diff --git a/doc/api/repl.md b/doc/api/repl.md
index 09fe9ebcbece61..60adbf641d1592 100644
--- a/doc/api/repl.md
+++ b/doc/api/repl.md
@@ -540,8 +540,10 @@ environment variables:
 
  - `NODE_REPL_HISTORY` - When a valid path is given, persistent REPL history
    will be saved to the specified file rather than `.node_repl_history` in the
-   user's home directory. Setting this value to `''` will disable persistent
-   REPL history. Whitespace will be trimmed from the value.
+   user's home directory. Setting this value to `''` (an empty string) will
+   disable persistent REPL history. Whitespace will be trimmed from the value.
+   On Windows platforms environment variables with empty values are invalid so
+   set this variable to one or more spaces to disable persistent REPL history.
  - `NODE_REPL_HISTORY_SIZE` - Controls how many lines of history will be
    persisted if history is available. Must be a positive number.
    **Default:** `1000`.