diff --git a/lib/commands/apps.ts b/lib/commands/apps.ts
index 49a8822e..ffbe50a4 100644
--- a/lib/commands/apps.ts
+++ b/lib/commands/apps.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ interface ExtendedApplication extends ApplicationWithDeviceType {
 
 interface FlagsDef {
 	help: void;
-	verbose?: boolean;
+	verbose: boolean;
 }
 
 export default class AppsCmd extends Command {
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ export default class AppsCmd extends Command {
 	public static flags: flags.Input<FlagsDef> = {
 		help: cf.help,
 		verbose: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			char: 'v',
 			description: isV12()
 				? 'No-op since release v12.0.0'
diff --git a/lib/commands/envs.ts b/lib/commands/envs.ts
index 85eb2e9a..ccdf0f4c 100644
--- a/lib/commands/envs.ts
+++ b/lib/commands/envs.ts
@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ export default class EnvsCmd extends Command {
 		...(isV12()
 			? {
 					all: flags.boolean({
+						default: false,
 						description: stripIndent`
 				No-op since balena CLI v12.0.0.`,
 						hidden: true,
@@ -167,6 +168,7 @@ export default class EnvsCmd extends Command {
 			  }
 			: {
 					all: flags.boolean({
+						default: false,
 						description: stripIndent`
 				include app-wide, device-wide variables that apply to the selected device or service.
 				Variables are still filtered out by type with the --config option.`,
@@ -174,6 +176,7 @@ export default class EnvsCmd extends Command {
 			  }),
 		application: { exclusive: ['device'], ...cf.application },
 		config: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			char: 'c',
 			description: 'show configuration variables only',
 			exclusive: ['service'],
@@ -181,6 +184,7 @@ export default class EnvsCmd extends Command {
 		device: { exclusive: ['application'], ...cf.device },
 		help: cf.help,
 		json: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			char: 'j',
 			description: 'produce JSON output instead of tabular output',
 		}),
diff --git a/lib/commands/login.ts b/lib/commands/login.ts
index da41cc94..a9f949bd 100644
--- a/lib/commands/login.ts
+++ b/lib/commands/login.ts
@@ -72,16 +72,19 @@ export default class LoginCmd extends Command {
 
 	public static flags: flags.Input<FlagsDef> = {
 		web: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			char: 'w',
 			description: 'web-based login',
 			exclusive: ['token', 'credentials'],
 		}),
 		token: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			char: 't',
 			description: 'session token or API key',
 			exclusive: ['web', 'credentials'],
 		}),
 		credentials: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			char: 'c',
 			description: 'credential-based login',
 			exclusive: ['web', 'token'],
diff --git a/lib/commands/logs.ts b/lib/commands/logs.ts
index a317fd9c..205b650f 100644
--- a/lib/commands/logs.ts
+++ b/lib/commands/logs.ts
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ export default class LogsCmd extends Command {
 
 	public static flags: flags.Input<FlagsDef> = {
 		tail: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			description: 'continuously stream output',
 			char: 't',
 		}),
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@ export default class LogsCmd extends Command {
 			multiple: true,
 		}),
 		system: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			description:
 				'Only show system logs. This can be used in combination with --service.',
 			char: 'S',
diff --git a/lib/commands/preload.ts b/lib/commands/preload.ts
index b8fe6e35..b475de43 100644
--- a/lib/commands/preload.ts
+++ b/lib/commands/preload.ts
@@ -100,10 +100,12 @@ manually pinned using https://github.com/balena-io-projects/staged-releases .\
 			char: 's',
 		}),
 		'dont-check-arch': flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			description:
 				'disables check for matching architecture in image and application',
 		}),
 		'pin-device-to-release': flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			description:
 				'pin the preloaded device to the preloaded release on provision',
 			char: 'p',
diff --git a/lib/commands/scan.ts b/lib/commands/scan.ts
index fb4d5010..551a2222 100644
--- a/lib/commands/scan.ts
+++ b/lib/commands/scan.ts
@@ -50,8 +50,8 @@ export default class ScanCmd extends Command {
 
 	public static flags: flags.Input<FlagsDef> = {
 		verbose: flags.boolean({
-			char: 'v',
 			default: false,
+			char: 'v',
 			description: 'display full info',
 		}),
 		timeout: flags.integer({
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ export default class ScanCmd extends Command {
 		}),
 		help: cf.help,
 		json: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			char: 'j',
 			description: 'produce JSON output instead of tabular output',
 		}),
diff --git a/lib/commands/ssh.ts b/lib/commands/ssh.ts
index d7fe9403..61cf5f88 100644
--- a/lib/commands/ssh.ts
+++ b/lib/commands/ssh.ts
@@ -102,15 +102,18 @@ export default class NoteCmd extends Command {
 			parse: (p) => parseAsInteger(p, 'port'),
 		}),
 		tty: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			description:
 				'Force pseudo-terminal allocation (bypass TTY autodetection for stdin)',
 			char: 't',
 		}),
 		verbose: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			description: 'Increase verbosity',
 			char: 'v',
 		}),
 		noproxy: flags.boolean({
+			default: false,
 			description: 'Bypass global proxy configuration for the ssh connection',
 		}),
 		help: cf.help,
diff --git a/lib/commands/version.ts b/lib/commands/version.ts
index a8df5066..ffa9637f 100644
--- a/lib/commands/version.ts
+++ b/lib/commands/version.ts
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ import Command from '../command';
 import { stripIndent } from '../utils/lazy';
 
 interface FlagsDef {
-	all?: boolean;
-	json?: boolean;
+	all: boolean;
+	json: boolean;
 	help: void;
 }
 
@@ -59,14 +59,14 @@ export default class VersionCmd extends Command {
 
 	public static flags: flags.Input<FlagsDef> = {
 		all: flags.boolean({
-			char: 'a',
 			default: false,
+			char: 'a',
 			description:
 				'include version information for additional components (Node.js)',
 		}),
 		json: flags.boolean({
-			char: 'j',
 			default: false,
+			char: 'j',
 			description:
 				'output version information in JSON format for programmatic use',
 		}),