diff --git a/cmd/ipfs/daemon.go b/cmd/ipfs/daemon.go
index 09f449d2b..12b8660f1 100644
--- a/cmd/ipfs/daemon.go
+++ b/cmd/ipfs/daemon.go
@@ -100,6 +100,13 @@ Shutdown
 To shutdown, kill, quit, or otherwise stop the daemon, send a SIGTERM signal.
 If it persists, send a second. This can be done by pressing Ctrl+C twice.
 
+IPFS_PATH environment variable
+
+ipfs uses a repository in the local file system. By default, the repo is located
+at ~/.ipfs. To change the repo location, set the $IPFS_PATH environment variable:
+
+    export IPFS_PATH=/path/to/ipfsrepo
+
 DEPRECATION NOTICE
 
 Previously, IPFS used an environment variable as seen below:
diff --git a/cmd/ipfs/init.go b/cmd/ipfs/init.go
index b9f78dd59..58afce0d0 100644
--- a/cmd/ipfs/init.go
+++ b/cmd/ipfs/init.go
@@ -21,7 +21,16 @@ const nBitsForKeypairDefault = 2048
 var initCmd = &cmds.Command{
 	Helptext: cmds.HelpText{
 		Tagline:          "Initializes IPFS config file",
-		ShortDescription: "Initializes IPFS configuration files and generates a new keypair.",
+		ShortDescription: `
+Initializes IPFS configuration files and generates a new keypair.
+
+IPFS_PATH environment variable
+
+ipfs uses a repository in the local file system. By default, the repo is located
+at ~/.ipfs. To change the repo location, set the $IPFS_PATH environment variable:
+
+    export IPFS_PATH=/path/to/ipfsrepo
+`,
 	},
 
 	Options: []cmds.Option{