diff --git a/lib/config/definitions.js b/lib/config/definitions.js
index 69cd6144b82c0833d24451e7fd0c1d389a5cc494..d389ce990abac1cdd7ae686db61bcd69524b437a 100644
--- a/lib/config/definitions.js
+++ b/lib/config/definitions.js
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ const options = [
       'Whether CLI configuration options should be moved to the `force` config section',
     stage: 'global',
     type: 'boolean',
-    default: false,
+    default: true,
   },
   {
     name: 'dryRun',
diff --git a/renovate-schema.json b/renovate-schema.json
index abe6b91b2e4debefe5ba00ea739e3cad37427a2b..64d65c71ec71564b509164d867d79497c2a6612b 100644
--- a/renovate-schema.json
+++ b/renovate-schema.json
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     "forceCli": {
       "description": "Whether CLI configuration options should be moved to the `force` config section",
       "type": "boolean",
-      "default": false
+      "default": true
     },
     "dryRun": {
       "description": "If enabled, perform a dry run by logging messages instead of creating/updating/deleting branches and PRs",
diff --git a/website/docs/self-hosted-configuration.md b/website/docs/self-hosted-configuration.md
index 57d4d082e066483db0c78ac166d881cb612ad455..722a20a6c3f62b4b09f9c60133f9ab8cae4889f1 100644
--- a/website/docs/self-hosted-configuration.md
+++ b/website/docs/self-hosted-configuration.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ In practice, it is implemented by converting the `force` configuration into a `p
 
 ## forceCli
 
-This is set to true by default, meaning that any settings (such as `schedule`) take maximum priority even against custom settings existing inside individual repositories.
+This is set to true by default, meaning that any settings (such as `schedule`) take maximum priority even against custom settings existing inside individual repositories. It will also override any settings in `packageRules`.
 
 ## forkMode