diff --git a/funcs_scripts.php b/funcs_scripts.php
index 8aca416..db07ebb 100644
--- a/funcs_scripts.php
+++ b/funcs_scripts.php
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ function module_is_recipe()
         error("Could not parse from composer.json - last error was $lastError");
     }
 
-    return $json->type === 'silverstripe-recipe';
+    return $json->type ?? '' === 'silverstripe-recipe';
 }
 
 /**
@@ -167,7 +167,29 @@ function is_module()
         'silverstripe-recipe',
         'silverstripe-theme',
     ];
-    return in_array($json->type, $moduleTypes);
+    return in_array($json->type ?? '', $moduleTypes);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Determine if the module being processed is a composer plugin
+ *
+ * Example usage:
+ * is_composer_plugin()
+ */
+function is_composer_plugin()
+{
+    if (!check_file_exists('composer.json')) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    $contents = read_file('composer.json');
+    $json = json_decode($contents);
+    if (is_null($json)) {
+        $lastError = json_last_error();
+        error("Could not parse from composer.json - last error was $lastError");
+    }
+
+    return $json->type ?? '' === 'composer-plugin';
 }
 
 /**
@@ -192,6 +214,15 @@ function is_theme()
     return $json->type === 'silverstripe-theme';
 }
 
+/**
+ * Determine if the module being processed is a meta repository
+ */
+function is_meta_repo()
+{
+    $moduleName = module_name();
+    return $moduleName === '.github';
+}
+
 /**
  * Determine if the module being processed is a source of documentation
  *
diff --git a/scripts/cms-any/dispatch-ci.php b/scripts/cms-any/dispatch-ci.php
index ac1501c..4568050 100644
--- a/scripts/cms-any/dispatch-ci.php
+++ b/scripts/cms-any/dispatch-ci.php
@@ -32,6 +32,14 @@
         uses: silverstripe/gha-dispatch-ci@v1
 EOT;
 
-if (check_file_exists('.github/workflows/ci.yml')) {
-    write_file_even_if_exists('.github/workflows/dispatch-ci.yml', $content);
+$dispatchCiPath = '.github/workflows/dispatch-ci.yml';
+$ciPath = '.github/workflows/ci.yml';
+$shouldHaveDispatchCi = (is_module() || is_composer_plugin()) && !is_docs() && !is_gha_repository();
+
+if ($shouldHaveDispatchCi) {
+  if (check_file_exists($ciPath)) {
+    write_file_even_if_exists($dispatchCiPath, $content);
+  }
+} else {
+  delete_file_if_exists($dispatchCiPath);
 }
diff --git a/scripts/cms-any/license.php b/scripts/cms-any/license.php
index c25e36d..6ea6599 100644
--- a/scripts/cms-any/license.php
+++ b/scripts/cms-any/license.php
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@
 foreach (['LICENSE.md', 'license.md', 'license'] as $filename) {
     rename_file_if_exists($filename, $licenseFilename);
 }
-// only update licence contents if module is on silverstripe account
-if (module_account() === 'silverstripe') {
+// only update licence contents if module is on silverstripe account and is not a meta repo
+if (module_account() === 'silverstripe' && !is_meta_repo()) {
     if (check_file_exists($licenseFilename)) {
         $oldContents = read_file($licenseFilename);
         $newContents = str_replace('SilverStripe', 'Silverstripe', $oldContents);
diff --git a/scripts/cms-any/merge-ups.php b/scripts/cms-any/merge-ups.php
index 45dc22a..9c1e31d 100644
--- a/scripts/cms-any/merge-ups.php
+++ b/scripts/cms-any/merge-ups.php
@@ -54,6 +54,6 @@
     rename_file_if_exists('.github/workflows/merge-ups.yml', '.github/workflows/merge-up.yml');
 }
 
-if (!module_is_recipe()) {
+if (!module_is_recipe() && !is_meta_repo()) {
   write_file_even_if_exists('.github/workflows/merge-up.yml', $content);
 }
diff --git a/update_command.php b/update_command.php
index 81ed009..aabb8ac 100644
--- a/update_command.php
+++ b/update_command.php
@@ -94,7 +94,10 @@
         } else {
             // get all branches
             $allBranches = explode("\n", cmd('git branch -r', $MODULE_DIR));
+            $allBranches = array_filter($allBranches, fn($branch) => !str_contains($branch, 'HEAD ->'));
             $allBranches = array_map(fn($branch) => trim(str_replace('origin/', '', $branch)), $allBranches);
+            // reset index
+            $allBranches = array_values($allBranches);
 
             // reset to the default branch so that we can then calculate the correct branch to checkout
             // this is needed for scenarios where we may be on something unparsable like pulls/5/lorem-ipsum
@@ -102,26 +105,30 @@
             $defaultBranch = cmd($cmd, $MODULE_DIR);
             cmd("git checkout $defaultBranch", $MODULE_DIR);
 
-            // checkout the branch to run scripts over
-            $currentBranch = cmd('git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD', $MODULE_DIR);
-            // ensure that we're on a standard next-minor style branch
-            if (!ctype_digit($currentBranch)) {
-                $tmp = array_filter($allBranches, fn($branch) => ctype_digit($branch));
-                if (empty($tmp)) {
-                    error('Could not find a next-minor style branch');
+            if (is_meta_repo()) {
+                $branchToCheckout = $allBranches[0];
+            } else {
+                // checkout the branch to run scripts over
+                $currentBranch = cmd('git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD', $MODULE_DIR);
+                // ensure that we're on a standard next-minor style branch
+                if (!ctype_digit($currentBranch)) {
+                    $tmp = array_filter($allBranches, fn($branch) => ctype_digit($branch));
+                    if (empty($tmp)) {
+                        error('Could not find a next-minor style branch');
+                    }
+                    $currentBranch = max($tmp);
+                    cmd("git checkout $currentBranch", $MODULE_DIR);
                 }
-                $currentBranch = max($tmp);
-                cmd("git checkout $currentBranch", $MODULE_DIR);
+                $currentBranchCmsMajor = current_branch_cms_major();
+                $branchToCheckout = branch_to_checkout(
+                    $allBranches,
+                    $defaultBranch,
+                    $currentBranch,
+                    $currentBranchCmsMajor,
+                    $cmsMajor,
+                    $branchOption
+                );
             }
-            $currentBranchCmsMajor = current_branch_cms_major();
-            $branchToCheckout = branch_to_checkout(
-                $allBranches,
-                $defaultBranch,
-                $currentBranch,
-                $currentBranchCmsMajor,
-                $cmsMajor,
-                $branchOption
-            );
             if (!in_array($branchToCheckout, $allBranches)) {
                 error("Could not find branch to checkout for $repo using --branch=$branchOption");
             }