptionEntry global_entries[] = {
 };
 
 static GOptionEntry repo_entry[] = {
-  { "repo", 0, 0, G_OPTION_ARG_FILENAME, &opt_repo, "Path to OSTree repository (defaults to /sysroot/ostree/repo)", "PATH" },
+  { "repo", 0, 0, G_OPTION_ARG_FILENAME, &opt_repo, "Path to OSTree repository (defaults to current directory or /sysroot/ostree/repo)", "PATH" },
   { NULL }
 };