diff --git a/hack/update-codegen.sh b/hack/update-codegen.sh
index f07f787c..40abaf4e 100755
--- a/hack/update-codegen.sh
+++ b/hack/update-codegen.sh
@@ -53,3 +53,7 @@ kube::codegen::gen_client \
     --output-pkg "${THIS_PKG}/pkg/generated" \
     --boilerplate "${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/boilerplate.go.txt" \
     "${SCRIPT_ROOT}/pkg/apis"
+
+kube::codegen::gen_register \
+    --boilerplate "${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/boilerplate.go.txt" \
+    "${SCRIPT_ROOT}/pkg/apis"
diff --git a/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/register.go b/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/register.go
deleted file mode 100644
index e8e0a28e..00000000
--- a/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/register.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,55 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
-
-Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-limitations under the License.
-*/
-
-package v1alpha1
-
-import (
-	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
-
-	samplecontroller "k8s.io/sample-controller/pkg/apis/samplecontroller"
-)
-
-// SchemeGroupVersion is group version used to register these objects
-var SchemeGroupVersion = schema.GroupVersion{Group: samplecontroller.GroupName, Version: "v1alpha1"}
-
-// Kind takes an unqualified kind and returns back a Group qualified GroupKind
-func Kind(kind string) schema.GroupKind {
-	return SchemeGroupVersion.WithKind(kind).GroupKind()
-}
-
-// Resource takes an unqualified resource and returns a Group qualified GroupResource
-func Resource(resource string) schema.GroupResource {
-	return SchemeGroupVersion.WithResource(resource).GroupResource()
-}
-
-var (
-	// SchemeBuilder initializes a scheme builder
-	SchemeBuilder = runtime.NewSchemeBuilder(addKnownTypes)
-	// AddToScheme is a global function that registers this API group & version to a scheme
-	AddToScheme = SchemeBuilder.AddToScheme
-)
-
-// Adds the list of known types to Scheme.
-func addKnownTypes(scheme *runtime.Scheme) error {
-	scheme.AddKnownTypes(SchemeGroupVersion,
-		&Foo{},
-		&FooList{},
-	)
-	metav1.AddToGroupVersion(scheme, SchemeGroupVersion)
-	return nil
-}
diff --git a/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/types.go b/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/types.go
index 74ffc672..e387d347 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/types.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/types.go
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ type FooStatus struct {
 // FooList is a list of Foo resources
 type FooList struct {
 	metav1.TypeMeta `json:",inline"`
-	metav1.ListMeta `json:"metadata"`
+	metav1.ListMeta `json:"metadata,omitempty"`
 
 	Items []Foo `json:"items"`
 }
diff --git a/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/zz_generated.register.go b/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/zz_generated.register.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..146e82ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/apis/samplecontroller/v1alpha1/zz_generated.register.go
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+//go:build !ignore_autogenerated
+// +build !ignore_autogenerated
+
+/*
+Copyright The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+// Code generated by register-gen. DO NOT EDIT.
+
+package v1alpha1
+
+import (
+	v1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	runtime "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+	schema "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
+)
+
+// GroupName specifies the group name used to register the objects.
+const GroupName = "samplecontroller.k8s.io"
+
+// GroupVersion specifies the group and the version used to register the objects.
+var GroupVersion = v1.GroupVersion{Group: GroupName, Version: "v1alpha1"}
+
+// SchemeGroupVersion is group version used to register these objects
+//
+// Deprecated: use GroupVersion instead.
+var SchemeGroupVersion = schema.GroupVersion{Group: GroupName, Version: "v1alpha1"}
+
+// Resource takes an unqualified resource and returns a Group qualified GroupResource
+func Resource(resource string) schema.GroupResource {
+	return SchemeGroupVersion.WithResource(resource).GroupResource()
+}
+
+var (
+	// localSchemeBuilder and AddToScheme will stay in k8s.io/kubernetes.
+	SchemeBuilder      runtime.SchemeBuilder
+	localSchemeBuilder = &SchemeBuilder
+	// Deprecated: use Install instead
+	AddToScheme = localSchemeBuilder.AddToScheme
+	Install     = localSchemeBuilder.AddToScheme
+)
+
+func init() {
+	// We only register manually written functions here. The registration of the
+	// generated functions takes place in the generated files. The separation
+	// makes the code compile even when the generated files are missing.
+	localSchemeBuilder.Register(addKnownTypes)
+}
+
+// Adds the list of known types to Scheme.
+func addKnownTypes(scheme *runtime.Scheme) error {
+	scheme.AddKnownTypes(SchemeGroupVersion,
+		&Foo{},
+		&FooList{},
+	)
+	// AddToGroupVersion allows the serialization of client types like ListOptions.
+	v1.AddToGroupVersion(scheme, SchemeGroupVersion)
+	return nil
+}