diff --git a/lib/platform/github/index.js b/lib/platform/github/index.js
index 6f8b494bab19c3791034b8e48f7bbc254d3041e9..f447fc5079f4e2d2202023d46c63e591963ae80a 100644
--- a/lib/platform/github/index.js
+++ b/lib/platform/github/index.js
@@ -232,6 +232,9 @@ async function initRepo({
         }
       );
     }
+    if (!await branchExists('renovate-config')) {
+      await createBranch('renovate-config', config.baseCommitSHA);
+    }
   }
   return platformConfig;
 }
@@ -769,10 +772,6 @@ async function createPr(
   // istanbul ignore if
   if (config.mirrorMode && branchName === 'renovate/configure') {
     logger.debug('Using renovate-config as base branch for mirror config');
-    if (!await branchExists('renovate-config')) {
-      const baseCommitSHA = await getBaseCommitSHA();
-      await createBranch('renovate-config', baseCommitSHA);
-    }
     base = 'renovate-config';
   }
   // Include the repository owner to handle forkMode and regular mode