diff --git a/src/Options.cc b/src/Options.cc
index de49298435..b01e859087 100644
--- a/src/Options.cc
+++ b/src/Options.cc
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ void usage(const char* prog) {
     printf("    -T|--re-level <level>           | set 'RE_level' for rules\n");
     printf("    -U|--status-file <file>         | Record process status in file\n");
     printf("    -W|--watchdog                   | activate watchdog timer\n");
-    printf("    -X|--zeekygen <cfgfile>         | generate documentation based on config file\n");
+    printf("    -X|--zeekygen <cfgfile>         | generate documentation based on config file; implies -a\n");
 
 #ifdef USE_PERFTOOLS_DEBUG
     printf("    -m|--mem-leaks                  | show leaks  [perftools]\n");
diff --git a/src/zeek-setup.cc b/src/zeek-setup.cc
index 8e79f3a5a8..68bc62647c 100644
--- a/src/zeek-setup.cc
+++ b/src/zeek-setup.cc
@@ -641,6 +641,10 @@ SetupResult setup(int argc, char** argv, Options* zopts) {
     auto zeekygen_cfg = options.zeekygen_config_file.value_or("");
     zeekygen_mgr = new zeekygen::detail::Manager(zeekygen_cfg, zeek_argv[0]);
 
+    // Zeekygen documentation generation (via -X) implies we only parse:
+    if ( ! zeekygen_cfg.empty() )
+        detail::parse_only = true;
+
     add_essential_input_file("base/init-bare.zeek");
     add_essential_input_file("builtin-plugins/__preload__.zeek");
     add_essential_input_file("base/init-frameworks-and-bifs.zeek");
@@ -985,7 +989,7 @@ SetupResult setup(int argc, char** argv, Options* zopts) {
         }
     }
 
-    if ( options.parse_only ) {
+    if ( detail::parse_only ) {
         if ( analysis_options.usage_issues > 0 )
             analyze_scripts(options.no_unused_warnings);