diff --git a/go/cmd/vtgate/vtgate.go b/go/cmd/vtgate/vtgate.go
index 04c8b53a8d3..d043ecf4f95 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtgate/vtgate.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtgate/vtgate.go
@@ -40,13 +40,14 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	cell                           = ""
-	tabletTypesToWait, plannerName string
+	cell              = ""
+	tabletTypesToWait []topodatapb.TabletType
+	plannerName       string
 )
 
 func registerFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.StringVar(&cell, "cell", cell, "cell to use")
-	fs.StringVar(&tabletTypesToWait, "tablet_types_to_wait", tabletTypesToWait, "wait till connected for specified tablet types during Gateway initialization")
+	fs.Var((*topoproto.TabletTypeListFlag)(&tabletTypesToWait), "tablet_types_to_wait", "Wait till connected for specified tablet types during Gateway initialization. Should be provided as a comma-separated set of tablet types.")
 	fs.StringVar(&plannerName, "planner-version", plannerName, "Sets the default planner to use when the session has not changed it. Valid values are: V3, Gen4, Gen4Greedy and Gen4Fallback. Gen4Fallback tries the gen4 planner and falls back to the V3 planner if the gen4 fails.")
 
 	acl.RegisterFlags(fs)
@@ -133,12 +134,7 @@ func main() {
 
 	tabletTypes := make([]topodatapb.TabletType, 0, 1)
 	if len(tabletTypesToWait) != 0 {
-		for _, ttStr := range strings.Split(tabletTypesToWait, ",") {
-			tt, err := topoproto.ParseTabletType(ttStr)
-			if err != nil {
-				log.Errorf("unknown tablet type: %v", ttStr)
-				continue
-			}
+		for _, tt := range tabletTypesToWait {
 			if topoproto.IsServingType(tt) {
 				tabletTypes = append(tabletTypes, tt)
 			}
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/mysqlctl.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/mysqlctl.txt
index 6370d245e29..f5b810f0dd0 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/mysqlctl.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/mysqlctl.txt
@@ -14,15 +14,7 @@ Global flags:
       --alsologtostderr                                 log to standard error as well as files
       --app_idle_timeout duration                       Idle timeout for app connections (default 1m0s)
       --app_pool_size int                               Size of the connection pool for app connections (default 40)
-      --backup_engine_implementation string             Specifies which implementation to use for creating new backups (builtin or xtrabackup). Restores will always be done with whichever engine created a given backup. (default "builtin")
-      --backup_storage_block_size int                   if backup_storage_compress is true, backup_storage_block_size sets the byte size for each block while compressing (default is 250000). (default 250000)
-      --backup_storage_compress                         if set, the backup files will be compressed (default is true). Set to false for instance if a backup_storage_hook is specified and it compresses the data. (default true)
-      --backup_storage_number_blocks int                if backup_storage_compress is true, backup_storage_number_blocks sets the number of blocks that can be processed, at once, before the writer blocks, during compression (default is 2). It should be equal to the number of CPUs available for compression. (default 2)
-      --builtinbackup_mysqld_timeout duration           how long to wait for mysqld to shutdown at the start of the backup. (default 10m0s)
-      --builtinbackup_progress duration                 how often to send progress updates when backing up large files. (default 5s)
       --catch-sigpipe                                   catch and ignore SIGPIPE on stdout and stderr if specified
-      --compression-engine-name string                  compressor engine used for compression. (default "pargzip")
-      --compression-level int                           what level to pass to the compressor. (default 1)
       --db-credentials-file string                      db credentials file; send SIGHUP to reload this file
       --db-credentials-server string                    db credentials server type ('file' - file implementation; 'vault' - HashiCorp Vault implementation) (default "file")
       --db-credentials-vault-addr string                URL to Vault server
@@ -54,10 +46,6 @@ Global flags:
       --db_tls_min_version string                       Configures the minimal TLS version negotiated when SSL is enabled. Defaults to TLSv1.2. Options: TLSv1.0, TLSv1.1, TLSv1.2, TLSv1.3.
       --dba_idle_timeout duration                       Idle timeout for dba connections (default 1m0s)
       --dba_pool_size int                               Size of the connection pool for dba connections (default 20)
-      --disable_active_reparents                        if set, do not allow active reparents. Use this to protect a cluster using external reparents.
-      --external-compressor string                      command with arguments to use when compressing a backup.
-      --external-compressor-extension string            extension to use when using an external compressor.
-      --external-decompressor string                    command with arguments to use when decompressing a backup.
       --grpc_auth_static_client_creds string            When using grpc_static_auth in the server, this file provides the credentials to use to authenticate with server.
       --grpc_compression string                         Which protocol to use for compressing gRPC. Default: nothing. Supported: snappy
       --grpc_initial_conn_window_size int               gRPC initial connection window size
@@ -97,11 +85,3 @@ Global flags:
       --v Level                                         log level for V logs
   -v, --version                                         print binary version
       --vmodule moduleSpec                              comma-separated list of pattern=N settings for file-filtered logging
-      --xbstream_restore_flags string                   flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
-      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string                  flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string                 flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_root_path string                     directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
-      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                   which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream (default "tar")
-      --xtrabackup_stripe_block_size uint               Size in bytes of each block that gets sent to a given stripe before rotating to the next stripe (default 102400)
-      --xtrabackup_stripes uint                         If greater than 0, use data striping across this many destination files to parallelize data transfer and decompression
-      --xtrabackup_user string                          User that xtrabackup will use to connect to the database server. This user must have all necessary privileges. For details, please refer to xtrabackup documentation.
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/mysqlctld.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/mysqlctld.txt
index 91b423ead25..50ec38dab3e 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/mysqlctld.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/mysqlctld.txt
@@ -2,15 +2,7 @@ Usage of mysqlctld:
       --alsologtostderr                                                  log to standard error as well as files
       --app_idle_timeout duration                                        Idle timeout for app connections (default 1m0s)
       --app_pool_size int                                                Size of the connection pool for app connections (default 40)
-      --backup_engine_implementation string                              Specifies which implementation to use for creating new backups (builtin or xtrabackup). Restores will always be done with whichever engine created a given backup. (default "builtin")
-      --backup_storage_block_size int                                    if backup_storage_compress is true, backup_storage_block_size sets the byte size for each block while compressing (default is 250000). (default 250000)
-      --backup_storage_compress                                          if set, the backup files will be compressed (default is true). Set to false for instance if a backup_storage_hook is specified and it compresses the data. (default true)
-      --backup_storage_number_blocks int                                 if backup_storage_compress is true, backup_storage_number_blocks sets the number of blocks that can be processed, at once, before the writer blocks, during compression (default is 2). It should be equal to the number of CPUs available for compression. (default 2)
-      --builtinbackup_mysqld_timeout duration                            how long to wait for mysqld to shutdown at the start of the backup. (default 10m0s)
-      --builtinbackup_progress duration                                  how often to send progress updates when backing up large files. (default 5s)
       --catch-sigpipe                                                    catch and ignore SIGPIPE on stdout and stderr if specified
-      --compression-engine-name string                                   compressor engine used for compression. (default "pargzip")
-      --compression-level int                                            what level to pass to the compressor. (default 1)
       --db-credentials-file string                                       db credentials file; send SIGHUP to reload this file
       --db-credentials-server string                                     db credentials server type ('file' - file implementation; 'vault' - HashiCorp Vault implementation) (default "file")
       --db-credentials-vault-addr string                                 URL to Vault server
@@ -42,10 +34,6 @@ Usage of mysqlctld:
       --db_tls_min_version string                                        Configures the minimal TLS version negotiated when SSL is enabled. Defaults to TLSv1.2. Options: TLSv1.0, TLSv1.1, TLSv1.2, TLSv1.3.
       --dba_idle_timeout duration                                        Idle timeout for dba connections (default 1m0s)
       --dba_pool_size int                                                Size of the connection pool for dba connections (default 20)
-      --disable_active_reparents                                         if set, do not allow active reparents. Use this to protect a cluster using external reparents.
-      --external-compressor string                                       command with arguments to use when compressing a backup.
-      --external-compressor-extension string                             extension to use when using an external compressor.
-      --external-decompressor string                                     command with arguments to use when decompressing a backup.
       --grpc_auth_mode string                                            Which auth plugin implementation to use (eg: static)
       --grpc_auth_mtls_allowed_substrings string                         List of substrings of at least one of the client certificate names (separated by colon).
       --grpc_auth_static_client_creds string                             When using grpc_static_auth in the server, this file provides the credentials to use to authenticate with server.
@@ -102,11 +90,3 @@ Usage of mysqlctld:
   -v, --version                                                          print binary version
       --vmodule moduleSpec                                               comma-separated list of pattern=N settings for file-filtered logging
       --wait_time duration                                               How long to wait for mysqld startup or shutdown (default 5m0s)
-      --xbstream_restore_flags string                                    flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
-      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string                                   flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string                                  flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_root_path string                                      directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
-      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                                    which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream (default "tar")
-      --xtrabackup_stripe_block_size uint                                Size in bytes of each block that gets sent to a given stripe before rotating to the next stripe (default 102400)
-      --xtrabackup_stripes uint                                          If greater than 0, use data striping across this many destination files to parallelize data transfer and decompression
-      --xtrabackup_user string                                           User that xtrabackup will use to connect to the database server. This user must have all necessary privileges. For details, please refer to xtrabackup documentation.
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtbackup.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtbackup.txt
index aacde08d4d0..72a3143d4c9 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtbackup.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtbackup.txt
@@ -166,11 +166,11 @@ Usage of vtbackup:
       --v Level                                         log level for V logs
   -v, --version                                         print binary version
       --vmodule moduleSpec                              comma-separated list of pattern=N settings for file-filtered logging
-      --xbstream_restore_flags string                   flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
-      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string                  flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string                 flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_root_path string                     directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
-      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                   which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream (default "tar")
+      --xbstream_restore_flags string                   Flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
+      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string                  Flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
+      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string                 Flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
+      --xtrabackup_root_path string                     Directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
+      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                   Which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream. Please note that tar is not supported in XtraBackup 8.0 (default "tar")
       --xtrabackup_stripe_block_size uint               Size in bytes of each block that gets sent to a given stripe before rotating to the next stripe (default 102400)
       --xtrabackup_stripes uint                         If greater than 0, use data striping across this many destination files to parallelize data transfer and decompression
       --xtrabackup_user string                          User that xtrabackup will use to connect to the database server. This user must have all necessary privileges. For details, please refer to xtrabackup documentation.
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt
index 95136ae8bad..c77614084d8 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt
@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
 Usage of vtctld:
       --action_timeout duration                                          time to wait for an action before resorting to force (default 2m0s)
-      --allowed_tablet_types []topodatapb.TabletType                     Specifies the tablet types this vtgate is allowed to route queries to.
       --alsologtostderr                                                  log to standard error as well as files
-      --app_idle_timeout duration                                        Idle timeout for app connections (default 1m0s)
-      --app_pool_size int                                                Size of the connection pool for app connections (default 40)
       --azblob_backup_account_key_file string                            Path to a file containing the Azure Storage account key; if this flag is unset, the environment variable VT_AZBLOB_ACCOUNT_KEY will be used as the key itself (NOT a file path).
       --azblob_backup_account_name string                                Azure Storage Account name for backups; if this flag is unset, the environment variable VT_AZBLOB_ACCOUNT_NAME will be used.
       --azblob_backup_container_name string                              Azure Blob Container Name.
@@ -24,13 +21,9 @@ Usage of vtctld:
       --consul_auth_static_file string                                   JSON File to read the topos/tokens from.
       --datadog-agent-host string                                        host to send spans to. if empty, no tracing will be done
       --datadog-agent-port string                                        port to send spans to. if empty, no tracing will be done
-      --dba_idle_timeout duration                                        Idle timeout for dba connections (default 1m0s)
-      --dba_pool_size int                                                Size of the connection pool for dba connections (default 20)
       --disable_active_reparents                                         if set, do not allow active reparents. Use this to protect a cluster using external reparents.
       --durability_policy string                                         type of durability to enforce. Default is none. Other values are dictated by registered plugins (default "none")
       --emit_stats                                                       If set, emit stats to push-based monitoring and stats backends
-      --enable_realtime_stats                                            Required for the Realtime Stats view. If set, vtctld will maintain a streaming RPC to each tablet (in all cells) to gather the realtime health stats.
-      --enable_vtctld_ui                                                 If true, the vtctld web interface will be enabled. Default is true. (default true)
       --external-compressor string                                       command with arguments to use when compressing a backup.
       --external-compressor-extension string                             extension to use when using an external compressor.
       --external-decompressor string                                     command with arguments to use when decompressing a backup.
@@ -66,7 +59,6 @@ Usage of vtctld:
       --jaeger-agent-host string                                         host and port to send spans to. if empty, no tracing will be done
       --keep_logs duration                                               keep logs for this long (using ctime) (zero to keep forever)
       --keep_logs_by_mtime duration                                      keep logs for this long (using mtime) (zero to keep forever)
-      --keyspaces_to_watch strings                                       Specifies which keyspaces this vtgate should have access to while routing queries or accessing the vschema.
       --lameduck-period duration                                         keep running at least this long after SIGTERM before stopping (default 50ms)
       --log_backtrace_at traceLocation                                   when logging hits line file:N, emit a stack trace (default :0)
       --log_dir string                                                   If non-empty, write log files in this directory
@@ -74,20 +66,15 @@ Usage of vtctld:
       --log_rotate_max_size uint                                         size in bytes at which logs are rotated (glog.MaxSize) (default 1887436800)
       --logtostderr                                                      log to standard error instead of files
       --max-stack-size int                                               configure the maximum stack size in bytes (default 67108864)
-      --mysql_server_version string                                      MySQL server version to advertise.
-      --mysqlctl_mycnf_template string                                   template file to use for generating the my.cnf file during server init
-      --mysqlctl_socket string                                           socket file to use for remote mysqlctl actions (empty for local actions)
       --onclose_timeout duration                                         wait no more than this for OnClose handlers before stopping (default 1ns)
       --onterm_timeout duration                                          wait no more than this for OnTermSync handlers before stopping (default 10s)
       --opentsdb_uri string                                              URI of opentsdb /api/put method
       --pid_file string                                                  If set, the process will write its pid to the named file, and delete it on graceful shutdown.
-      --pool_hostname_resolve_interval duration                          if set force an update to all hostnames and reconnect if changed, defaults to 0 (disabled)
       --port int                                                         port for the server
       --pprof strings                                                    enable profiling
       --proxy_tablets                                                    Setting this true will make vtctld proxy the tablet status instead of redirecting to them
       --purge_logs_interval duration                                     how often try to remove old logs (default 1h0m0s)
       --remote_operation_timeout duration                                time to wait for a remote operation (default 30s)
-      --replication_connect_retry duration                               how long to wait in between replica reconnect attempts. Only precise to the second. (default 10s)
       --s3_backup_aws_endpoint string                                    endpoint of the S3 backend (region must be provided).
       --s3_backup_aws_region string                                      AWS region to use. (default "us-east-1")
       --s3_backup_aws_retries int                                        AWS request retries. (default -1)
@@ -113,7 +100,6 @@ Usage of vtctld:
       --stats_emit_period duration                                       Interval between emitting stats to all registered backends (default 1m0s)
       --stderrthreshold severity                                         logs at or above this threshold go to stderr (default 1)
       --tablet_dir string                                                The directory within the vtdataroot to store vttablet/mysql files. Defaults to being generated by the tablet uid.
-      --tablet_filters strings                                           Specifies a comma-separated list of 'keyspace|shard_name or keyrange' values to filter the tablets to watch.
       --tablet_grpc_ca string                                            the server ca to use to validate servers when connecting
       --tablet_grpc_cert string                                          the cert to use to connect
       --tablet_grpc_crl string                                           the server crl to use to validate server certificates when connecting
@@ -165,21 +151,3 @@ Usage of vtctld:
       --vtctl_healthcheck_topology_refresh duration                      refresh interval for re-reading the topology (default 30s)
       --vtctld_sanitize_log_messages                                     When true, vtctld sanitizes logging.
       --vtctld_show_topology_crud                                        Controls the display of the CRUD topology actions in the vtctld UI. (default true)
-      --vtgate_grpc_ca string                                            the server ca to use to validate servers when connecting
-      --vtgate_grpc_cert string                                          the cert to use to connect
-      --vtgate_grpc_crl string                                           the server crl to use to validate server certificates when connecting
-      --vtgate_grpc_key string                                           the key to use to connect
-      --vtgate_grpc_server_name string                                   the server name to use to validate server certificate
-      --web_dir string                                                   NOT USED, here for backward compatibility
-      --web_dir2 string                                                  NOT USED, here for backward compatibility
-      --workflow_manager_disable strings                                 comma separated list of workflow types to disable
-      --workflow_manager_init                                            Initialize the workflow manager in this vtctld instance.
-      --workflow_manager_use_election                                    if specified, will use a topology server-based master election to ensure only one workflow manager is active at a time.
-      --xbstream_restore_flags string                                    flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
-      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string                                   flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string                                  flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_root_path string                                      directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
-      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                                    which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream (default "tar")
-      --xtrabackup_stripe_block_size uint                                Size in bytes of each block that gets sent to a given stripe before rotating to the next stripe (default 102400)
-      --xtrabackup_stripes uint                                          If greater than 0, use data striping across this many destination files to parallelize data transfer and decompression
-      --xtrabackup_user string                                           User that xtrabackup will use to connect to the database server. This user must have all necessary privileges. For details, please refer to xtrabackup documentation.
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtexplain.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtexplain.txt
index 26becfe7d40..2666e0b5f64 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtexplain.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtexplain.txt
@@ -1,17 +1,8 @@
 Usage of vtexplain:
       --alsologtostderr                              log to standard error as well as files
-      --app_idle_timeout duration                    Idle timeout for app connections (default 1m0s)
-      --app_pool_size int                            Size of the connection pool for app connections (default 40)
-      --backup_engine_implementation string          Specifies which implementation to use for creating new backups (builtin or xtrabackup). Restores will always be done with whichever engine created a given backup. (default "builtin")
-      --backup_storage_block_size int                if backup_storage_compress is true, backup_storage_block_size sets the byte size for each block while compressing (default is 250000). (default 250000)
-      --backup_storage_compress                      if set, the backup files will be compressed (default is true). Set to false for instance if a backup_storage_hook is specified and it compresses the data. (default true)
-      --backup_storage_number_blocks int             if backup_storage_compress is true, backup_storage_number_blocks sets the number of blocks that can be processed, at once, before the writer blocks, during compression (default is 2). It should be equal to the number of CPUs available for compression. (default 2)
       --batch-interval duration                      Interval between logical time slots. (default 10ms)
-      --dba_idle_timeout duration                    Idle timeout for dba connections (default 1m0s)
-      --dba_pool_size int                            Size of the connection pool for dba connections (default 20)
       --dbname string                                Optional database target to override normal routing
       --default_tablet_type topodatapb.TabletType    The default tablet type to set for queries, when one is not explicitly selected. (default PRIMARY)
-      --disable_active_reparents                     if set, do not allow active reparents. Use this to protect a cluster using external reparents.
       --execution-mode string                        The execution mode to simulate -- must be set to multi, legacy-autocommit, or twopc (default "multi")
   -h, --help                                         display usage and exit
       --keep_logs duration                           keep logs for this long (using ctime) (zero to keep forever)
@@ -45,18 +36,14 @@ Usage of vtexplain:
       --mysql_server_write_timeout duration          connection write timeout (default 0s)
       --mysql_slow_connect_warn_threshold duration   Warn if it takes more than the given threshold for a mysql connection to establish (default 0s)
       --mysql_tcp_version string                     Select tcp, tcp4, or tcp6 to control the socket type. (default "tcp")
-      --mysqlctl_mycnf_template string               template file to use for generating the my.cnf file during server init
-      --mysqlctl_socket string                       socket file to use for remote mysqlctl actions (empty for local actions)
       --normalize                                    Whether to enable vtgate normalization
       --output-mode string                           Output in human-friendly text or json (default "text")
       --planner-version string                       Sets the query planner version to use when generating the explain output. Valid values are V3 and Gen4
-      --pool_hostname_resolve_interval duration      if set force an update to all hostnames and reconnect if changed, defaults to 0 (disabled)
       --pprof strings                                enable profiling
       --proxy_protocol                               Enable HAProxy PROXY protocol on MySQL listener socket
       --purge_logs_interval duration                 how often try to remove old logs (default 1h0m0s)
       --querylog-buffer-size int                     Maximum number of buffered query logs before throttling log output (default 10)
       --replication-mode string                      The replication mode to simulate -- must be set to either ROW or STATEMENT (default "ROW")
-      --replication_connect_retry duration           how long to wait in between replica reconnect attempts. Only precise to the second. (default 10s)
       --schema string                                The SQL table schema
       --schema-file string                           Identifies the file that contains the SQL table schema
       --security_policy string                       the name of a registered security policy to use for controlling access to URLs - empty means allow all for anyone (built-in policies: deny-all, read-only)
@@ -66,17 +53,8 @@ Usage of vtexplain:
       --sql-max-length-errors int                    truncate queries in error logs to the given length (default unlimited)
       --sql-max-length-ui int                        truncate queries in debug UIs to the given length (default 512) (default 512)
       --stderrthreshold severity                     logs at or above this threshold go to stderr (default 1)
-      --tablet_dir string                            The directory within the vtdataroot to store vttablet/mysql files. Defaults to being generated by the tablet uid.
       --v Level                                      log level for V logs
   -v, --version                                      print binary version
       --vmodule moduleSpec                           comma-separated list of pattern=N settings for file-filtered logging
       --vschema string                               Identifies the VTGate routing schema
       --vschema-file string                          Identifies the VTGate routing schema file
-      --xbstream_restore_flags string                flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
-      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string               flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string              flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_root_path string                  directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
-      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream (default "tar")
-      --xtrabackup_stripe_block_size uint            Size in bytes of each block that gets sent to a given stripe before rotating to the next stripe (default 102400)
-      --xtrabackup_stripes uint                      If greater than 0, use data striping across this many destination files to parallelize data transfer and decompression
-      --xtrabackup_user string                       User that xtrabackup will use to connect to the database server. This user must have all necessary privileges. For details, please refer to xtrabackup documentation.
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtgate.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtgate.txt
index b7103f1ea51..b24966b2726 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtgate.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtgate.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 Usage of vtgate:
-      --allowed_tablet_types []topodatapb.TabletType                     Specifies the tablet types this vtgate is allowed to route queries to.
+      --allowed_tablet_types strings                                     Specifies the tablet types this vtgate is allowed to route queries to. Should be provided as a comma-separated set of tablet types.
       --alsologtostderr                                                  log to standard error as well as files
       --buffer_drain_concurrency int                                     Maximum number of requests retried simultaneously. More concurrency will increase the load on the PRIMARY vttablet when draining the buffer. (default 1)
       --buffer_implementation string                                     Allowed values: healthcheck (legacy implementation), keyspace_events (default) (default "keyspace_events")
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ Usage of vtgate:
       --tablet_protocol string                                           Protocol to use to make queryservice RPCs to vttablets. (default "grpc")
       --tablet_refresh_interval duration                                 Tablet refresh interval. (default 1m0s)
       --tablet_refresh_known_tablets                                     Whether to reload the tablet's address/port map from topo in case they change. (default true)
-      --tablet_types_to_wait string                                      wait till connected for specified tablet types during Gateway initialization
+      --tablet_types_to_wait strings                                     Wait till connected for specified tablet types during Gateway initialization. Should be provided as a comma-separated set of tablet types.
       --tablet_url_template string                                       Format string describing debug tablet url formatting. See getTabletDebugURL() for how to customize this. (default "http://{{.GetTabletHostPort}}")
       --topo_consul_lock_delay duration                                  LockDelay for consul session. (default 15s)
       --topo_consul_lock_session_checks string                           List of checks for consul session. (default "serfHealth")
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vttablet.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vttablet.txt
index d74f79232b5..7fa3b82120a 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vttablet.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vttablet.txt
@@ -369,11 +369,11 @@ Usage of vttablet:
       --vttablet_skip_buildinfo_tags string                              comma-separated list of buildinfo tags to skip from merging with --init_tags. each tag is either an exact match or a regular expression of the form '/regexp/'. (default "/.*/")
       --wait_for_backup_interval duration                                (init restore parameter) if this is greater than 0, instead of starting up empty when no backups are found, keep checking at this interval for a backup to appear
       --watch_replication_stream                                         When enabled, vttablet will stream the MySQL replication stream from the local server, and use it to update schema when it sees a DDL.
-      --xbstream_restore_flags string                                    flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
-      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string                                   flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string                                  flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_root_path string                                      directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
-      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                                    which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream (default "tar")
+      --xbstream_restore_flags string                                    Flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
+      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string                                   Flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
+      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string                                  Flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
+      --xtrabackup_root_path string                                      Directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
+      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                                    Which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream. Please note that tar is not supported in XtraBackup 8.0 (default "tar")
       --xtrabackup_stripe_block_size uint                                Size in bytes of each block that gets sent to a given stripe before rotating to the next stripe (default 102400)
       --xtrabackup_stripes uint                                          If greater than 0, use data striping across this many destination files to parallelize data transfer and decompression
       --xtrabackup_user string                                           User that xtrabackup will use to connect to the database server. This user must have all necessary privileges. For details, please refer to xtrabackup documentation.
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vttestserver.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vttestserver.txt
index 31f1df7f3c5..fbe1c130f70 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vttestserver.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vttestserver.txt
@@ -135,11 +135,11 @@ Usage of vttestserver:
       --vtgate_grpc_key string                                           the key to use to connect
       --vtgate_grpc_server_name string                                   the server name to use to validate server certificate
       --workflow_manager_init                                            Enable workflow manager
-      --xbstream_restore_flags string                                    flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
-      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string                                   flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string                                  flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
-      --xtrabackup_root_path string                                      directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
-      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                                    which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream (default "tar")
+      --xbstream_restore_flags string                                    Flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt
+      --xtrabackup_backup_flags string                                   Flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
+      --xtrabackup_prepare_flags string                                  Flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command
+      --xtrabackup_root_path string                                      Directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin
+      --xtrabackup_stream_mode string                                    Which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream. Please note that tar is not supported in XtraBackup 8.0 (default "tar")
       --xtrabackup_stripe_block_size uint                                Size in bytes of each block that gets sent to a given stripe before rotating to the next stripe (default 102400)
       --xtrabackup_stripes uint                                          If greater than 0, use data striping across this many destination files to parallelize data transfer and decompression
       --xtrabackup_user string                                           User that xtrabackup will use to connect to the database server. This user must have all necessary privileges. For details, please refer to xtrabackup documentation.
diff --git a/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go b/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go
index 9a03823e9ec..be085288892 100644
--- a/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go
+++ b/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go
@@ -147,19 +147,25 @@ func ParseTabletURLTemplateFromFlag() {
 }
 
 func init() {
-	servenv.OnParseFor("vtgate", registerDiscoveryFlags)
-	servenv.OnParseFor("vtcombo", registerDiscoveryFlags)
-	servenv.OnParseFor("vtctld", registerDiscoveryFlags)
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"vtgate", "vtcombo"} {
+		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerDiscoveryFlags)
+		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerWebUIFlags)
+	}
+
+	servenv.OnParseFor("vtctld", registerWebUIFlags)
 }
 
 func registerDiscoveryFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
+	fs.StringSliceVar(&tabletFilters, "tablet_filters", []string{}, "Specifies a comma-separated list of 'keyspace|shard_name or keyrange' values to filter the tablets to watch.")
+	fs.Var((*topoproto.TabletTypeListFlag)(&AllowedTabletTypes), "allowed_tablet_types", "Specifies the tablet types this vtgate is allowed to route queries to. Should be provided as a comma-separated set of tablet types.")
+	fs.StringSliceVar(&KeyspacesToWatch, "keyspaces_to_watch", []string{}, "Specifies which keyspaces this vtgate should have access to while routing queries or accessing the vschema.")
+}
+
+func registerWebUIFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.StringVar(&TabletURLTemplateString, "tablet_url_template", "http://{{.GetTabletHostPort}}", "Format string describing debug tablet url formatting. See getTabletDebugURL() for how to customize this.")
 	fs.DurationVar(&refreshInterval, "tablet_refresh_interval", 1*time.Minute, "Tablet refresh interval.")
 	fs.BoolVar(&refreshKnownTablets, "tablet_refresh_known_tablets", true, "Whether to reload the tablet's address/port map from topo in case they change.")
 	fs.IntVar(&topoReadConcurrency, "topo_read_concurrency", 32, "Concurrency of topo reads.")
-	fs.StringSliceVar(&tabletFilters, "tablet_filters", []string{}, "Specifies a comma-separated list of 'keyspace|shard_name or keyrange' values to filter the tablets to watch.")
-	fs.Var((*topoproto.TabletTypeListFlag)(&AllowedTabletTypes), "allowed_tablet_types", "Specifies the tablet types this vtgate is allowed to route queries to.")
-	fs.StringSliceVar(&KeyspacesToWatch, "keyspaces_to_watch", []string{}, "Specifies which keyspaces this vtgate should have access to while routing queries or accessing the vschema.")
 	ParseTabletURLTemplateFromFlag()
 }
 
diff --git a/go/vt/mysqlctl/backup.go b/go/vt/mysqlctl/backup.go
index a11ddb75ce3..7d62681c5dc 100644
--- a/go/vt/mysqlctl/backup.go
+++ b/go/vt/mysqlctl/backup.go
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ var (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtbackup", "vtctld", "vtctldclient", "vtexplain"} {
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtbackup", "vtctld"} {
 		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerBackupFlags)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/go/vt/mysqlctl/backupengine.go b/go/vt/mysqlctl/backupengine.go
index b7c1c82dffe..2b0b08f7e14 100644
--- a/go/vt/mysqlctl/backupengine.go
+++ b/go/vt/mysqlctl/backupengine.go
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ type BackupRestoreEngine interface {
 var BackupRestoreEngineMap = make(map[string]BackupRestoreEngine)
 
 func init() {
-	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient", "vtexplain", "vtbackup"} {
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtbackup"} {
 		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerBackupEngineFlags)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/go/vt/mysqlctl/builtinbackupengine.go b/go/vt/mysqlctl/builtinbackupengine.go
index 22ff4ffff84..f4c0a0b5161 100644
--- a/go/vt/mysqlctl/builtinbackupengine.go
+++ b/go/vt/mysqlctl/builtinbackupengine.go
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ type FileEntry struct {
 }
 
 func init() {
-	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient"} {
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient"} {
 		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerBuiltinBackupEngineFlags)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/go/vt/mysqlctl/compression.go b/go/vt/mysqlctl/compression.go
index 1d2a4aba3d0..4687bec0265 100644
--- a/go/vt/mysqlctl/compression.go
+++ b/go/vt/mysqlctl/compression.go
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ var (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient"} {
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient"} {
 		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerBackupCompressionFlags)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/go/vt/mysqlctl/mycnf_gen.go b/go/vt/mysqlctl/mycnf_gen.go
index 3024b3bb5e6..2ac47fe617b 100644
--- a/go/vt/mysqlctl/mycnf_gen.go
+++ b/go/vt/mysqlctl/mycnf_gen.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ var (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient", "vtexplain"} {
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient"} {
 		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerMyCnfFlags)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/go/vt/mysqlctl/mysqld.go b/go/vt/mysqlctl/mysqld.go
index 2738caed2bd..45ec3b7bd73 100644
--- a/go/vt/mysqlctl/mysqld.go
+++ b/go/vt/mysqlctl/mysqld.go
@@ -100,23 +100,35 @@ type Mysqld struct {
 }
 
 func init() {
-	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient", "vtexplain"} {
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver"} {
 		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerMySQLDFlags)
 	}
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient"} {
+		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerReparentFlags)
+	}
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vttestserver"} {
+		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerPoolFlags)
+	}
 }
 
 func registerMySQLDFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
-	fs.BoolVar(&DisableActiveReparents, "disable_active_reparents", DisableActiveReparents, "if set, do not allow active reparents. Use this to protect a cluster using external reparents.")
-	fs.IntVar(&dbaPoolSize, "dba_pool_size", dbaPoolSize, "Size of the connection pool for dba connections")
-	fs.DurationVar(&DbaIdleTimeout, "dba_idle_timeout", DbaIdleTimeout, "Idle timeout for dba connections")
-	fs.IntVar(&appPoolSize, "app_pool_size", appPoolSize, "Size of the connection pool for app connections")
-	fs.DurationVar(&appIdleTimeout, "app_idle_timeout", appIdleTimeout, "Idle timeout for app connections")
 	fs.DurationVar(&PoolDynamicHostnameResolution, "pool_hostname_resolve_interval", PoolDynamicHostnameResolution, "if set force an update to all hostnames and reconnect if changed, defaults to 0 (disabled)")
 	fs.StringVar(&mycnfTemplateFile, "mysqlctl_mycnf_template", mycnfTemplateFile, "template file to use for generating the my.cnf file during server init")
 	fs.StringVar(&socketFile, "mysqlctl_socket", socketFile, "socket file to use for remote mysqlctl actions (empty for local actions)")
 	fs.DurationVar(&replicationConnectRetry, "replication_connect_retry", replicationConnectRetry, "how long to wait in between replica reconnect attempts. Only precise to the second.")
 }
 
+func registerReparentFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
+	fs.BoolVar(&DisableActiveReparents, "disable_active_reparents", DisableActiveReparents, "if set, do not allow active reparents. Use this to protect a cluster using external reparents.")
+}
+
+func registerPoolFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
+	fs.IntVar(&dbaPoolSize, "dba_pool_size", dbaPoolSize, "Size of the connection pool for dba connections")
+	fs.DurationVar(&DbaIdleTimeout, "dba_idle_timeout", DbaIdleTimeout, "Idle timeout for dba connections")
+	fs.DurationVar(&appIdleTimeout, "app_idle_timeout", appIdleTimeout, "Idle timeout for app connections")
+	fs.IntVar(&appPoolSize, "app_pool_size", appPoolSize, "Size of the connection pool for app connections")
+}
+
 // NewMysqld creates a Mysqld object based on the provided configuration
 // and connection parameters.
 func NewMysqld(dbcfgs *dbconfigs.DBConfigs) *Mysqld {
diff --git a/go/vt/mysqlctl/xtrabackupengine.go b/go/vt/mysqlctl/xtrabackupengine.go
index 112bdf4179d..38f29cee699 100644
--- a/go/vt/mysqlctl/xtrabackupengine.go
+++ b/go/vt/mysqlctl/xtrabackupengine.go
@@ -105,17 +105,17 @@ type xtraBackupManifest struct {
 }
 
 func init() {
-	for _, cmd := range []string{"mysqlctl", "mysqlctld", "vtcombo", "vttablet", "vtbackup", "vttestserver", "vtctld", "vtctldclient", "vtexplain"} {
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"vtcombo", "vttablet", "vtbackup", "vttestserver", "vtctldclient"} {
 		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerXtraBackupEngineFlags)
 	}
 }
 
 func registerXtraBackupEngineFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
-	fs.StringVar(&xtrabackupEnginePath, "xtrabackup_root_path", xtrabackupEnginePath, "directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin")
-	fs.StringVar(&xtrabackupBackupFlags, "xtrabackup_backup_flags", xtrabackupBackupFlags, "flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command")
-	fs.StringVar(&xtrabackupPrepareFlags, "xtrabackup_prepare_flags", xtrabackupPrepareFlags, "flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command")
-	fs.StringVar(&xbstreamRestoreFlags, "xbstream_restore_flags", xbstreamRestoreFlags, "flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt")
-	fs.StringVar(&xtrabackupStreamMode, "xtrabackup_stream_mode", xtrabackupStreamMode, "which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream")
+	fs.StringVar(&xtrabackupEnginePath, "xtrabackup_root_path", xtrabackupEnginePath, "Directory location of the xtrabackup and xbstream executables, e.g., /usr/bin")
+	fs.StringVar(&xtrabackupBackupFlags, "xtrabackup_backup_flags", xtrabackupBackupFlags, "Flags to pass to backup command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command")
+	fs.StringVar(&xtrabackupPrepareFlags, "xtrabackup_prepare_flags", xtrabackupPrepareFlags, "Flags to pass to prepare command. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command")
+	fs.StringVar(&xbstreamRestoreFlags, "xbstream_restore_flags", xbstreamRestoreFlags, "Flags to pass to xbstream command during restore. These should be space separated and will be added to the end of the command. These need to match the ones used for backup e.g. --compress / --decompress, --encrypt / --decrypt")
+	fs.StringVar(&xtrabackupStreamMode, "xtrabackup_stream_mode", xtrabackupStreamMode, "Which mode to use if streaming, valid values are tar and xbstream. Please note that tar is not supported in XtraBackup 8.0")
 	fs.StringVar(&xtrabackupUser, "xtrabackup_user", xtrabackupUser, "User that xtrabackup will use to connect to the database server. This user must have all necessary privileges. For details, please refer to xtrabackup documentation.")
 	fs.UintVar(&xtrabackupStripes, "xtrabackup_stripes", xtrabackupStripes, "If greater than 0, use data striping across this many destination files to parallelize data transfer and decompression")
 	fs.UintVar(&xtrabackupStripeBlockSize, "xtrabackup_stripe_block_size", xtrabackupStripeBlockSize, "Size in bytes of each block that gets sent to a given stripe before rotating to the next stripe")
diff --git a/go/vt/servenv/mysql.go b/go/vt/servenv/mysql.go
index e74d4d07acf..e5d37bd5391 100644
--- a/go/vt/servenv/mysql.go
+++ b/go/vt/servenv/mysql.go
@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@ func init() {
 		"vtbackup",
 		"vtcombo",
 		"vtctl",
-		"vtctld",
 		"vtctldclient",
 		"vtexplain",
 		"vtgate",
diff --git a/go/vt/topo/topoproto/flag.go b/go/vt/topo/topoproto/flag.go
index d92378017ae..becc789b59f 100644
--- a/go/vt/topo/topoproto/flag.go
+++ b/go/vt/topo/topoproto/flag.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func (ttlv *TabletTypeListFlag) Set(v string) (err error) {
 
 // Type is part of the pflag.Value interface.
 func (ttlv *TabletTypeListFlag) Type() string {
-	return "[]topodatapb.TabletType"
+	return "strings"
 }
 
 // TabletTypeFlag implements the pflag.Value interface, for parsing a command-line value into a TabletType.
diff --git a/go/vt/vtctld/vtctld.go b/go/vt/vtctld/vtctld.go
index 40973864ddc..a599b5a0edd 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtctld/vtctld.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtctld/vtctld.go
@@ -60,11 +60,15 @@ func init() {
 
 func registerVtctldFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.BoolVar(&enableRealtimeStats, "enable_realtime_stats", enableRealtimeStats, "Required for the Realtime Stats view. If set, vtctld will maintain a streaming RPC to each tablet (in all cells) to gather the realtime health stats.")
+	fs.MarkDeprecated("enable_realtime_stats", "It is used by old vtctl UI that is already deprecated.")
 	fs.BoolVar(&enableUI, "enable_vtctld_ui", enableUI, "If true, the vtctld web interface will be enabled. Default is true.")
+	fs.MarkDeprecated("enable_vtctld_ui", "It is used by old vtctl UI that is already deprecated.")
 	fs.StringVar(&durabilityPolicy, "durability_policy", durabilityPolicy, "type of durability to enforce. Default is none. Other values are dictated by registered plugins")
 	fs.BoolVar(&sanitizeLogMessages, "vtctld_sanitize_log_messages", sanitizeLogMessages, "When true, vtctld sanitizes logging.")
 	fs.StringVar(&webDir, "web_dir", webDir, "NOT USED, here for backward compatibility")
+	fs.MarkDeprecated("web_dir", "it will be removed in a future releases.")
 	fs.StringVar(&webDir2, "web_dir2", webDir2, "NOT USED, here for backward compatibility")
+	fs.MarkDeprecated("web_dir2", "it will be removed in a future releases.")
 }
 
 // InitVtctld initializes all the vtctld functionality.
diff --git a/go/vt/vtctld/workflow.go b/go/vt/vtctld/workflow.go
index bafc6ad8672..ef9b4f3b1c0 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtctld/workflow.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtctld/workflow.go
@@ -41,8 +41,11 @@ var (
 
 func registerVtctldWorkflowFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.BoolVar(&workflowManagerInit, "workflow_manager_init", workflowManagerInit, "Initialize the workflow manager in this vtctld instance.")
+	fs.MarkDeprecated("workflow_manager_init", "it will be removed in a future releases.")
 	fs.BoolVar(&workflowManagerUseElection, "workflow_manager_use_election", workflowManagerUseElection, "if specified, will use a topology server-based master election to ensure only one workflow manager is active at a time.")
+	fs.MarkDeprecated("workflow_manager_use_election", "it will be removed in a future releases.")
 	fs.StringSliceVar(&workflowManagerDisable, "workflow_manager_disable", workflowManagerDisable, "comma separated list of workflow types to disable")
+	fs.MarkDeprecated("workflow_manager_disable", "it will be removed in a future releases.")
 }
 
 func init() {
diff --git a/go/vt/vtgate/grpcvtgateconn/conn.go b/go/vt/vtgate/grpcvtgateconn/conn.go
index 1f29d1c8c47..0fb76dfefe4 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtgate/grpcvtgateconn/conn.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtgate/grpcvtgateconn/conn.go
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ func init() {
 		"vtclient",
 		"vtcombo",
 		"vtctl",
-		"vtctld",
 		"vttestserver",
 	} {
 		servenv.OnParseFor(cmd, registerFlags)
diff --git a/go/vt/vttablet/tabletserver/tabletenv/config.go b/go/vt/vttablet/tabletserver/tabletenv/config.go
index d150791efdd..df2ab5f23e5 100644
--- a/go/vt/vttablet/tabletserver/tabletenv/config.go
+++ b/go/vt/vttablet/tabletserver/tabletenv/config.go
@@ -95,13 +95,13 @@ func registerTabletEnvFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 
 	fs.IntVar(&currentConfig.OltpReadPool.Size, "queryserver-config-pool-size", defaultConfig.OltpReadPool.Size, "query server read pool size, connection pool is used by regular queries (non streaming, not in a transaction)")
 	fs.IntVar(&currentConfig.OltpReadPool.PrefillParallelism, "queryserver-config-pool-prefill-parallelism", defaultConfig.OltpReadPool.PrefillParallelism, "Query server read pool prefill parallelism, a non-zero value will prefill the pool using the specified parallism.")
-	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("queryserver-config-pool-prefill-parallelism", "This flag is deprecated.")
+	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("queryserver-config-pool-prefill-parallelism", "it will be removed in a future release.")
 	fs.IntVar(&currentConfig.OlapReadPool.Size, "queryserver-config-stream-pool-size", defaultConfig.OlapReadPool.Size, "query server stream connection pool size, stream pool is used by stream queries: queries that return results to client in a streaming fashion")
 	fs.IntVar(&currentConfig.OlapReadPool.PrefillParallelism, "queryserver-config-stream-pool-prefill-parallelism", defaultConfig.OlapReadPool.PrefillParallelism, "Query server stream pool prefill parallelism, a non-zero value will prefill the pool using the specified parallelism")
-	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("queryserver-config-stream-pool-prefill-parallelism", "This flag is deprecated.")
+	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("queryserver-config-stream-pool-prefill-parallelism", "it will be removed in a future release.")
 	fs.IntVar(&currentConfig.TxPool.Size, "queryserver-config-transaction-cap", defaultConfig.TxPool.Size, "query server transaction cap is the maximum number of transactions allowed to happen at any given point of a time for a single vttablet. E.g. by setting transaction cap to 100, there are at most 100 transactions will be processed by a vttablet and the 101th transaction will be blocked (and fail if it cannot get connection within specified timeout)")
 	fs.IntVar(&currentConfig.TxPool.PrefillParallelism, "queryserver-config-transaction-prefill-parallelism", defaultConfig.TxPool.PrefillParallelism, "Query server transaction prefill parallelism, a non-zero value will prefill the pool using the specified parallism.")
-	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("queryserver-config-transaction-prefill-parallelism", "This flag is deprecated.")
+	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("queryserver-config-transaction-prefill-parallelism", "it will be removed in a future release.")
 	fs.IntVar(&currentConfig.MessagePostponeParallelism, "queryserver-config-message-postpone-cap", defaultConfig.MessagePostponeParallelism, "query server message postpone cap is the maximum number of messages that can be postponed at any given time. Set this number to substantially lower than transaction cap, so that the transaction pool isn't exhausted by the message subsystem.")
 	SecondsVar(fs, &currentConfig.Oltp.TxTimeoutSeconds, "queryserver-config-transaction-timeout", defaultConfig.Oltp.TxTimeoutSeconds, "query server transaction timeout (in seconds), a transaction will be killed if it takes longer than this value")
 	SecondsVar(fs, &currentConfig.GracePeriods.ShutdownSeconds, "shutdown_grace_period", defaultConfig.GracePeriods.ShutdownSeconds, "how long to wait (in seconds) for queries and transactions to complete during graceful shutdown.")
@@ -165,8 +165,8 @@ func registerTabletEnvFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.Int64Var(&currentConfig.ConsolidatorStreamQuerySize, "consolidator-stream-query-size", defaultConfig.ConsolidatorStreamQuerySize, "Configure the stream consolidator query size in bytes. Setting to 0 disables the stream consolidator.")
 	fs.Int64Var(&currentConfig.ConsolidatorStreamTotalSize, "consolidator-stream-total-size", defaultConfig.ConsolidatorStreamTotalSize, "Configure the stream consolidator total size in bytes. Setting to 0 disables the stream consolidator.")
 	flagutil.DualFormatBoolVar(fs, &currentConfig.DeprecatedCacheResultFields, "enable_query_plan_field_caching", defaultConfig.DeprecatedCacheResultFields, "This option fetches & caches fields (columns) when storing query plans")
-	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("enable_query_plan_field_caching", "This flag is deprecated.")
-	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("enable-query-plan-field-caching", "This flag is deprecated.")
+	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("enable_query_plan_field_caching", "it will be removed in a future release.")
+	_ = fs.MarkDeprecated("enable-query-plan-field-caching", "it will be removed in a future release.")
 
 	fs.DurationVar(&healthCheckInterval, "health_check_interval", 20*time.Second, "Interval between health checks")
 	fs.DurationVar(&degradedThreshold, "degraded_threshold", 30*time.Second, "replication lag after which a replica is considered degraded")