diff --git a/man/rpm-ostree.xml b/man/rpm-ostree.xml
index 68094e9e..4014cc6e 100644
--- a/man/rpm-ostree.xml
+++ b/man/rpm-ostree.xml
@@ -247,9 +247,11 @@ Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
           </para>
           <para>
             The full syntax is <literal>rebase REMOTENAME:BRANCHNAME</literal>.
-            It is also possible to specify just <literal>BRANCHNAME</literal>,
-            reusing the same remote, as well as using <literal>REMOTENAME:</literal>,
-            which will use the same branch on a different remote.
+            Specifying just <literal>BRANCHNAME</literal> will reuse the same
+            remote. You may also omit one of <literal>REMOTENAME</literal> or
+            <literal>BRANCHNAME</literal> (keeping the colon). In the former
+            case, the branch refers to a local branch; in the latter case, the
+            same branch will be used on a different remote.
           </para>
         </listitem>
       </varlistentry>
diff --git a/src/daemon/rpmostreed-utils.c b/src/daemon/rpmostreed-utils.c
index 974c1bba..dd283055 100644
--- a/src/daemon/rpmostreed-utils.c
+++ b/src/daemon/rpmostreed-utils.c
@@ -137,12 +137,19 @@ rpmostreed_refspec_parse_partial (const gchar *new_provided_refspec,
 
   g_autofree gchar *ref = NULL;
   g_autofree gchar *remote = NULL;
+  gboolean infer_remote = TRUE;;
 
   /* Allow just switching remotes */
   if (g_str_has_suffix (new_provided_refspec, ":"))
     {
       remote = g_strndup (new_provided_refspec, strlen(new_provided_refspec)-1);
     }
+  /* Allow switching to a local branch */
+  else if (g_str_has_prefix (new_provided_refspec, ":"))
+    {
+      infer_remote = FALSE;
+      ref = g_strdup (new_provided_refspec + 1);
+    }
   else
     {
       g_autoptr(GError) parse_error = NULL;
@@ -186,7 +193,7 @@ rpmostreed_refspec_parse_partial (const gchar *new_provided_refspec,
         }
 
     }
-  else if (remote == NULL)
+  else if (infer_remote && remote == NULL)
     {
       if (origin_remote)
         {
diff --git a/tests/check/test-basic.sh b/tests/check/test-basic.sh
index cdd5d590..597ec2fc 100755
--- a/tests/check/test-basic.sh
+++ b/tests/check/test-basic.sh
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ export RPMOSTREE_SUPPRESS_REQUIRES_ROOT_CHECK=yes
 
 ensure_dbus
 
-echo "1..19"
+echo "1..21"
 
 setup_os_repository "archive-z2" "syslinux"
 
@@ -148,6 +148,15 @@ $OSTREE remote add secureos file://$(pwd)/testos-repo
 rpm-ostree rebase --os=testos secureos:$branch gpg-signed
 echo "ok deploy from remote with unsigned and signed commits"
 
+rpm-ostree rebase --os=testos :$branch
+assert_status_jq '.deployments[0].origin|startswith("testos/")'
+echo "ok rebase from refspec with remote to local branch"
+
+$OSTREE commit -b another-branch --tree=ref=$branch
+rpm-ostree rebase --os=testos another-branch
+assert_status_jq '.deployments[0].origin == "another-branch"'
+echo "ok rebase from local branch to local branch"
+
 originpath=$(ostree admin --sysroot=sysroot --print-current-dir).origin
 echo "unconfigured-state=Access to TestOS requires ONE BILLION DOLLARS" >> ${originpath}
 rpm-ostree reload