diff --git a/src/git/repository/mod.rs b/src/git/repository/mod.rs
index 3511179c1..ab45cf455 100644
--- a/src/git/repository/mod.rs
+++ b/src/git/repository/mod.rs
@@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ struct RepoCache {
     is_bare: OnceCell<bool>,
     /// Default branch (main, master, etc.)
     default_branch: OnceCell<String>,
-    /// Primary remote name (usually "origin")
-    primary_remote: OnceCell<String>,
+    /// Primary remote name (None if no remotes configured)
+    primary_remote: OnceCell<Option<String>>,
     /// Project identifier derived from remote URL
     project_identifier: OnceCell<String>,
     /// Base path for worktrees (repo root for normal repos, bare repo path for bare)
@@ -197,14 +197,14 @@ impl Repository {
     /// Uses the following strategy:
     /// 1. Use git's [`checkout.defaultRemote`][1] config if set and has a URL
     /// 2. Otherwise, get the first remote with a configured URL
-    /// 3. Fall back to "origin" if no remotes exist
+    /// 3. Return error if no remotes exist
     ///
     /// Result is cached in the shared repo cache (shared across all worktrees).
     ///
     /// [1]: https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config#Documentation/git-config.txt-checkoutdefaultRemote
     pub fn primary_remote(&self) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
         let cache = get_cache(self.compute_git_common_dir()?);
-        Ok(cache
+        cache
             .primary_remote
             .get_or_init(|| {
                 // Check git's checkout.defaultRemote config
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ impl Repository {
                 {
                     let default_remote = default_remote.trim();
                     if !default_remote.is_empty() && self.remote_has_url(default_remote) {
-                        return default_remote.to_string();
+                        return Some(default_remote.to_string());
                     }
                 }
 
@@ -230,9 +230,10 @@ impl Repository {
                         .map(|(name, _)| name)
                 });
 
-                first_remote.unwrap_or("origin").to_string()
+                first_remote.map(|s| s.to_string())
             })
-            .clone())
+            .clone()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("No remotes configured"))
     }
 
     /// Check if a remote has a URL configured.
@@ -264,8 +265,10 @@ impl Repository {
             return Ok(true);
         }
 
-        // Try remote branch
-        let remote = self.primary_remote()?;
+        // Try remote branch (if remotes exist)
+        let Ok(remote) = self.primary_remote() else {
+            return Ok(false);
+        };
         Ok(self
             .run_command(&[
                 "rev-parse",
@@ -1475,42 +1478,46 @@ impl Repository {
         let local_branch_names: HashSet<String> =
             local_branches.iter().map(|(n, _)| n.clone()).collect();
 
-        // Get remote branches with timestamps
-        let remote = self.primary_remote().unwrap_or_else(|_| "origin".into());
-        let remote_ref_path = format!("refs/remotes/{}/", remote);
-        let remote_prefix = format!("{}/", remote);
-
-        let remote_output = self.run_command(&[
-            "for-each-ref",
-            "--sort=-committerdate",
-            "--format=%(refname:lstrip=2)\t%(committerdate:unix)",
-            &remote_ref_path,
-        ])?;
-
-        let remote_head = format!("{}/HEAD", remote);
-        let remote_branches: Vec<(String, String, i64)> = remote_output
-            .lines()
-            .filter_map(|line| {
-                let parts: Vec<&str> = line.split('\t').collect();
-                if parts.len() == 2 {
-                    let full_name = parts[0];
-                    // Skip <remote>/HEAD
-                    if full_name == remote_head {
-                        return None;
-                    }
-                    // Strip remote prefix to get local name
-                    let local_name = full_name.strip_prefix(&remote_prefix)?;
-                    // Skip if local branch exists (user should use local)
-                    if local_branch_names.contains(local_name) {
-                        return None;
+        // Get remote branches with timestamps (if remotes exist)
+        let remote_branches: Vec<(String, String, i64)> = if let Ok(remote) = self.primary_remote()
+        {
+            let remote_ref_path = format!("refs/remotes/{}/", remote);
+            let remote_prefix = format!("{}/", remote);
+
+            let remote_output = self.run_command(&[
+                "for-each-ref",
+                "--sort=-committerdate",
+                "--format=%(refname:lstrip=2)\t%(committerdate:unix)",
+                &remote_ref_path,
+            ])?;
+
+            let remote_head = format!("{}/HEAD", remote);
+            remote_output
+                .lines()
+                .filter_map(|line| {
+                    let parts: Vec<&str> = line.split('\t').collect();
+                    if parts.len() == 2 {
+                        let full_name = parts[0];
+                        // Skip <remote>/HEAD
+                        if full_name == remote_head {
+                            return None;
+                        }
+                        // Strip remote prefix to get local name
+                        let local_name = full_name.strip_prefix(&remote_prefix)?;
+                        // Skip if local branch exists (user should use local)
+                        if local_branch_names.contains(local_name) {
+                            return None;
+                        }
+                        let timestamp = parts[1].parse().unwrap_or(0);
+                        Some((local_name.to_string(), remote.to_string(), timestamp))
+                    } else {
+                        None
                     }
-                    let timestamp = parts[1].parse().unwrap_or(0);
-                    Some((local_name.to_string(), remote.to_string(), timestamp))
-                } else {
-                    None
-                }
-            })
-            .collect();
+                })
+                .collect()
+        } else {
+            Vec::new()
+        };
 
         // Build result: worktrees first, then local, then remote
         let mut result = Vec::new();
@@ -1841,9 +1848,9 @@ impl Repository {
             .project_identifier
             .get_or_try_init(|| {
                 // Try to get the remote URL first
-                let remote = self.primary_remote()?;
-
-                if let Some(url) = self.remote_url(&remote) {
+                if let Ok(remote) = self.primary_remote()
+                    && let Some(url) = self.remote_url(&remote)
+                {
                     if let Some(parsed) = GitRemoteUrl::parse(url.trim()) {
                         return Ok(parsed.project_identifier());
                     }