diff --git a/cli/src/main/scala/coursier/cli/Coursier.scala b/cli/src/main/scala/coursier/cli/Coursier.scala
index 1c6057c17..fbfe02217 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/scala/coursier/cli/Coursier.scala
+++ b/cli/src/main/scala/coursier/cli/Coursier.scala
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ case class Coursier(
       CachePolicy.Default
 
   val cache = Cache.default
+  cache.init(verbose = verbose0 >= 0)
 
   val repositoryIds = {
     val repository0 = repository
diff --git a/cli/src/main/scala/coursier/cli/Repositories.scala b/cli/src/main/scala/coursier/cli/Repositories.scala
index 37903016f..4e717fa03 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/scala/coursier/cli/Repositories.scala
+++ b/cli/src/main/scala/coursier/cli/Repositories.scala
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ case class Repositories(
   }
 
   if (!cache.cache.exists())
-    cache.init()
+    cache.init(verbose = true)
 
   val current = cache.list().map(_._1).toSet
 
diff --git a/files/src/main/scala/coursier/Cache.scala b/files/src/main/scala/coursier/Cache.scala
index cc1cac06e..b33f9151e 100644
--- a/files/src/main/scala/coursier/Cache.scala
+++ b/files/src/main/scala/coursier/Cache.scala
@@ -63,8 +63,13 @@ case class Cache(cache: File) {
   def addIvy2Local(): Unit =
     add("ivy2local", new File(sys.props("user.home") + "/.ivy2/local/").toURI.toString, ivyLike = true)
 
-  def init(ifEmpty: Boolean = true): Unit =
+  def init(
+    ifEmpty: Boolean = true,
+    verbose: Boolean = false
+  ): Unit =
     if (!ifEmpty || !cache.exists()) {
+      if (verbose)
+        Console.err.println(s"Initializing $cache")
       repoDir.mkdirs()
       metadataBase.mkdirs()
       fileBase.mkdirs()