diff --git a/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.ts b/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.ts
index 4d709dab20ef96ee49fbe6ae897f3d72a6201c84..60263825219551693fd9b6d665ec0875a4059cf8 100644
--- a/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.ts
@@ -184,7 +184,8 @@ export async function initRepo({
       `./rest/api/1.0/projects/${config.projectKey}/repos/${config.repositorySlug}/branches/default`
     );
 
-    if (branchRes.statusCode === 204) {
+    // 204 means empty, 404 means repo not found or missing default branch. repo must exist here.
+    if ([204, 404].includes(branchRes.statusCode)) {
       throw new Error(REPOSITORY_EMPTY);
     }