diff --git a/jeepyb/cmd/create_hound_config.py b/jeepyb/cmd/create_hound_config.py
index 373ae02..d5a4581 100644
--- a/jeepyb/cmd/create_hound_config.py
+++ b/jeepyb/cmd/create_hound_config.py
@@ -62,6 +62,11 @@
 
     config = {
         "dbpath": "data",
+        "vcs-config": {
+            "git": {
+                "detect-ref": True
+            }
+        },
         "repos": repos
     }
     with open('config.json', 'w') as config_file: