diff --git a/.changeset/short-cherries-mix.md b/.changeset/short-cherries-mix.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..866f7a0971
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/short-cherries-mix.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit': patch
+---
+
+Provide default branch when creating repositories.
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit/src/actions/gerrit.test.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit/src/actions/gerrit.test.ts
index d05c8727c4..2bd7783cb6 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit/src/actions/gerrit.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit/src/actions/gerrit.test.ts
@@ -101,6 +101,7 @@ describe('publish:gerrit', () => {
           'Basic Z2Vycml0dXNlcjp1c2VydG9rZW4=',
         );
         expect(req.body).toEqual({
+          branches: ['master'],
           create_empty_commit: false,
           owners: ['owner'],
           description,
@@ -150,6 +151,7 @@ describe('publish:gerrit', () => {
           'Basic Z2Vycml0dXNlcjp1c2VydG9rZW4=',
         );
         expect(req.body).toEqual({
+          branches: ['master'],
           create_empty_commit: false,
           owners: ['owner'],
           description,
@@ -200,6 +202,7 @@ describe('publish:gerrit', () => {
           'Basic Z2Vycml0dXNlcjp1c2VydG9rZW4=',
         );
         expect(req.body).toEqual({
+          branches: ['master'],
           create_empty_commit: false,
           owners: [],
           description,
@@ -241,6 +244,58 @@ describe('publish:gerrit', () => {
       'https://gerrithost.org/repo/+/refs/heads/master',
     );
   });
+
+  it('can correctly create a new project with main as default branch', async () => {
+    expect.assertions(5);
+    server.use(
+      rest.put('https://gerrithost.org/a/projects/repo', (req, res, ctx) => {
+        expect(req.headers.get('Authorization')).toBe(
+          'Basic Z2Vycml0dXNlcjp1c2VydG9rZW4=',
+        );
+        expect(req.body).toEqual({
+          branches: ['main'],
+          create_empty_commit: false,
+          owners: [],
+          description,
+          parent: 'workspace',
+        });
+        return res(
+          ctx.status(201),
+          ctx.set('Content-Type', 'application/json'),
+          ctx.json({}),
+        );
+      }),
+    );
+
+    await action.handler({
+      ...mockContext,
+      input: {
+        ...mockContext.input,
+        repoUrl: 'gerrithost.org?workspace=workspace&repo=repo',
+        defaultBranch: 'main',
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(initRepoAndPush).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      dir: mockContext.workspacePath,
+      remoteUrl: 'https://gerrithost.org/a/repo',
+      defaultBranch: 'main',
+      auth: { username: 'gerrituser', password: 'usertoken' },
+      logger: mockContext.logger,
+      commitMessage: expect.stringContaining('initial commit\n\nChange-Id:'),
+      gitAuthorInfo: {},
+    });
+
+    expect(mockContext.output).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'remoteUrl',
+      'https://gerrithost.org/a/repo',
+    );
+    expect(mockContext.output).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'repoContentsUrl',
+      'https://gerrithost.org/repo/+/refs/heads/main',
+    );
+  });
+
   it('should not create new projects on dryRun', async () => {
     await action.handler({
       ...mockContext,
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit/src/actions/gerrit.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit/src/actions/gerrit.ts
index 6f729227e6..102d48a706 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit/src/actions/gerrit.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit/src/actions/gerrit.ts
@@ -38,15 +38,17 @@ const createGerritProject = async (
     parent: string;
     owner?: string;
     description: string;
+    defaultBranch: string;
   },
 ): Promise<void> => {
-  const { projectName, parent, owner, description } = options;
+  const { projectName, parent, owner, description, defaultBranch } = options;
 
   const fetchOptions: RequestInit = {
     method: 'PUT',
     body: JSON.stringify({
       parent,
       description,
+      branches: [defaultBranch],
       owners: owner ? [owner] : [],
       create_empty_commit: false,
     }),
@@ -221,6 +223,7 @@ export function createPublishGerritAction(options: {
         owner: owner,
         projectName: repo,
         parent: workspace,
+        defaultBranch,
       });
       const auth = {
         username: integrationConfig.config.username!,