diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e121d3c8..dabb0ea0 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -28,6 +28,14 @@ GLUON_RELEASE ?= $(error GLUON_RELEASE not set. GLUON_RELEASE can be set in site
 
 GLUON_DEPRECATED ?= $(error GLUON_DEPRECATED not set. Please consult the documentation)
 
+ifneq ($(GLUON_BRANCH),)
+  $(warning *** Warning: GLUON_BRANCH has been deprecated, please set GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH and GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_ENABLED instead.)
+  GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH ?= $(GLUON_BRANCH)
+  GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_ENABLED ?= 1
+endif
+
+GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_ENABLED ?= 0
+
 # initialize (possibly already user set) directory variables
 GLUON_TMPDIR ?= tmp
 GLUON_OUTPUTDIR ?= output
@@ -58,7 +66,7 @@ endef
 GLUON_VARS = \
 	GLUON_RELEASE GLUON_REGION GLUON_MULTIDOMAIN GLUON_AUTOREMOVE GLUON_DEBUG GLUON_MINIFY GLUON_DEPRECATED \
 	GLUON_DEVICES GLUON_TARGETSDIR GLUON_PATCHESDIR GLUON_TMPDIR GLUON_IMAGEDIR GLUON_PACKAGEDIR GLUON_DEBUGDIR \
-	GLUON_SITEDIR GLUON_RELEASE GLUON_BRANCH GLUON_LANGS GLUON_BASE_FEEDS \
+	GLUON_SITEDIR GLUON_RELEASE GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_ENABLED GLUON_LANGS GLUON_BASE_FEEDS \
 	GLUON_TARGET BOARD SUBTARGET
 
 unexport $(GLUON_VARS)
@@ -185,23 +193,23 @@ dirclean: FORCE
 
 manifest: $(LUA) FORCE
 	@
-	[ '$(GLUON_BRANCH)' ] || (echo 'Please set GLUON_BRANCH to create a manifest.'; false)
+	[ '$(GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH)' ] || (echo 'Please set GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH to create a manifest.'; false)
 	echo '$(GLUON_PRIORITY)' | grep -qE '^([0-9]*\.)?[0-9]+$$' || (echo 'Please specify a numeric value for GLUON_PRIORITY to create a manifest.'; false)
 	$(CheckExternal)
 
 	(
 		export $(GLUON_ENV)
-		echo 'BRANCH=$(GLUON_BRANCH)'
+		echo 'BRANCH=$(GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH)'
 		echo "DATE=$$($(LUA) scripts/rfc3339date.lua)"
 		echo 'PRIORITY=$(GLUON_PRIORITY)'
 		echo
 		for target in $(GLUON_TARGETS); do
 			$(LUA) scripts/generate_manifest.lua "$$target"
 		done
-	) > 'tmp/$(GLUON_BRANCH).manifest.tmp'
+	) > 'tmp/$(GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH).manifest.tmp'
 
 	mkdir -p '$(GLUON_IMAGEDIR)/sysupgrade'
-	mv 'tmp/$(GLUON_BRANCH).manifest.tmp' '$(GLUON_IMAGEDIR)/sysupgrade/$(GLUON_BRANCH).manifest'
+	mv 'tmp/$(GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH).manifest.tmp' '$(GLUON_IMAGEDIR)/sysupgrade/$(GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH).manifest'
 
 FORCE: ;
 
diff --git a/targets/generic b/targets/generic
index e9328922..8b1d484f 100644
--- a/targets/generic
+++ b/targets/generic
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ assert(env.GLUON_LANGS)
 config('GLUON_SITEDIR', env.GLUON_SITEDIR)
 config('GLUON_RELEASE', env.GLUON_RELEASE)
 
-try_config('GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH', env.GLUON_BRANCH)
-try_config('GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_ENABLED', env.GLUON_BRANCH ~= '')
+try_config('GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH', env.GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_BRANCH)
+try_config('GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_ENABLED', istrue(env.GLUON_AUTOUPDATER_ENABLED))
 
 for lang in string.gmatch(env.GLUON_LANGS, '%S+') do
 	try_config('GLUON_WEB_LANG_' .. lang, true)