diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ff0f217e..a760891a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # Unreleased
 
+* feat!: Remove `--set-controller` and replace with a new flag `--remove-all-controllers`. For the old behavior, combine this flag with `--add-controller`
 * fix: Duplicate identities no longer cause an error when starting a network
 
 # v0.2.1-beta.0
diff --git a/crates/icp-cli/src/commands/canister/settings/update.rs b/crates/icp-cli/src/commands/canister/settings/update.rs
index 4c60f534..ed47faf2 100644
--- a/crates/icp-cli/src/commands/canister/settings/update.rs
+++ b/crates/icp-cli/src/commands/canister/settings/update.rs
@@ -15,26 +15,27 @@ use crate::commands::args;
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Default, Args)]
 pub(crate) struct ControllerOpt {
     /// Add one or more principals to the canister's controller list.
-    #[arg(long, action = ArgAction::Append, conflicts_with("set_controller"))]
+    #[arg(long, action = ArgAction::Append)]
     add_controller: Option<Vec<Principal>>,
 
     /// Remove one or more principals from the canister's controller list.
     ///
     /// Warning: Removing yourself will cause you to lose control of the canister.
-    #[arg(long, action = ArgAction::Append, conflicts_with("set_controller"))]
+    #[arg(long, action = ArgAction::Append)]
     remove_controller: Option<Vec<Principal>>,
 
-    /// Replace the canister's controller list with the specified principals.
+    /// Remove all controllers.
     ///
-    /// Warning: This removes all existing controllers not in the new list.
-    /// If you don't include yourself, you will lose control of the canister.
-    #[arg(long, action = ArgAction::Append)]
-    set_controller: Option<Vec<Principal>>,
+    /// Warning: This will cause you to lose control of the canister, unless you
+    /// add your user principal back in `--add-controller` in the same command.
+    #[arg(long, conflicts_with = "remove_controller")]
+    remove_all_controllers: bool,
 }
 
 impl ControllerOpt {
     pub(crate) fn require_current_settings(&self) -> bool {
-        self.add_controller.is_some() || self.remove_controller.is_some()
+        !self.remove_all_controllers
+            && (self.add_controller.is_some() || self.remove_controller.is_some())
     }
 }
 
@@ -344,9 +345,7 @@ fn get_controllers(
     controllers: &ControllerOpt,
     current_status: Option<&CanisterStatusResult>,
 ) -> Option<Vec<Principal>> {
-    if let Some(controllers) = controllers.set_controller.as_ref() {
-        return Some(controllers.clone());
-    } else if controllers.require_current_settings() {
+    if controllers.require_current_settings() {
         let mut current_controllers: HashSet<Principal> = current_status
             .as_ref()
             .expect("current status should be ready")
@@ -365,10 +364,12 @@ fn get_controllers(
             }
         }
 
-        return Some(current_controllers.into_iter().collect::<Vec<Principal>>());
+        Some(current_controllers.into_iter().collect::<Vec<Principal>>())
+    } else if controllers.remove_all_controllers {
+        Some(controllers.add_controller.clone().unwrap_or_default())
+    } else {
+        None
     }
-
-    None
 }
 
 fn get_log_visibility(
diff --git a/crates/icp-cli/tests/canister_settings_tests.rs b/crates/icp-cli/tests/canister_settings_tests.rs
index 16300351..45cd4636 100644
--- a/crates/icp-cli/tests/canister_settings_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/icp-cli/tests/canister_settings_tests.rs
@@ -282,9 +282,10 @@ async fn canister_settings_update_controllers() {
             "--environment",
             "random-environment",
             "--force",
-            "--set-controller",
+            "--remove-all-controllers",
+            "--add-controller",
             principal_alice.as_str(),
-            "--set-controller",
+            "--add-controller",
             principal_bob.as_str(),
         ])
         .assert()
diff --git a/docs/reference/cli.md b/docs/reference/cli.md
index a98e5129..b4d00460 100644
--- a/docs/reference/cli.md
+++ b/docs/reference/cli.md
@@ -442,9 +442,9 @@ Change a canister's settings to specified values
 * `--remove-controller <REMOVE_CONTROLLER>` — Remove one or more principals from the canister's controller list.
 
    Warning: Removing yourself will cause you to lose control of the canister.
-* `--set-controller <SET_CONTROLLER>` — Replace the canister's controller list with the specified principals.
+* `--remove-all-controllers` — Remove all controllers.
 
-   Warning: This removes all existing controllers not in the new list. If you don't include yourself, you will lose control of the canister.
+   Warning: This will cause you to lose control of the canister, unless you add your user principal back in `--add-controller` in the same command.
 * `--compute-allocation <COMPUTE_ALLOCATION>`
 * `--memory-allocation <MEMORY_ALLOCATION>` — Memory allocation in bytes. Supports suffixes: kb, kib, mb, mib, gb, gib (e.g. "4gib" or "2.5kb")
 * `--freezing-threshold <FREEZING_THRESHOLD>` — Freezing threshold. Controls how long a canister can be inactive before being frozen. Supports duration suffixes: s (seconds), m (minutes), h (hours), d (days), w (weeks). A bare number is treated as seconds