diff --git a/source/git-util.js b/source/git-util.js
index 25bb1505..34ca8c2b 100644
--- a/source/git-util.js
+++ b/source/git-util.js
@@ -55,10 +55,9 @@ exports.currentBranch = async () => {
 };
 
 exports.verifyCurrentBranchIsReleaseBranch = async releaseBranch => {
-	const expectedBranch = await exports.defaultBranch(releaseBranch);
 	const currentBranch = await exports.currentBranch();
-	if (!expectedBranch === currentBranch) {
-		throw new Error(`Not on \`${expectedBranch}\` branch. Use --any-branch to publish anyway, or set a different release branch using --branch.`);
+	if (currentBranch !== releaseBranch) {
+		throw new Error(`Not on \`${releaseBranch}\` branch. Use --any-branch to publish anyway, or set a different release branch using --branch.`);
 	}
 };
 
@@ -133,26 +132,30 @@ exports.tagExistsOnRemote = async tagName => {
 	}
 };
 
-exports.defaultBranch = async options => {
-	if (options.releaseBranch) {
-		return options.releaseBranch;
+async function hasLocalBranch(branch) {
+	try {
+		await execa('git', [
+			'show-ref',
+			'--verify',
+			'--quiet',
+			`refs/heads/${branch}`
+		]);
+		return true;
+	} catch {
+		return false;
 	}
+}
 
+exports.defaultBranch = async () => {
 	for (const branch of ['main', 'master', 'gh-pages']) {
-		try {
-			// eslint-disable-next-line no-await-in-loop
-			await execa('git', [
-				'show-ref',
-				'--verify',
-				'--quiet',
-				`refs/heads/${branch}`
-			]);
+		// eslint-disable-next-line no-await-in-loop
+		if (await hasLocalBranch(branch)) {
 			return branch;
-		} catch {}
+		}
 	}
 
 	throw new Error(
-		'Could not determine a default branch. Please specify one via --branch.'
+		'Could not infer the default Git branch. Please specify one with the --branch flag or with an .np-config file.'
 	);
 };
 
diff --git a/source/index.js b/source/index.js
index bc629844..8e4bc561 100644
--- a/source/index.js
+++ b/source/index.js
@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ module.exports = async (input = 'patch', options) => {
 		options.cleanup = false;
 	}
 
+	options.releaseBranch = options.releaseBranch || git.defaultBranch();
+
 	const pkg = util.readPkg(options.contents);
 	const runTests = options.tests && !options.yolo;
 	const runCleanup = options.cleanup && !options.yolo;
diff --git a/source/ui.js b/source/ui.js
index 02bd3386..6d86a37b 100644
--- a/source/ui.js
+++ b/source/ui.js
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ module.exports = async (options, pkg) => {
 	const repoUrl = pkg.repository && githubUrlFromGit(pkg.repository.url, {extraBaseUrls});
 	const pkgManager = options.yarn ? 'yarn' : 'npm';
 	const registryUrl = await getRegistryUrl(pkgManager, pkg);
+	const releaseBranch = options.releaseBranch || await git.defaultBranch();
 
 	if (options.runPublish) {
 		checkIgnoreStrategy(pkg);
@@ -169,7 +170,6 @@ module.exports = async (options, pkg) => {
 		}
 	];
 
-	const releaseBranch = await git.defaultBranch(options.releaseBranch);
 	const {hasCommits, releaseNotes} = await printCommitLog(repoUrl, registryUrl, releaseBranch);
 
 	if (options.version) {