diff --git a/helm/init.go b/helm/init.go
index 380fff4..7432e43 100644
--- a/helm/init.go
+++ b/helm/init.go
@@ -4,16 +4,26 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 
+	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/getter"
 	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/helm/helmpath"
 	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/repo"
 )
 
+const (
+	stableRepository    = "stable"
+	stableRepositoryURL = "https://kubernetes-charts.storage.googleapis.com"
+)
+
 // Init makes sure the Helm home path exists and the required subfolders.
 func Init() error {
 	if err := ensureDirectories(settings.Home); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	if err := ensureDefaultRepos(settings.Home); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	if err := ensureRepoFileFormat(settings.Home.RepositoryFile()); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -27,6 +37,7 @@ func ensureDirectories(home helmpath.Home) error {
 		home.Repository(),
 		home.Cache(),
 		home.Plugins(),
+		home.Starters(),
 	}
 
 	for _, p := range configDirectories {
@@ -52,3 +63,43 @@ func ensureRepoFileFormat(file string) error {
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+func ensureDefaultRepos(home helmpath.Home) error {
+	repoFile := home.RepositoryFile()
+	if fi, err := os.Stat(repoFile); err != nil {
+		f := repo.NewRepoFile()
+		sr, err := initStableRepo(home.CacheIndex(stableRepository))
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		f.Add(sr)
+
+		if err := f.WriteFile(repoFile, 0644); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	} else if fi.IsDir() {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s must be a file, not a directory", repoFile)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func initStableRepo(cacheFile string) (*repo.Entry, error) {
+	c := repo.Entry{
+		Name:  stableRepository,
+		URL:   stableRepositoryURL,
+		Cache: cacheFile,
+	}
+	r, err := repo.NewChartRepository(&c, getter.All(settings))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// In this case, the cacheFile is always absolute. So passing empty string
+	// is safe.
+	if err := r.DownloadIndexFile(""); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Looks like %q is not a valid chart repository or cannot be reached: %s", stableRepositoryURL, err.Error())
+	}
+
+	return &c, nil
+}
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index b48c6cd..9a03296 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -19,6 +19,16 @@ func main() {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
+	if err = helm.Init(); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "error initialising helm: \n\n%s\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
+	if err = helm.AddRepository("stable", "https://kubernetes-charts.storage.googleapis.com"); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "error adding repository: \n\n%s\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
 	if cli["--repo"] != nil {
 		for _, r := range strings.Split(cli["--repo"].(string), ",") {
 			p := strings.SplitN(r, "=", 2)
@@ -38,16 +48,6 @@ func main() {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
-	if err = helm.Init(); err != nil {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "error initialising helm: \n\n%s\n", err)
-		os.Exit(1)
-	}
-
-	if err = helm.AddRepository("stable", "https://kubernetes-charts.storage.googleapis.com"); err != nil {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "error adding repository: \n\n%s\n", err)
-		os.Exit(1)
-	}
-
 	cc, err := chartsconfig.NewChartsConfiguration(cfg)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "charts config parsing error: \n\n%s\n", err)