diff --git a/handlers.go b/handlers.go
index e0c34443..02642c1c 100644
--- a/handlers.go
+++ b/handlers.go
@@ -21,11 +21,12 @@ import (
 )
 
 type registryController struct {
-	reg      *registry.Registry
-	cl       *clair.Clair
-	interval time.Duration
-	l        sync.Mutex
-	tmpl     *template.Template
+	reg          *registry.Registry
+	cl           *clair.Clair
+	interval     time.Duration
+	l            sync.Mutex
+	tmpl         *template.Template
+	generateOnly bool
 }
 
 type v1Compatibility struct {
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ type AnalysisResult struct {
 	UpdateInterval time.Duration
 }
 
-func (rc *registryController) repositories(staticDir string, generateTagsFiles bool) error {
+func (rc *registryController) repositories(staticDir string) error {
 	rc.l.Lock()
 	defer rc.l.Unlock()
 
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ func (rc *registryController) repositories(staticDir string, generateTagsFiles b
 
 		result.Repositories = append(result.Repositories, r)
 
-		if !generateTagsFiles {
+		if !rc.generateOnly {
 			// Continue early because we don't need to generate the tags pages.
 			continue
 		}
diff --git a/server.go b/server.go
index 9d611f71..8866efed 100644
--- a/server.go
+++ b/server.go
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ func (cmd *serverCommand) Register(fs *flag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.StringVar(&cmd.port, "port", "8080", "port for server to run on")
 	fs.StringVar(&cmd.assetPath, "asset-path", "", "Path to assets and templates")
 
-	fs.BoolVar(&cmd.once, "once", false, "generate an output once and then exit")
+	fs.BoolVar(&cmd.generateAndExit, "once", false, "generate the templates once and then exit")
 }
 
 type serverCommand struct {
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ type serverCommand struct {
 	registryServer string
 	clairServer    string
 
-	once bool
+	generateAndExit bool
 
 	cert      string
 	key       string
@@ -63,7 +63,8 @@ func (cmd *serverCommand) Run(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 
 	// Create the registry controller for the handlers.
 	rc := registryController{
-		reg: r,
+		reg:          r,
+		generateOnly: cmd.generateAndExit,
 	}
 
 	// Create a clair client if the user passed in a server address.
@@ -133,11 +134,11 @@ func (cmd *serverCommand) Run(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 
 	// Create the initial index.
 	logrus.Info("creating initial static index")
-	if err := rc.repositories(staticDir, true); err != nil {
+	if err := rc.repositories(staticDir); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("creating index failed: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	if cmd.once {
+	if cmd.generateAndExit {
 		logrus.Info("output generated, exiting...")
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ func (cmd *serverCommand) Run(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		// Create more indexes every X minutes based off interval.
 		for range ticker.C {
 			logrus.Info("creating timer based static index")
-			if err := rc.repositories(staticDir, false); err != nil {
+			if err := rc.repositories(staticDir); err != nil {
 				logrus.Warnf("creating static index failed: %v", err)
 			}
 		}