diff --git a/.changes/cli-empty-responses.md b/.changes/cli-empty-responses.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d5a4ee4eb90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/cli-empty-responses.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+'tauri-cli': 'patch:enhance'
+'@tauri-apps/cli': 'patch:enhance'
+---
+
+Allow empty responses for `devUrl`, `beforeDevCommand` and `beforeBuildCommands` questions in `tauri init`.
diff --git a/tooling/cli/src/helpers/prompts.rs b/tooling/cli/src/helpers/prompts.rs
index f7d0fb96c9e..37621981be7 100644
--- a/tooling/cli/src/helpers/prompts.rs
+++ b/tooling/cli/src/helpers/prompts.rs
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ pub fn input<T>(
 where
   T: Clone + FromStr + Display + ToString,
   T::Err: Display + std::fmt::Debug,
+  T: PartialEq<str>,
 {
   if skip {
     Ok(initial)
@@ -28,7 +29,10 @@ where
       builder = builder.with_initial_text(v.to_string());
     }
 
-    builder.interact_text().map(Some).map_err(Into::into)
+    builder
+      .interact_text()
+      .map(|t: T| if t.ne("") { Some(t) } else { None })
+      .map_err(Into::into)
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/tooling/cli/src/init.rs b/tooling/cli/src/init.rs
index 96914324b51..e8cb7907aef 100644
--- a/tooling/cli/src/init.rs
+++ b/tooling/cli/src/init.rs
@@ -89,18 +89,28 @@ impl Options {
     self.app_name = self.app_name.map(|s| Ok(Some(s))).unwrap_or_else(|| {
       prompts::input(
         "What is your app name?",
-        init_defaults.app_name.clone(),
+        Some(
+          init_defaults
+            .app_name
+            .clone()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| "Tauri App".to_string()),
+        ),
         self.ci,
-        false,
+        true,
       )
     })?;
 
     self.window_title = self.window_title.map(|s| Ok(Some(s))).unwrap_or_else(|| {
       prompts::input(
         "What should the window title be?",
-        init_defaults.app_name.clone(),
+        Some(
+          init_defaults
+            .app_name
+            .clone()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| "Tauri".to_string()),
+        ),
         self.ci,
-        false,
+        true,
       )
     })?;
 
@@ -116,7 +126,7 @@ impl Options {
         "What is the url of your dev server?",
         init_defaults.framework.map(|f| f.dev_url()),
         self.ci,
-        false,
+        true,
       )
     })?;
 
@@ -131,6 +141,7 @@ impl Options {
           true,
         )
       })?;
+
     self.before_build_command = self
       .before_build_command
       .map(|s| Ok(Some(s)))
@@ -186,35 +197,21 @@ pub fn command(mut options: Options) -> Result<()> {
     data.insert("tauri_build_dep", to_json(tauri_build_dep));
     data.insert(
       "frontend_dist",
-      to_json(
-        options
-          .frontend_dist
-          .unwrap_or_else(|| "../dist".to_string()),
-      ),
-    );
-    data.insert(
-      "dev_url",
-      to_json(
-        options
-          .dev_url
-          .unwrap_or_else(|| "http://localhost:4000".to_string()),
-      ),
+      to_json(options.frontend_dist.as_deref().unwrap_or("../dist")),
     );
+    data.insert("dev_url", to_json(options.dev_url));
     data.insert(
       "app_name",
-      to_json(options.app_name.unwrap_or_else(|| "Tauri App".to_string())),
+      to_json(options.app_name.as_deref().unwrap_or("Tauri App")),
     );
     data.insert(
       "window_title",
-      to_json(options.window_title.unwrap_or_else(|| "Tauri".to_string())),
-    );
-    data.insert(
-      "before_dev_command",
-      to_json(options.before_dev_command.unwrap_or_default()),
+      to_json(options.window_title.as_deref().unwrap_or("Tauri")),
     );
+    data.insert("before_dev_command", to_json(options.before_dev_command));
     data.insert(
       "before_build_command",
-      to_json(options.before_build_command.unwrap_or_default()),
+      to_json(options.before_build_command),
     );
 
     let mut config = serde_json::from_str(
diff --git a/tooling/cli/src/plugin/android.rs b/tooling/cli/src/plugin/android.rs
index 23c9fded602..59451405350 100644
--- a/tooling/cli/src/plugin/android.rs
+++ b/tooling/cli/src/plugin/android.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
 
 use crate::{
-  helpers::{prompts::input, template},
+  helpers::{prompts, template},
   Result,
 };
 use clap::{Parser, Subcommand};
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ pub fn command(cli: Cli) -> Result<()> {
         return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("android folder already exists"));
       }
 
-      let plugin_id = input(
+      let plugin_id = prompts::input(
         "What should be the Android Package ID for your plugin?",
         Some(format!("com.plugin.{}", plugin_name)),
         false,
diff --git a/tooling/cli/src/plugin/init.rs b/tooling/cli/src/plugin/init.rs
index 867ede43698..9b474b4b62c 100644
--- a/tooling/cli/src/plugin/init.rs
+++ b/tooling/cli/src/plugin/init.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
 
-use crate::helpers::prompts::input;
+use crate::helpers::prompts;
 use crate::Result;
 use crate::{
   helpers::{resolve_tauri_path, template},
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ pub fn command(mut options: Options) -> Result<()> {
     }
 
     let plugin_id = if options.android || options.mobile {
-      let plugin_id = input(
+      let plugin_id = prompts::input(
         "What should be the Android Package ID for your plugin?",
         Some(format!("com.plugin.{}", plugin_name)),
         false,
diff --git a/tooling/cli/templates/tauri.conf.json b/tooling/cli/templates/tauri.conf.json
index 66155a36330..c40efec9b92 100644
--- a/tooling/cli/templates/tauri.conf.json
+++ b/tooling/cli/templates/tauri.conf.json
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "identifier": "com.tauri.dev",
   "build": {
-    "frontendDist": "{{ frontend_dist }}",
-    "devUrl": "{{ dev_url }}",
-    "beforeDevCommand": "{{ before_dev_command }}",
-    "beforeBuildCommand": "{{ before_build_command }}"
+    "frontendDist": "{{ frontend_dist }}"{{#if dev_url}},
+    "devUrl": "{{ dev_url }}"{{/if}}{{#if before_dev_command}},
+    "beforeDevCommand": "{{ before_dev_command }}"{{/if}}{{#if before_build_command}},
+    "beforeBuildCommand": "{{ before_build_command }}"{{/if}}
   },
   "app": {
     "windows": [