getdevintern · danii1 · Aug 19, 2026 · Aug 19, 2026
diff --git a/docs/code/automated-task-processing.md b/docs/code/automated-task-processing.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ title: "Automated Task Processing"
 description: "Drain your backlog continuously with the worker daemon, or schedule @devintern/code via systemd timers or cron"
 section: "Server Automation"
 order: 5
-dateModified: 2026-07-21
+dateModified: 2026-08-19
 ---
 
 # Automated Task Processing
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Set `LICENSE_KEY` in your project's `.devintern-code/.env` (or as an `Environmen
 
 ## systemd timers
 
-A systemd job is a pair of unit files: a one-shot `.service` that runs `devintern`, and a `.timer` that triggers it on a schedule.
+A systemd job is a pair of unit files: a one-shot `.service` that runs `devintern`, and a `.timer` that triggers it on a schedule. Omit `--pr-target-branch` unless you intentionally want PRs against a non-default branch — the CLI detects `main`, `master`, or a custom default from the remote.
 
 ### Every 10 minutes: process Intern-labeled tasks
 
@@ -47,8 +47,7 @@ WorkingDirectory=/path/to/your/project
 ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/devintern \
   --query 'statusCategory = "To Do" AND sprint in openSprints() AND labels IN (Intern) ORDER BY created DESC' \
   --max-turns 500 \
-  --create-pr \
-  --pr-target-branch master
+  --create-pr
 StandardOutput=journal
 StandardError=journal
 ```
@@ -131,7 +130,7 @@ If you're on a system without systemd, the same three jobs work as crontab entri
 
 ```bash
 # Process tasks labeled "Intern" in open sprints every 10 minutes
-*/10 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --query 'statusCategory = "To Do" AND sprint in openSprints() AND labels IN (Intern) ORDER BY created DESC' --max-turns 500 --create-pr --pr-target-branch master >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
+*/10 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --query 'statusCategory = "To Do" AND sprint in openSprints() AND labels IN (Intern) ORDER BY created DESC' --max-turns 500 --create-pr >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
 
 # Process AutoImpl-labeled tasks every hour
 0 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --query 'status = "To Do" AND labels IN (AutoImpl)' --create-pr >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
@@ -196,13 +195,12 @@ For Linear (`TASK_TRACKER=linear`), swap JQL for a JSON `IssueFilter`. Wrap the
 ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/devintern \
   --query '{"labels":{"name":{"eq":"intern"}}}' \
   --max-turns 500 \
-  --create-pr \
-  --pr-target-branch master
+  --create-pr
 ```
 
 ```bash
 # cron: process "intern"-labeled Linear issues every 10 minutes
-*/10 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --query '{"labels":{"name":{"eq":"intern"}}}' --max-turns 500 --create-pr --pr-target-branch master >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
+*/10 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --query '{"labels":{"name":{"eq":"intern"}}}' --max-turns 500 --create-pr >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
 
 # cron: process high-priority issues assigned to me every hour
 0 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --query '{"assignee":{"isMe":{"eq":true}},"priority":{"lte":2}}' --create-pr >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1

diff --git a/docs/code/usage.md b/docs/code/usage.md
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ devintern MYAPP-456
 - Detects repository platform from git remote URL
 - PR title format: `[TASK-123] Task Summary`
 - PR body includes implementation details and links back to the task
-- Target branch can be specified with `--pr-target-branch` (defaults to `main`)
+- Target branch can be specified with `--pr-target-branch`. If omitted (or if the named branch does not exist on the remote), the repository default branch is used
 - Target branch can also be auto-detected from the task description. Add a line like `Target branch: develop` to the card or issue and `devintern` will pick it up. Supported patterns: `Target branch:`, `Base branch:`, `PR target:`. Falls back to `--pr-target-branch` if no pattern matches.
 
 ## What It Does

diff --git a/packages/code/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/code/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 - **Hook-fix verification after a successful push**: if HEAD already matches `origin/<branch>`, skip the pre-push `--dry-run` (and the follow-up no-op `git push`). Re-running the hook suite can flake — a 30s CLI test timeout previously aborted PR creation for a branch that was already on the remote, with a misleading "didn't amend" error
 - **CLI argument tests no longer hang on a live tracker host**: parse-only CLI tests point Jira, Linear, and Trello traffic at a closed local port and disable fetch retries (`DEVINTERN_FETCH_MAX_RETRIES=0`), so a slow remote lookup cannot burn the 30s bun timeout and fail pre-push
-- **Default branch detection**: repository automations now ask the remote for its authoritative default branch before checkout or fetch operations, avoiding failed `master` attempts for repositories whose default is `main` (and supporting custom default branch names). Cached `origin/HEAD` remains an offline fallback
+- **Default branch detection**: repository automations now ask the remote for its authoritative default branch before checkout or fetch operations, avoiding failed `master` attempts for repositories whose default is `main` (and supporting custom default branch names). Cached `origin/HEAD` remains an offline fallback. An explicit `--pr-target-branch master` (or `main`) that is missing on the remote now falls back the same way, so copied cron examples no longer `git fetch` a doomed ref before switching to the real default
 - **Structured agent responses**: feasibility checks now accept the valid bare JSON commonly returned by Codex instead of requiring a Markdown code fence. Feasibility, estimation, and auto-review share brace-aware extraction that also tolerates narration and ignores unrelated braces in prose
 
 ## [2.3.2] - 2026-08-18

diff --git a/packages/code/USAGE.md b/packages/code/USAGE.md
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ devintern MYAPP-456
 - GitHub: Requires `GITHUB_TOKEN` for personal CLI PR creation (see ENV_SETUP.md). A team GitHub App can also create PRs; `@mention` matching on any PR needs the App.
 - Bitbucket: Requires `BITBUCKET_TOKEN` (`Repositories: Write`), workspace auto-detected from git remote
 - Can be enabled with `--create-pr` flag
-- Target branch can be specified with `--pr-target-branch` (defaults to 'main')
+- Target branch can be specified with `--pr-target-branch`. If omitted (or if the named branch does not exist on the remote), the repository default branch is used
 
 ### Git Requirements
 
@@ -435,7 +435,7 @@ You can set up automated task processing using cron jobs. This is useful for con
 ```bash
 # Example: Process tasks labeled "Intern" in open sprints every 10 minutes
 # Add to crontab (run: crontab -e)
-*/10 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --jql 'statusCategory = "To Do" AND sprint in openSprints() AND labels IN (Intern) ORDER BY created DESC' --max-turns 500 --create-pr --pr-target-branch master >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
+*/10 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --jql 'statusCategory = "To Do" AND sprint in openSprints() AND labels IN (Intern) ORDER BY created DESC' --max-turns 500 --create-pr >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
 
 # Example: Process assigned tasks every hour
 0 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --jql 'assignee = currentUser() AND status = "To Do" AND labels IN (AutoImpl)' --create-pr >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ The same idea works for Linear using a JSON `IssueFilter`. Wrap the JSON in sing
 
 ```bash
 # Example: Process "intern"-labeled Linear issues every 10 minutes
-*/10 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --query '{"labels":{"name":{"eq":"intern"}}}' --max-turns 500 --create-pr --pr-target-branch master >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
+*/10 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --query '{"labels":{"name":{"eq":"intern"}}}' --max-turns 500 --create-pr >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1
 
 # Example: Process high-priority Linear issues assigned to you every hour
 0 * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && devintern --query '{"assignee":{"isMe":{"eq":true}},"priority":{"lte":2}}' --create-pr >> /tmp/devintern-cron.log 2>&1

diff --git a/packages/code/src/index.ts b/packages/code/src/index.ts
@@ -1333,7 +1333,11 @@ program
   .option("--no-auto-commit", "Skip automatic git commit after Agent completes")
   .option("--skip-clarity-check", "Skip running Agent for clarity assessment")
   .option("--create-pr", "Create pull request after implementation")
-  .option("--pr-target-branch <branch>", "Target branch for pull request", "main")
+  .option(
+    "--pr-target-branch <branch>",
+    "Target branch for pull request (omitting this uses the repository default branch)",
+    "main",
+  )
   .option("--auto-review", "Run automatic PR review loop after creating PR (requires --create-pr)")
   .option("--auto-review-iterations <number>", "Maximum iterations for auto-review loop", "5")
   .option("--skip-comments", "Skip posting comments to the task tracker (for testing)")
@@ -2143,6 +2147,14 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
       if (prTargetBranchSource === "default") {
         options.prTargetBranch = await Utils.getMainBranchName();
         console.log(`   Default branch detected as '${options.prTargetBranch}'`);
+      } else {
+        const requestedBranch = options.prTargetBranch;
+        options.prTargetBranch = await Utils.resolveDefaultBranch(requestedBranch);
+        if (options.prTargetBranch !== requestedBranch) {
+          console.log(
+            `⚠️  Target branch '${requestedBranch}' not found on remote, falling back to '${options.prTargetBranch}'`,
+          );
+        }
       }
 
       console.log("\n📥 Pulling latest changes from remote...");

diff --git a/packages/code/src/lib/utils.ts b/packages/code/src/lib/utils.ts
@@ -599,6 +599,8 @@ export class Utils {
   /**
    * Pull latest commits for a branch from `origin`.
    *
+   * Resolves a missing preferred name to the repository default first so a
+   * stale `master`/`main` request does not `git fetch` a ref the remote lacks.
    * Fetches the branch from `origin` when it is not available locally before checkout.
    *
    * @param branch - Branch to update
@@ -632,6 +634,12 @@ export class Utils {
         };
       }
 
+      const requestedBranch = branch;
+      branch = await Utils.resolveDefaultBranch(requestedBranch, { cwd });
+      if (verbose && branch !== requestedBranch) {
+        console.log(`⚠️  Branch '${requestedBranch}' not found, trying '${branch}'...`);
+      }
+
       const currentBranch = await Utils.getCurrentBranch(cwd);
 
       // Switch to target branch if not already on it
@@ -741,12 +749,22 @@ export class Utils {
    */
   static async remoteBranchExists(
     branch: string,
-    options?: { verbose?: boolean; cwd?: string },
+    options?: {
+      verbose?: boolean;
+      cwd?: string;
+      timeoutMs?: number;
+      env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
+    },
   ): Promise<boolean> {
-    const result = await Utils.executeGitCommand(
-      ["ls-remote", "--heads", "origin", branch],
-      options,
-    );
+    const result = await Utils.executeGitCommand(["ls-remote", "--heads", "origin", branch], {
+      ...options,
+      timeoutMs: options?.timeoutMs ?? 5000,
+      env: {
+        GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT: "0",
+        GCM_INTERACTIVE: "Never",
+        ...options?.env,
+      },
+    });
     return result.success && result.output.trim().length > 0;
   }
 
@@ -783,6 +801,11 @@ export class Utils {
   /**
    * Resolve the repository default branch, honoring a preferred name when present.
    *
+   * The preferred name is kept when it exists locally or on `origin`. Otherwise
+   * this falls back to {@link getMainBranchName} so callers that pass a stale
+   * conventional default (`master` on a `main` repo, or the reverse) do not
+   * issue a doomed `git fetch` for a ref the remote does not have.
+   *
    * @param preferredBranch - Optional branch to prefer when it exists
    * @param options - Optional working directory
    */
@@ -797,6 +820,10 @@ export class Utils {
       ) {
         return preferredBranch;
       }
+
+      if (await Utils.remoteBranchExists(preferredBranch, { cwd: options?.cwd })) {
+        return preferredBranch;
+      }
     }
 
     return Utils.getMainBranchName(options);

diff --git a/packages/code/tests/default-branch-detection.test.ts b/packages/code/tests/default-branch-detection.test.ts
@@ -79,6 +79,42 @@ describe("Default branch detection", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  test("does not fetch master when pullLatestChanges is asked for master on a main-only repo", async () => {
+    configureOrigin("main");
+    execSync("git checkout -b feature/test", { cwd: repoDir });
+
+    const gitCommands = spyOn(Utils, "executeGitCommand");
+    try {
+      const result = await Utils.pullLatestChanges("master", { cwd: repoDir, verbose: true });
+
+      expect(result.success).toBe(true);
+      expect(await Utils.getCurrentBranch(repoDir)).toBe("main");
+      const commands = gitCommands.mock.calls.map(([args]) => args.join(" "));
+      expect(
+        commands.some((command) => command.includes("fetch") && command.includes("master")),
+      ).toBe(false);
+    } finally {
+      gitCommands.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("keeps a preferred branch that exists only on the remote", async () => {
+    configureOrigin("main");
+    execSync("git checkout -b develop", { cwd: repoDir });
+    execSync("git push origin develop", { cwd: repoDir });
+    execSync("git checkout main", { cwd: repoDir });
+    execSync("git branch -D develop", { cwd: repoDir });
+    execSync("git update-ref -d refs/remotes/origin/develop", { cwd: repoDir });
+
+    await expect(Utils.resolveDefaultBranch("develop", { cwd: repoDir })).resolves.toBe("develop");
+  });
+
+  test("falls back when an explicit preferred branch is missing on the remote", async () => {
+    configureOrigin("main");
+
+    await expect(Utils.resolveDefaultBranch("master", { cwd: repoDir })).resolves.toBe("main");
+  });
+
   test("uses master when remote metadata identifies master", async () => {
     configureOrigin("master");