diff --git a/hud/cli/init.py b/hud/cli/init.py
index a665ccada..8647ed9a1 100644
--- a/hud/cli/init.py
+++ b/hud/cli/init.py
@@ -21,17 +21,12 @@
 import typer
 
 from hud.utils.hud_console import HUDConsole
+from hud.utils.naming import normalize_environment_name
 
 from .presets import ENVIRONMENT_PRESETS, PRESETS_BY_ID, EnvironmentPreset, materialize_preset
 from .templates import DOCKERFILE_HUD, ENV_PY, PYPROJECT_TOML, TASKS_PY
 
 
-def _python_name(name: str) -> str:
-    """Normalize a package name into a Python-identifier-ish env name."""
-    name = name.replace("-", "_").replace(" ", "_")
-    return "".join(c if c.isalnum() or c == "_" else "_" for c in name)
-
-
 def _resolve_preset(preset: str | None, hud_console: HUDConsole) -> EnvironmentPreset | None:
     """Pick the starter: an explicit ``--preset`` id, an interactive choice, or
     ``None`` when there's no TTY to prompt.
@@ -157,7 +152,7 @@ def init_command(
             raise typer.Exit(1) from exc
         hud_console.status_item(f"{chosen.owner}/{chosen.repo}", "✓")
     else:
-        _write_local_scaffold(target, _python_name(target.name), hud_console)
+        _write_local_scaffold(target, normalize_environment_name(target.name), hud_console)
 
     hud_console.section_title("Next Steps")
     hud_console.info("")
diff --git a/hud/cli/tests/test_init.py b/hud/cli/tests/test_init.py
index 1e4f8710e..27b60a44c 100644
--- a/hud/cli/tests/test_init.py
+++ b/hud/cli/tests/test_init.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def test_init_scaffolds_a_runnable_package(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     }
 
     env_py = (target / "env.py").read_text()
-    assert 'Environment(name="my_cool_env")' in env_py
+    assert 'Environment(name="my-cool-env")' in env_py
     assert (target / "tasks.py").read_text().startswith('"""')
     assert 'name = "my-cool-env"' in (target / "pyproject.toml").read_text()