diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index 53f0a0d..149a132 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -9,8 +9,7 @@ branding:
 inputs:
   base-ref:
     description: 'Base ref to compare against (defaults to main or PR target)'
-    required: true
-    default: 'origin/main'
+    required: false
   github-token:
     description: 'The GitHub token for authentication.'
     required: true
diff --git a/main.js b/main.js
index 3e3fbcf..3984248 100644
--- a/main.js
+++ b/main.js
@@ -24147,7 +24147,7 @@ function getFileFromRef(ref, filePath, cwd2) {
 function getBaseRef() {
   const inputBaseRef = core.getInput("base-ref");
   if (inputBaseRef) {
-    return inputBaseRef;
+    return inputBaseRef.includes("/") ? inputBaseRef : `origin/${inputBaseRef}`;
   }
   const githubBaseRef = github.context.payload.pull_request?.base.ref;
   if (githubBaseRef) {
diff --git a/src/git.ts b/src/git.ts
index 4d4c63f..f301a8b 100644
--- a/src/git.ts
+++ b/src/git.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ export function getFileFromRef(
 
 export function getBaseRef(): string {
   const inputBaseRef = core.getInput('base-ref');
+
   if (inputBaseRef) {
     return inputBaseRef.includes('/') ? inputBaseRef : `origin/${inputBaseRef}`;
   }