diff --git a/src/applications/diffusion/controller/DiffusionRepositoryEditActivateController.php b/src/applications/diffusion/controller/DiffusionRepositoryEditActivateController.php
--- a/src/applications/diffusion/controller/DiffusionRepositoryEditActivateController.php
+++ b/src/applications/diffusion/controller/DiffusionRepositoryEditActivateController.php
@@ -40,7 +40,10 @@
 
     if ($repository->isTracked()) {
       $title = pht('Deactivate Repository');
-      $body = pht('Deactivate this repository?');
+      $body = pht(
+        'If you deactivate this repository, it will no longer be updated. '.
+        'Observation and mirroring will cease, and pushing and pulling will '.
+        'be disabled. You can reactivate the repository later.');
       $submit = pht('Deactivate Repository');
     } else {
       $title = pht('Activate Repository');
diff --git a/src/applications/diffusion/editor/DiffusionRepositoryEditEngine.php b/src/applications/diffusion/editor/DiffusionRepositoryEditEngine.php
--- a/src/applications/diffusion/editor/DiffusionRepositoryEditEngine.php
+++ b/src/applications/diffusion/editor/DiffusionRepositoryEditEngine.php
@@ -208,6 +208,22 @@
     $autoclose_value = $object->getDetail('close-commits-filter', array());
     $autoclose_value = array_keys($autoclose_value);
 
+    $automation_instructions = pht(
+      "Configure **Repository Automation** to allow Phabricator to ".
+      "write to this repository.".
+      "\n\n".
+      "IMPORTANT: This feature is new, experimental, and not supported. ".
+      "Use it at your own risk.");
+
+    $staging_instructions = pht(
+      "To make it easier to run integration tests and builds on code ".
+      "under review, you can configure a **Staging Area**. When `arc` ".
+      "creates a diff, it will push a copy of the changes to the ".
+      "configured staging area with a corresponding tag.".
+      "\n\n".
+      "IMPORTANT: This feature is new, experimental, and not supported. ".
+      "Use it at your own risk.");
+
     return array(
       id(new PhabricatorSelectEditField())
         ->setKey('vcs')
@@ -329,7 +345,8 @@
         ->setDescription(pht('Staging area URI.'))
         ->setConduitDescription(pht('Set the staging area URI.'))
         ->setConduitTypeDescription(pht('New staging area URI.'))
-        ->setValue($object->getStagingURI()),
+        ->setValue($object->getStagingURI())
+        ->setControlInstructions($staging_instructions),
       id(new PhabricatorDatasourceEditField())
         ->setKey('automationBlueprintPHIDs')
         ->setLabel(pht('Use Blueprints'))
@@ -340,7 +357,8 @@
         ->setDescription(pht('Automation blueprints.'))
         ->setConduitDescription(pht('Change automation blueprints.'))
         ->setConduitTypeDescription(pht('New blueprint PHIDs.'))
-        ->setValue($object->getAutomationBlueprintPHIDs()),
+        ->setValue($object->getAutomationBlueprintPHIDs())
+        ->setControlInstructions($automation_instructions),
       id(new PhabricatorStringListEditField())
         ->setKey('symbolLanguages')
         ->setLabel(pht('Languages'))
diff --git a/src/applications/diffusion/editor/DiffusionURIEditEngine.php b/src/applications/diffusion/editor/DiffusionURIEditEngine.php
--- a/src/applications/diffusion/editor/DiffusionURIEditEngine.php
+++ b/src/applications/diffusion/editor/DiffusionURIEditEngine.php
@@ -105,6 +105,43 @@
     } else {
       $is_builtin = false;
       $uri_value = $object->getURI();
+
+      if ($object->getRepositoryPHID()) {
+        $repository = $object->getRepository();
+        if ($repository->isGit()) {
+          $uri_instructions = pht(
+            "Provide the URI of a Git repository. It should usually look ".
+            "like one of these examples:\n".
+            "\n".
+            "| Example Git URIs\n".
+            "| -----------------------\n".
+            "| `git@github.com:example/example.git`\n".
+            "| `ssh://user@host.com/git/example.git`\n".
+            "| `https://example.com/repository.git`");
+        } else if ($repository->isHg()) {
+          $uri_instructions = pht(
+            "Provide the URI of a Mercurial repository. It should usually ".
+            "look like one of these examples:\n".
+            "\n".
+            "| Example Mercurial URIs\n".
+            "|-----------------------\n".
+            "| `ssh://hg@bitbucket.org/example/repository`\n".
+            "| `https://bitbucket.org/example/repository`");
+        } else if ($repository->isSVN()) {
+          $uri_instructions = pht(
+            "Provide the **Repository Root** of a Subversion repository. ".
+            "You can identify this by running `svn info` in a working ".
+            "copy. It should usually look like one of these examples:\n".
+            "\n".
+            "| Example Subversion URIs\n".
+            "|-----------------------\n".
+            "| `http://svn.example.org/svnroot/`\n".
+            "| `svn+ssh://svn.example.com/svnroot/`\n".
+            "| `svn://svn.example.net/svnroot/`\n\n".
+            "You **MUST** specify the root of the repository, not a ".
+            "subdirectory.");
+        }
+      }
     }
 
     return array(
diff --git a/src/applications/diffusion/management/DiffusionRepositoryStatusManagementPanel.php b/src/applications/diffusion/management/DiffusionRepositoryStatusManagementPanel.php
--- a/src/applications/diffusion/management/DiffusionRepositoryStatusManagementPanel.php
+++ b/src/applications/diffusion/management/DiffusionRepositoryStatusManagementPanel.php
@@ -500,5 +500,14 @@
     return $messages;
   }
 
+  private function getEnvConfigLink() {
+    $config_href = '/config/edit/environment.append-paths/';
+    return phutil_tag(
+      'a',
+      array(
+        'href' => $config_href,
+      ),
+      'environment.append-paths');
+  }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/docs/user/userguide/diffusion_managing.diviner b/src/docs/user/userguide/diffusion_managing.diviner
--- a/src/docs/user/userguide/diffusion_managing.diviner
+++ b/src/docs/user/userguide/diffusion_managing.diviner
@@ -236,6 +236,49 @@
 These options are covered in detail in @{article:Diffusion User Guide: URIs}.
 
 
+Branches
+========
+
+The **Branches** panel allows you to configure how Phabricator interacts with
+branches.
+
+This panel is not available for Subversion repositories, because Subversion
+does not have formal branches.
+
+You can configure **Default Branch**. This controls which branch is shown by
+default in the UI. If no branch is provided, Phabricator will use `master` in
+Git and `default` in Mercurial.
+
+If you want Diffusion to ignore some branches in the repository, you can
+configure **Track Only**. Other branches will be ignored. If you do not specify
+any branches, all branches are tracked.
+
+When specifying branches, you should enter one branch name per line. You can
+use regular expressions to match branches by wrapping an expression in
+`regexp(...)`. For example:
+
+| Example | Effect |
+|---------|--------|
+| `master` | Track only `master`.
+| `regexp(/^release-/)` | Track all branches which start with `release-`.
+| `regexp(/^(?!temp-)/)` | Do not track branches which start with `temp-`.
+
+
+Actions
+======
+
+The **Actions** panel can configure notifications and publishing behavior.
+
+Normally, Phabricator publishes notifications when it discovers new commits.
+You can disable publishing for a repository by turning off **Publish/Noitfy**.
+This will disable notifications, feed, and Herald (including audits and build
+plans) for this repository.
+
+When Phabricator discovers a new commit, it can automatically close associated
+revisions and tasks. If you don't want Phabricator to close objects when it
+discovers new commits, disable **Autoclose** for the repository.
+
+
 Repository Identifiers and Names
 ================================