diff --git a/__tests__/lib/createGHA.test.ts b/__tests__/lib/createGHA.test.ts
index 9dfedf574..86e15434d 100644
--- a/__tests__/lib/createGHA.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/lib/createGHA.test.ts
@@ -177,6 +177,8 @@ describe('#createGHA', () => {
       it('should not run if in a CI environment', async () => {
         process.env.TEST_CI = 'true';
         await expect(createGHA('success!', cmd, command.args, opts)).resolves.toBe('success!');
+        // asserts that git commands aren't run in CI
+        expect(git.checkIsRepo).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
         delete process.env.TEST_CI;
       });
 
diff --git a/src/lib/createGHA/index.ts b/src/lib/createGHA/index.ts
index ef922081a..48c850974 100644
--- a/src/lib/createGHA/index.ts
+++ b/src/lib/createGHA/index.ts
@@ -165,6 +165,12 @@ export default async function createGHA(
   debug(`running GHA onboarding for ${command} command`);
   debug(`opts used in createGHA: ${JSON.stringify(opts)}`);
 
+  // if in a CI environment,
+  // don't even bother running the git commands
+  if (!opts.github && isCI()) {
+    return msg;
+  }
+
   const { containsGitHubRemote, containsNonGitHubRemote, defaultBranch, isRepo, repoRoot } = await getGitData();
 
   const configVal = configstore.get(getConfigStoreKey(repoRoot));
@@ -177,8 +183,6 @@ export default async function createGHA(
     if (
       // not a repo
       !isRepo ||
-      // in a CI environment
-      isCI() ||
       // user has previously declined to set up GHA for current repo and `rdme` package version
       configVal === majorPkgVersion ||
       // is a repo, but only contains non-GitHub remotes