diff --git a/cmd/manifest/sync.go b/cmd/manifest/sync.go
index 3b78a359..6ea0e0ee 100644
--- a/cmd/manifest/sync.go
+++ b/cmd/manifest/sync.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
 	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/app"
 	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/cmdutil"
+	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/config"
 	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/experiment"
 	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/manifest"
 	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/prompts"
@@ -37,8 +38,8 @@ func NewSyncCommand(clients *shared.ClientFactory) *cobra.Command {
 		Hidden: true,
 		Example: style.ExampleCommandsf([]style.ExampleCommand{
 			{Command: "manifest sync", Meaning: "Sync project manifest with app settings"},
-			{Command: "manifest sync --force", Meaning: "Push project manifest to app settings without prompting"},
-			{Command: "manifest sync --force-remote", Meaning: "Pull app settings to project manifest without prompting"},
+			{Command: "manifest sync --manifest-source=local", Meaning: "Push project manifest to app settings without prompting"},
+			{Command: "manifest sync --manifest-source=remote", Meaning: "Pull app settings to project manifest without prompting"},
 		}),
 		Args: cobra.NoArgs,
 		PreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
@@ -49,9 +50,8 @@ func NewSyncCommand(clients *shared.ClientFactory) *cobra.Command {
 						style.CommandText("--experiment manifest-sync"),
 					)
 			}
-			if clients.Config.ForceFlag && clients.Config.ForceRemoteFlag {
-				return slackerror.New(slackerror.ErrMismatchedFlags).
-					WithMessage("Cannot use both %s and %s flags", style.CommandText("--force"), style.CommandText("--force-remote"))
+			if err := cmdutil.ValidateManifestSourceFlag(clients); err != nil {
+				return err
 			}
 			return cmdutil.IsValidProjectDirectory(clients)
 		},
@@ -71,6 +71,6 @@ func NewSyncCommand(clients *shared.ClientFactory) *cobra.Command {
 			return err
 		},
 	}
-	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&clients.Config.ForceRemoteFlag, "force-remote", false, "use all app settings values without prompting")
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag, "manifest-source", "", "resolve manifest differences using this source ("+string(config.ManifestSourceLocal)+" or "+string(config.ManifestSourceRemote)+")")
 	return cmd
 }
diff --git a/cmd/manifest/sync_test.go b/cmd/manifest/sync_test.go
index 2ca0da96..464f6b0c 100644
--- a/cmd/manifest/sync_test.go
+++ b/cmd/manifest/sync_test.go
@@ -45,15 +45,14 @@ func TestSyncCommand(t *testing.T) {
 			// the gate itself should pass.
 			ExpectedErrorStrings: []string{},
 		},
-		"errors when both --force and --force-remote are set": {
-			CmdArgs: []string{"--force-remote"},
+		"errors when --manifest-source has an invalid value": {
+			CmdArgs: []string{"--manifest-source=invalid"},
 			Setup: func(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, cm *shared.ClientsMock, cf *shared.ClientFactory) {
 				cm.AddDefaultMocks()
 				cf.Config.ExperimentsFlag = []string{string(experiment.ManifestSync)}
 				cf.Config.LoadExperiments(ctx, cf.IO.PrintDebug)
-				cf.Config.ForceFlag = true
 			},
-			ExpectedErrorStrings: []string{"Cannot use both", "--force", "--force-remote"},
+			ExpectedErrorStrings: []string{"Invalid value", "invalid", "--manifest-source"},
 		},
 	}, func(clients *shared.ClientFactory) *cobra.Command {
 		return NewSyncCommand(clients)
diff --git a/cmd/platform/deploy.go b/cmd/platform/deploy.go
index 88eed572..d19a9971 100644
--- a/cmd/platform/deploy.go
+++ b/cmd/platform/deploy.go
@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@ func NewDeployCommand(clients *shared.ClientFactory) *cobra.Command {
 			{Command: "platform deploy --team T0123456", Meaning: "Deploy to a specific team"},
 		}),
 		PreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			if err := cmdutil.ValidateManifestSourceFlag(clients); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 			return cmdutil.IsValidProjectDirectory(clients)
 		},
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
@@ -108,6 +111,7 @@ func NewDeployCommand(clients *shared.ClientFactory) *cobra.Command {
 	}
 
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&deployFlags.hideTriggers, "hide-triggers", false, "do not list triggers and skip trigger creation prompts")
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag, "manifest-source", "", "resolve manifest differences using this source (local or remote)")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&deployFlags.orgGrantWorkspaceID, cmdutil.OrgGrantWorkspaceFlag, "", cmdutil.OrgGrantWorkspaceDescription())
 
 	return cmd
diff --git a/cmd/platform/deploy_test.go b/cmd/platform/deploy_test.go
index 00a656e0..8c0e8f4e 100644
--- a/cmd/platform/deploy_test.go
+++ b/cmd/platform/deploy_test.go
@@ -106,6 +106,24 @@ func TestDeployCommand(t *testing.T) {
 	deployPkgMock.AssertCalled(t, "Deploy", mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything)
 }
 
+func TestDeployCommand_ManifestSourceFlag_InvalidValue(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := slackcontext.MockContext(t.Context())
+	clientsMock := shared.NewClientsMock()
+	clientsMock.AddDefaultMocks()
+	clients := shared.NewClientFactory(clientsMock.MockClientFactory(), func(clients *shared.ClientFactory) {
+		clients.Config.ProjectConfig = config.NewProjectConfigMock()
+		clients.SDKConfig = hooks.NewSDKConfigMock()
+	})
+
+	cmd := NewDeployCommand(clients)
+	testutil.MockCmdIO(clients.IO, cmd)
+	cmd.SetArgs([]string{"--manifest-source", "invalid"})
+
+	err := cmd.ExecuteContext(ctx)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "invalid")
+}
+
 func TestDeployCommand_HasValidDeploymentMethod(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := map[string]struct {
 		app                 types.App
diff --git a/cmd/platform/run.go b/cmd/platform/run.go
index 35d258fa..dcc683a4 100644
--- a/cmd/platform/run.go
+++ b/cmd/platform/run.go
@@ -58,7 +58,9 @@ func NewRunCommand(clients *shared.ClientFactory) *cobra.Command {
 			{Command: "platform run --cleanup", Meaning: "Run a local development server with cleanup"},
 		}),
 		PreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-			// Verify command is run in a project directory
+			if err := cmdutil.ValidateManifestSourceFlag(clients); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 			return cmdutil.IsValidProjectDirectory(clients)
 		},
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
@@ -70,6 +72,7 @@ func NewRunCommand(clients *shared.ClientFactory) *cobra.Command {
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&runFlags.activityLevel, "activity-level", platform.ActivityMinLevelDefault, "activity level to display")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&runFlags.noActivity, "no-activity", false, "hide Slack Platform log activity")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&runFlags.cleanup, "cleanup", false, "uninstall the local app after exiting")
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag, "manifest-source", "", "resolve manifest differences using this source (local or remote)")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&runFlags.orgGrantWorkspaceID, cmdutil.OrgGrantWorkspaceFlag, "", cmdutil.OrgGrantWorkspaceDescription())
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&runFlags.hideTriggers, "hide-triggers", false, "do not list triggers and skip trigger creation prompts")
 
diff --git a/cmd/platform/run_test.go b/cmd/platform/run_test.go
index 517b5c92..21777600 100644
--- a/cmd/platform/run_test.go
+++ b/cmd/platform/run_test.go
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/mock"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 // Setup a mock for the package
@@ -277,6 +278,24 @@ func TestRunCommand_Flags(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestRunCommand_ManifestSourceFlag_InvalidValue(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := slackcontext.MockContext(t.Context())
+	clientsMock := shared.NewClientsMock()
+	clientsMock.IO.On("IsTTY").Return(true)
+	clientsMock.IO.AddDefaultMocks()
+	clients := shared.NewClientFactory(clientsMock.MockClientFactory(), func(clients *shared.ClientFactory) {
+		clients.SDKConfig = hooks.NewSDKConfigMock()
+	})
+
+	cmd := NewRunCommand(clients)
+	testutil.MockCmdIO(clients.IO, cmd)
+	cmd.SetArgs([]string{"--manifest-source", "invalid"})
+
+	err := cmd.ExecuteContext(ctx)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "invalid")
+}
+
 func TestRunCommand_Help(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := slackcontext.MockContext(t.Context())
 	clientsMock := shared.NewClientsMock()
diff --git a/internal/cmdutil/flags.go b/internal/cmdutil/flags.go
index cdbea12a..c1fe9f86 100644
--- a/internal/cmdutil/flags.go
+++ b/internal/cmdutil/flags.go
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ package cmdutil
 import (
 	"fmt"
 
+	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/config"
+	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/shared"
+	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/slackerror"
 	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/style"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -35,6 +38,20 @@ var OrgGrantWorkspaceDescription = func() string {
 		style.Secondary("(or 'all' for all workspaces in the org)"))
 }
 
+// ValidateManifestSourceFlag checks that --manifest-source has a valid value if set
+func ValidateManifestSourceFlag(clients *shared.ClientFactory) error {
+	ms := config.ManifestSource(clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag)
+	if ms.Exists() && !ms.IsValid() {
+		return slackerror.New(slackerror.ErrInvalidFlag).
+			WithMessage("Invalid value %q for %s flag", clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag, style.CommandText("--manifest-source")).
+			WithRemediation("Valid values are %s or %s",
+				style.Highlight(string(config.ManifestSourceLocal)),
+				style.Highlight(string(config.ManifestSourceRemote)),
+			)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 // IsFlagChanged checks if a certain flag has been set in the command
 func IsFlagChanged(cmd *cobra.Command, flag string) bool {
 	IsFlagSet := cmd.Flags().Lookup(flag)
diff --git a/internal/cmdutil/flags_test.go b/internal/cmdutil/flags_test.go
index 2189bc95..bc4727ba 100644
--- a/internal/cmdutil/flags_test.go
+++ b/internal/cmdutil/flags_test.go
@@ -17,10 +17,55 @@ package cmdutil
 import (
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/config"
+	"github.com/slackapi/slack-cli/internal/shared"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
+func Test_ValidateManifestSourceFlag(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := map[string]struct {
+		value     string
+		expectErr bool
+	}{
+		"flag not provided is valid": {
+			value:     "",
+			expectErr: false,
+		},
+		"local is valid": {
+			value:     "local",
+			expectErr: false,
+		},
+		"remote is valid": {
+			value:     "remote",
+			expectErr: false,
+		},
+		"invalid value returns error": {
+			value:     "invalid",
+			expectErr: true,
+		},
+		"project is not valid": {
+			value:     "project",
+			expectErr: true,
+		},
+	}
+	for name, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			clients := &shared.ClientFactory{
+				Config: &config.Config{ManifestSourceFlag: tc.value},
+			}
+			err := ValidateManifestSourceFlag(clients)
+			if tc.expectErr {
+				require.Error(t, err)
+				assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), tc.value)
+			} else {
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func Test_IsFlagChanged(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := map[string]struct {
 		flag     string
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 979a0afe..99fbe23e 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ type Config struct {
 	DeprecatedWorkspaceFlag string
 	DisableTelemetryFlag    bool
 	ForceFlag               bool
-	ForceRemoteFlag         bool
 	LogstashHostResolved    string
+	ManifestSourceFlag      string
 	NoColor                 bool
 	RuntimeFlag             string
 	RuntimeName             string
diff --git a/internal/config/manifest.go b/internal/config/manifest.go
index 5a1669dd..cd7c1c80 100644
--- a/internal/config/manifest.go
+++ b/internal/config/manifest.go
@@ -37,6 +37,11 @@ func (ms ManifestSource) String() string {
 	return string(ms)
 }
 
+// IsValid returns true if the manifest source is a known valid value
+func (ms ManifestSource) IsValid() bool {
+	return ms.Equals(ManifestSourceLocal) || ms.Equals(ManifestSourceRemote)
+}
+
 // Human returns the string value as a human-friendly name
 func (ms ManifestSource) Human() string {
 	switch ms {
diff --git a/internal/manifest/sync.go b/internal/manifest/sync.go
index feb30e15..ec3eb31d 100644
--- a/internal/manifest/sync.go
+++ b/internal/manifest/sync.go
@@ -76,23 +76,31 @@ func Sync(ctx context.Context, clients *shared.ClientFactory, app types.App, aut
 	DisplayDiffs(ctx, clients.IO, diffs)
 
 	var merged types.AppManifest
+	flagSource := config.ManifestSource(clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag)
 	switch {
-	case clients.Config.ForceFlag:
+	case flagSource.Equals(config.ManifestSourceLocal) || clients.Config.ForceFlag:
 		merged, err = MergeAllFrom(localManifest.AppManifest, remoteManifest.AppManifest, diffs, MergeAllLocal)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
-	case clients.Config.ForceRemoteFlag:
+	case flagSource.Equals(config.ManifestSourceRemote):
 		merged, err = MergeAllFrom(localManifest.AppManifest, remoteManifest.AppManifest, diffs, MergeAllRemote)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
+	case flagSource.Exists() && !flagSource.IsValid():
+		return nil, slackerror.New(slackerror.ErrInvalidFlag).
+			WithMessage("Invalid value %q for %s flag", clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag, style.CommandText("--manifest-source")).
+			WithRemediation("Valid values are %s or %s",
+				style.Highlight(string(config.ManifestSourceLocal)),
+				style.Highlight(string(config.ManifestSourceRemote)),
+			)
 	case !clients.IO.IsTTY():
 		return nil, slackerror.New(slackerror.ErrAppManifestUpdate).
 			WithRemediation("Run %s interactively to resolve manifest differences, or pass %s to push the project manifest to app settings or %s to pull app settings to project",
 				style.Commandf("manifest sync", false),
-				style.CommandText("--force"),
-				style.CommandText("--force-remote"),
+				style.CommandText("--manifest-source=local"),
+				style.CommandText("--manifest-source=remote"),
 			)
 	default:
 		merged, err = resolveInteractively(ctx, clients, localManifest.AppManifest, remoteManifest.AppManifest, diffs)
diff --git a/internal/manifest/sync_test.go b/internal/manifest/sync_test.go
index 7d1b5265..e6674cd2 100644
--- a/internal/manifest/sync_test.go
+++ b/internal/manifest/sync_test.go
@@ -174,17 +174,21 @@ func Test_Sync(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 
 	mergeStrategyTests := map[string]struct {
-		forceFlag       bool
-		forceRemoteFlag bool
-		expectedDesc    string
+		forceFlag          bool
+		manifestSourceFlag string
+		expectedDesc       string
 	}{
 		"force flag merges all local and pushes to API": {
 			forceFlag:    true,
 			expectedDesc: "Local",
 		},
-		"force-remote flag merges all remote and pushes to API": {
-			forceRemoteFlag: true,
-			expectedDesc:    "Remote",
+		"manifest-source=local merges all local and pushes to API": {
+			manifestSourceFlag: string(config.ManifestSourceLocal),
+			expectedDesc:       "Local",
+		},
+		"manifest-source=remote merges all remote and pushes to API": {
+			manifestSourceFlag: string(config.ManifestSourceRemote),
+			expectedDesc:       "Remote",
 		},
 	}
 	for name, tc := range mergeStrategyTests {
@@ -196,7 +200,7 @@ func Test_Sync(t *testing.T) {
 			f.manifestMock.On("GetManifestRemote", mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything).
 				Return(remoteManifest, nil)
 			f.clients.Config.ForceFlag = tc.forceFlag
-			f.clients.Config.ForceRemoteFlag = tc.forceRemoteFlag
+			f.clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag = tc.manifestSourceFlag
 			f.clientsMock.API.On("UpdateApp", mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything).
 				Return(api.UpdateAppResult{}, nil)
 			f.cacheMock.On("NewManifestHash", mock.Anything, mock.Anything).Return(cache.Hash("newhash"), nil)
@@ -214,6 +218,39 @@ func Test_Sync(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 
+	t.Run("invalid manifest-source flag returns error", func(t *testing.T) {
+		f := newSyncTestFixture(t)
+		f.projectConfig.On("GetManifestSource", mock.Anything).Return(config.ManifestSourceLocal, nil)
+		f.manifestMock.On("GetManifestLocal", mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything).
+			Return(localManifest, nil)
+		f.manifestMock.On("GetManifestRemote", mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything).
+			Return(remoteManifest, nil)
+		f.clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag = "invalid"
+
+		result, err := Sync(f.ctx, f.clients, testApp, testAuth)
+
+		require.Error(t, err)
+		assert.Nil(t, result)
+		assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "invalid")
+		assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "--manifest-source")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("non-TTY error mentions --manifest-source in remediation", func(t *testing.T) {
+		f := newSyncTestFixture(t)
+		f.projectConfig.On("GetManifestSource", mock.Anything).Return(config.ManifestSourceLocal, nil)
+		f.manifestMock.On("GetManifestLocal", mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything).
+			Return(localManifest, nil)
+		f.manifestMock.On("GetManifestRemote", mock.Anything, mock.Anything, mock.Anything).
+			Return(remoteManifest, nil)
+
+		_, err := Sync(f.ctx, f.clients, testApp, testAuth)
+
+		require.Error(t, err)
+		slackErr := slackerror.ToSlackError(err)
+		assert.Contains(t, slackErr.Remediation, "--manifest-source=local")
+		assert.Contains(t, slackErr.Remediation, "--manifest-source=remote")
+	})
+
 	t.Run("API UpdateApp failure is propagated", func(t *testing.T) {
 		f := newSyncTestFixture(t)
 		f.projectConfig.On("GetManifestSource", mock.Anything).Return(config.ManifestSourceLocal, nil)
diff --git a/internal/pkg/apps/install.go b/internal/pkg/apps/install.go
index 88f7237d..17c57572 100644
--- a/internal/pkg/apps/install.go
+++ b/internal/pkg/apps/install.go
@@ -701,6 +701,13 @@ func shouldUpdateManifest(ctx context.Context, clients *shared.ClientFactory, ap
 	if err != nil {
 		return false, err
 	}
+	flagSource := config.ManifestSource(clients.Config.ManifestSourceFlag)
+	if flagSource.Equals(config.ManifestSourceRemote) {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	if flagSource.Equals(config.ManifestSourceLocal) {
+		return true, nil
+	}
 	if manifestSource.Equals(config.ManifestSourceRemote) {
 		return false, nil
 	}