diff --git a/packages/core/src/auto.ts b/packages/core/src/auto.ts
index 6aaebef0ff..8775faf1fd 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/auto.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/auto.ts
@@ -1685,9 +1685,7 @@ export default class Auto {
     options: IShipItOptions
   ): Promise<ShipitInfo | undefined> {
     const latestTag = await this.git?.getLatestTagInBranch(
-      env.branch ||
-      getCurrentBranch() ||
-      ""
+      getCurrentBranch() || ""
     );
     const result = await this.publishFullRelease({
       ...options,
diff --git a/packages/core/src/utils/get-current-branch.ts b/packages/core/src/utils/get-current-branch.ts
index cbc6e07d97..cd3cb888f0 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/utils/get-current-branch.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/utils/get-current-branch.ts
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ export function getCurrentBranch() {
   // env-ci sets branch to target branch (ex: main) in some CI services.
   // so we should make sure we aren't in a PR just to be safe
 
-  if (isPR && "prBranch" in env) {
+  if (isPR && "prBranch" in env && env.prBranch) {
     branch = env.prBranch;
-  } else {
+  } else if(env.branch) {
     branch = env.branch;
   }