diff --git a/cmd/helm/home.go b/cmd/helm/home.go
index 2f6e9f31a..c15cb163d 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/home.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/home.go
@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@ func newHomeCmd(out io.Writer) *cobra.Command {
 				fmt.Fprintf(out, "Repository: %s\n", h.Repository())
 				fmt.Fprintf(out, "RepositoryFile: %s\n", h.RepositoryFile())
 				fmt.Fprintf(out, "Cache: %s\n", h.Cache())
-				fmt.Fprintf(out, "Stable CacheIndex: %s\n", h.CacheIndex("stable"))
 				fmt.Fprintf(out, "Starters: %s\n", h.Starters())
 				fmt.Fprintf(out, "Plugins: %s\n", h.Plugins())
 			}
diff --git a/cmd/helm/init.go b/cmd/helm/init.go
index bde922e3a..0faee1d11 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/init.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/init.go
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ import (
 	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
 
 	"helm.sh/helm/cmd/helm/require"
-	"helm.sh/helm/pkg/getter"
 	"helm.sh/helm/pkg/helmpath"
 	"helm.sh/helm/pkg/plugin"
 	"helm.sh/helm/pkg/plugin/installer"
@@ -39,15 +38,9 @@ const initDesc = `
 This command sets up local configuration in $HELM_HOME (default ~/.helm/).
 `
 
-const (
-	stableRepository           = "stable"
-	defaultStableRepositoryURL = "https://kubernetes-charts.storage.googleapis.com"
-)
-
 type initOptions struct {
-	skipRefresh         bool   // --skip-refresh
-	stableRepositoryURL string // --stable-repo-url
-	pluginsFilename     string // --plugins
+	skipRefresh     bool   // --skip-refresh
+	pluginsFilename string // --plugins
 
 	home helmpath.Home
 }
@@ -77,7 +70,6 @@ func newInitCmd(out io.Writer) *cobra.Command {
 
 	f := cmd.Flags()
 	f.BoolVar(&o.skipRefresh, "skip-refresh", false, "do not refresh (download) the local repository cache")
-	f.StringVar(&o.stableRepositoryURL, "stable-repo-url", defaultStableRepositoryURL, "URL for stable repository")
 	f.StringVar(&o.pluginsFilename, "plugins", "", "a YAML file specifying plugins to install")
 
 	return cmd
@@ -88,7 +80,7 @@ func (o *initOptions) run(out io.Writer) error {
 	if err := ensureDirectories(o.home, out); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if err := ensureDefaultRepos(o.home, out, o.skipRefresh, o.stableRepositoryURL); err != nil {
+	if err := ensureReposFile(o.home, out, o.skipRefresh); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	if err := ensureRepoFileFormat(o.home.RepositoryFile(), out); err != nil {
@@ -130,16 +122,11 @@ func ensureDirectories(home helmpath.Home, out io.Writer) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func ensureDefaultRepos(home helmpath.Home, out io.Writer, skipRefresh bool, url string) error {
+func ensureReposFile(home helmpath.Home, out io.Writer, skipRefresh bool) error {
 	repoFile := home.RepositoryFile()
 	if fi, err := os.Stat(repoFile); err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(out, "Creating %s \n", repoFile)
 		f := repo.NewFile()
-		sr, err := initRepo(url, home.CacheIndex(stableRepository), out, skipRefresh, home)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		f.Add(sr)
 		if err := f.WriteFile(repoFile, 0644); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -149,31 +136,6 @@ func ensureDefaultRepos(home helmpath.Home, out io.Writer, skipRefresh bool, url
 	return nil
 }
 
-func initRepo(url, cacheFile string, out io.Writer, skipRefresh bool, home helmpath.Home) (*repo.Entry, error) {
-	fmt.Fprintf(out, "Adding %s repo with URL: %s \n", stableRepository, url)
-	c := repo.Entry{
-		Name:  stableRepository,
-		URL:   url,
-		Cache: cacheFile,
-	}
-	r, err := repo.NewChartRepository(&c, getter.All(settings))
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	if skipRefresh {
-		return &c, nil
-	}
-
-	// In this case, the cacheFile is always absolute. So passing empty string
-	// is safe.
-	if err := r.DownloadIndexFile(""); err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "%s is not a valid chart repository or cannot be reached", url)
-	}
-
-	return &c, nil
-}
-
 func ensureRepoFileFormat(file string, out io.Writer) error {
 	r, err := repo.LoadFile(file)
 	if err == repo.ErrRepoOutOfDate {
diff --git a/cmd/helm/init_test.go b/cmd/helm/init_test.go
index 270b12672..c0db7c184 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/init_test.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/init_test.go
@@ -34,10 +34,10 @@ func TestEnsureHome(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := ensureDirectories(hh, b); err != nil {
 		t.Error(err)
 	}
-	if err := ensureDefaultRepos(hh, b, false, defaultStableRepositoryURL); err != nil {
+	if err := ensureReposFile(hh, b, false); err != nil {
 		t.Error(err)
 	}
-	if err := ensureDefaultRepos(hh, b, true, defaultStableRepositoryURL); err != nil {
+	if err := ensureReposFile(hh, b, true); err != nil {
 		t.Error(err)
 	}
 	if err := ensureRepoFileFormat(hh.RepositoryFile(), b); err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/helm/install.go b/cmd/helm/install.go
index ca2ef037f..bfbe329cf 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/install.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/install.go
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ file MUST pass all verification steps.
 
 There are five different ways you can express the chart you want to install:
 
-1. By chart reference: helm install stable/mariadb
+1. By chart reference: helm install example/mariadb
 2. By path to a packaged chart: helm install ./nginx-1.2.3.tgz
 3. By path to an unpacked chart directory: helm install ./nginx
 4. By absolute URL: helm install https://example.com/charts/nginx-1.2.3.tgz
@@ -85,8 +85,8 @@ CHART REFERENCES
 
 A chart reference is a convenient way of reference a chart in a chart repository.
 
-When you use a chart reference with a repo prefix ('stable/mariadb'), Helm will look in the local
-configuration for a chart repository named 'stable', and will then look for a
+When you use a chart reference with a repo prefix ('example/mariadb'), Helm will look in the local
+configuration for a chart repository named 'example', and will then look for a
 chart in that repository whose name is 'mariadb'. It will install the latest
 version of that chart unless you also supply a version number with the
 '--version' flag.
diff --git a/cmd/helm/show.go b/cmd/helm/show.go
index 4b23473af..68260eddd 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/show.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/show.go
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ import (
 
 const showDesc = `
 This command inspects a chart and displays information. It takes a chart reference
-('stable/drupal'), a full path to a directory or packaged chart, or a URL.
+('example/drupal'), a full path to a directory or packaged chart, or a URL.
 
 Inspect prints the contents of the Chart.yaml file and the values.yaml file.
 `
diff --git a/cmd/helm/upgrade.go b/cmd/helm/upgrade.go
index 38c36485f..537660efd 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/upgrade.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/upgrade.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ const upgradeDesc = `
 This command upgrades a release to a new version of a chart.
 
 The upgrade arguments must be a release and chart. The chart
-argument can be either: a chart reference('stable/mariadb'), a path to a chart directory,
+argument can be either: a chart reference('example/mariadb'), a path to a chart directory,
 a packaged chart, or a fully qualified URL. For chart references, the latest
 version will be specified unless the '--version' flag is set.
 
diff --git a/pkg/downloader/manager.go b/pkg/downloader/manager.go
index 08f1959f2..64f8cbbe8 100644
--- a/pkg/downloader/manager.go
+++ b/pkg/downloader/manager.go
@@ -404,9 +404,9 @@ func (m *Manager) getRepoNames(deps []*chart.Dependency) (map[string]string, err
 		}
 		if containsNonURL {
 			errorMessage += `
-Note that repositories must be URLs or aliases. For example, to refer to the stable
-repository, use "https://kubernetes-charts.storage.googleapis.com/" or "@stable" instead of
-"stable". Don't forget to add the repo, too ('helm repo add').`
+Note that repositories must be URLs or aliases. For example, to refer to the "example"
+repository, use "https://charts.example.com/" or "@example" instead of
+"example". Don't forget to add the repo, too ('helm repo add').`
 		}
 		return nil, errors.New(errorMessage)
 	}
diff --git a/scripts/completions.bash b/scripts/completions.bash
index 6c05963b4..34eb02875 100644
--- a/scripts/completions.bash
+++ b/scripts/completions.bash
@@ -654,8 +654,6 @@ _helm_init()
     local_nonpersistent_flags+=("--service-account=")
     flags+=("--skip-refresh")
     local_nonpersistent_flags+=("--skip-refresh")
-    flags+=("--stable-repo-url=")
-    local_nonpersistent_flags+=("--stable-repo-url=")
     flags+=("--tiller-image=")
     two_word_flags+=("-i")
     local_nonpersistent_flags+=("--tiller-image=")