diff --git a/man/ostree.repo-config.xml b/man/ostree.repo-config.xml
index 5424467c..bb406a2e 100644
--- a/man/ostree.repo-config.xml
+++ b/man/ostree.repo-config.xml
@@ -86,23 +86,23 @@ Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
         <listitem><para>Currently, this must be set to <literal>1</literal>.</para></listitem>
       </varlistentry>
 
-      <varlistentry>
-        <term><varname>commit-update-summary</varname></term>
-        <listitem><para>Boolean value controlling whether or not to
-        automatically update the summary file after a commit.  Defaults
-        to <literal>false</literal>.</para></listitem>
-      </varlistentry>
-
       <varlistentry>
         <term><varname>auto-update-summary</varname></term>
         <listitem><para>Boolean value controlling whether or not to
         automatically update the summary file after any ref is added,
-        removed, or updated. This covers a superset of the cases covered by
-        commit-update-summary, with the exception of orphan commits which
-        shouldn't affect the summary anyway. Defaults to <literal>false</literal>.
+        removed, or updated. Other modifications which may render a
+        summary file stale (like static deltas, or collection IDs) do
+        not currently trigger an auto-update.
         </para></listitem>
       </varlistentry>
 
+      <varlistentry>
+        <term><varname>commit-update-summary</varname></term>
+        <listitem><para>This option is deprecated. Use
+        <literal>auto-update-summary</literal> instead, for which this
+        option is now an alias.</para></listitem>
+      </varlistentry>
+
       <varlistentry>
         <term><varname>fsync</varname></term>
         <listitem><para>Boolean value controlling whether or not to
diff --git a/src/libostree/ostree-repo.c b/src/libostree/ostree-repo.c
index 00a6b460..922e8a66 100644
--- a/src/libostree/ostree-repo.c
+++ b/src/libostree/ostree-repo.c
@@ -5385,8 +5385,7 @@ summary_add_ref_entry (OstreeRepo       *self,
  * regular, setting the `ostree.summary.expires` key in @additional_metadata
  * will aid clients in working out when to check for updates.
  *
- * It is regenerated automatically after a commit if
- * `core/commit-update-summary` is set, and automatically after any ref is
+ * It is regenerated automatically after any ref is
  * added, removed, or updated if `core/auto-update-summary` is set.
  *
  * If the `core/collection-id` key is set in the configuration, it will be
@@ -5593,20 +5592,31 @@ ostree_repo_regenerate_summary (OstreeRepo     *self,
   return TRUE;
 }
 
-/* Regenerate the summary if `core/auto-update-summary` is set */
+/* Regenerate the summary if `core/auto-update-summary` is set. We default to FALSE for
+ * this setting because OSTree supports multiple processes committing to the same repo (but
+ * different refs) concurrently, and in fact gnome-continuous actually does this.  In that
+ * context it's best to update the summary explicitly once at the end of multiple
+ * transactions instead of automatically here.  `auto-update-summary` only updates
+ * atomically within a transaction. */
 gboolean
 _ostree_repo_maybe_regenerate_summary (OstreeRepo    *self,
                                        GCancellable  *cancellable,
                                        GError       **error)
 {
   gboolean auto_update_summary;
-
   if (!ot_keyfile_get_boolean_with_default (self->config, "core",
                                             "auto-update-summary", FALSE,
                                             &auto_update_summary, error))
     return FALSE;
 
-  if (auto_update_summary &&
+  /* Deprecated alias for `auto-update-summary`. */
+  gboolean commit_update_summary;
+  if (!ot_keyfile_get_boolean_with_default (self->config, "core",
+                                            "commit-update-summary", FALSE,
+                                            &commit_update_summary, error))
+    return FALSE;
+
+  if ((auto_update_summary || commit_update_summary) &&
       !ostree_repo_regenerate_summary (self, NULL, cancellable, error))
     return FALSE;
 
diff --git a/src/ostree/ot-builtin-commit.c b/src/ostree/ot-builtin-commit.c
index 6d295d6b..535239be 100644
--- a/src/ostree/ot-builtin-commit.c
+++ b/src/ostree/ot-builtin-commit.c
@@ -753,7 +753,6 @@ ostree_builtin_commit (int argc, char **argv, OstreeCommandInvocation *invocatio
   if (!skip_commit)
     {
       guint64 timestamp;
-      gboolean auto_update_summary;
 
       if (!opt_no_bindings)
         {
@@ -823,33 +822,6 @@ ostree_builtin_commit (int argc, char **argv, OstreeCommandInvocation *invocatio
 
       if (!ostree_repo_commit_transaction (repo, &stats, cancellable, error))
         goto out;
-
-      if (!ot_keyfile_get_boolean_with_default (ostree_repo_get_config (repo), "core",
-                                                "auto-update-summary", FALSE,
-                                                &auto_update_summary, error))
-        goto out;
-
-      /* No need to update it again if we did for each ref change */
-      if (opt_orphan || !auto_update_summary)
-        {
-          gboolean commit_update_summary;
-
-          /* The default for this option is FALSE, even for archive repos,
-           * because ostree supports multiple processes committing to the same
-           * repo (but different refs) concurrently, and in fact gnome-continuous
-           * actually does this.  In that context it's best to update the summary
-           * explicitly instead of automatically here. */
-          if (!ot_keyfile_get_boolean_with_default (ostree_repo_get_config (repo), "core",
-                                                    "commit-update-summary", FALSE,
-                                                    &commit_update_summary, error))
-            goto out;
-
-          if (commit_update_summary && !ostree_repo_regenerate_summary (repo,
-                                                                        NULL,
-                                                                        cancellable,
-                                                                        error))
-            goto out;
-        }
     }
   else
     {