diff --git a/.yarn/versions/b62cfa7b.yml b/.yarn/versions/b62cfa7b.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..9077f233ec3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.yarn/versions/b62cfa7b.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+releases:
+  "@yarnpkg/plugin-version": prerelease
+
+declined:
+  - "@yarnpkg/cli"
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/pages/configuration/yarnrc.json b/packages/gatsby/src/pages/configuration/yarnrc.json
index 6c1eeb384562..ba3b180c35c6 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/pages/configuration/yarnrc.json
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/pages/configuration/yarnrc.json
@@ -16,6 +16,14 @@
       "format": "uri-reference",
       "default": "./.yarn/cache"
     },
+    "changesetBaseRefs": {
+      "description": "The base git refs that the current HEAD is compared against in the version plugin. This overrides the default behavior of comparing against master, origin/master, and upstream/master. Supports git branches, tags, and commits.",
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "default": ["master", "origin/master", "upstream/master"]
+    },
     "checksumBehavior": {
       "description": "If `throw` (the default), Yarn will throw an exception on `yarn install` if it detects that a package doesn't match the checksum stored within the lockfile. If `update`, the lockfile checksum will be updated to match the new value. If `ignore`, the checksum check will not happen.",
       "enum": ["throw", "update", "ignore"],
diff --git a/packages/plugin-version/sources/index.ts b/packages/plugin-version/sources/index.ts
index 06db33fe073a..4687b1f8d0d5 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-version/sources/index.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-version/sources/index.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,13 @@ import version                from './commands/version';
 
 const plugin: Plugin = {
   configuration: {
+    changesetBaseRefs: {
+      description: 'The base git refs that the current HEAD is compared against when detecting changes. Supports git branches, tags, and commits.',
+      type: SettingsType.STRING,
+      isArray: true,
+      isNullable: false,
+      default: [`master`, `origin/master`, `upstream/master`],
+    },
     deferredVersionFolder: {
       description: `Folder where are stored the versioning files`,
       type: SettingsType.ABSOLUTE_PATH,
diff --git a/packages/plugin-version/sources/versionUtils.ts b/packages/plugin-version/sources/versionUtils.ts
index 34ce12cea4bd..465d5c5ddad4 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-version/sources/versionUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-version/sources/versionUtils.ts
@@ -19,11 +19,13 @@ export enum Decision {
 export type Releases =
   Map<Workspace, Exclude<Decision, Decision.UNDECIDED>>;
 
-export async function fetchBase(root: PortablePath) {
-  const candidateBases = [`master`, `origin/master`, `upstream/master`];
+export async function fetchBase(root: PortablePath, {baseRefs}: {baseRefs: string[]}) {
+  if (baseRefs.length === 0)
+    throw new UsageError(`Can't run this command with zero base refs specified.`);
+
   const ancestorBases = [];
 
-  for (const candidate of candidateBases) {
+  for (const candidate of baseRefs) {
     const {code} = await execUtils.execvp(`git`, [`merge-base`, candidate, `HEAD`], {cwd: root});
     if (code === 0) {
       ancestorBases.push(candidate);
@@ -31,7 +33,7 @@ export async function fetchBase(root: PortablePath) {
   }
 
   if (ancestorBases.length === 0)
-    throw new UsageError(`No ancestor could be found between any of HEAD and ${candidateBases.join(`, `)}`);
+    throw new UsageError(`No ancestor could be found between any of HEAD and ${baseRefs.join(`, `)}`);
 
   const {stdout: mergeBaseStdout} = await execUtils.execvp(`git`, [`merge-base`, `HEAD`, ...ancestorBases], {cwd: root, strict: true});
   const hash = mergeBaseStdout.trim();
@@ -194,7 +196,7 @@ export async function openVersionFile(project: Project, {allowEmpty = false}: {a
   const root = await fetchRoot(configuration.projectCwd);
 
   const base = root !== null
-    ? await fetchBase(root)
+    ? await fetchBase(root, {baseRefs: configuration.get('changesetBaseRefs')})
     : null;
 
   const changedFiles = root !== null