diff --git a/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-maven-plugin/src/site/apt/usage.apt.vm b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-maven-plugin/src/site/apt/usage.apt.vm
index 5e501a2ada1..3452b1340bb 100644
--- a/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-maven-plugin/src/site/apt/usage.apt.vm
+++ b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-maven-plugin/src/site/apt/usage.apt.vm
@@ -60,6 +60,11 @@ Usage
   Please note that the <<<outputFileNameMapping>>> feature of the <<<maven-war-plugin>>>
   is currently not supported.
 
+  Devtools is automatically excluded by default (you can control that using the
+  <<<excludeDevtools>>> property). In order to make that work with <<<war>>> packaging,
+  the `spring-boot-devtools` dependency must be set as <<<optional>>> or with the
+  <<<provided>>> scope.
+
   The original (i.e. non executable) artifact is renamed to <<<.original>>> by default but it is also
   possible to keep the original artifact using a custom classifier.