# Why Auto-cancel redundant builds option excludes the default branch?

**URL:** <https://discuss.circleci.com/t/why-auto-cancel-redundant-builds-option-excludes-the-default-branch/42069>\
**Category:** Build Environment\
**Created:** [November 26, 2021, 8:08am UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/why-auto-cancel-redundant-builds-option-excludes-the-default-branch/42069 "2021-11-26T08:08:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![AntonHK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@AntonHK](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/AntonHK)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 8:08am UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/why-auto-cancel-redundant-builds-option-excludes-the-default-branch/42069/1 "2021-11-26T08:08:17Z")

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What is the reason for excluding the default branch after the implementation of `Auto-cancel redundant builds` option?

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**Author:** ![rachael](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/user_avatar/discuss.circleci.com/rachael/32/26790_2.png) [@rachael](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/rachael)\
**Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/why-auto-cancel-redundant-builds-option-excludes-the-default-branch/42069/2 "2022-01-04T19:15:57Z")

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Hi there! By design, the “ **[Auto-cancel redundant builds](https://circleci.com/docs/2.0/skip-build/#auto-cancelling-a-redundant-build)**” functionality does not apply to your project’s default branch. However, here is a workaround that will allow you to enable this functionality on _any_ branch:

> [@\[Workaround\] Auto-cancel redundant builds on the default branch](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/auto-cancel-redundant-builds-on-the-default-branch/39468):
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> By design the “[Auto-cancel redundant builds](https://circleci.com/docs/2.0/skip-build/#auto-cancelling-a-redundant-build)” functionality does not apply to your project’s default branch. This workaround can also be used if for any reason you prefer not to enable the “Auto-cancel redundant builds” functionality at the project-level. Below is a set of instructions that will allow you to auto-cancel redundant workflows on any branch (including the default branch). You can either: Put the commands into a script within your repository and call it at the start of the workfl…

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**Author:** ![otherchris-mednax](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/user_avatar/discuss.circleci.com/otherchris-mednax/32/30141_2.png) [@otherchris-mednax](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/otherchris-mednax)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/why-auto-cancel-redundant-builds-option-excludes-the-default-branch/42069/3 "2022-05-11T18:58:22Z")

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It’s been well covered that it’s by design, the question is _why_ that design choice was made. We’d like to understand this because its not clear, and it’s frustrating to have to use this hacky workaround to do something so simple.