diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2de939183c..b23787d61d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 ### Template
 
 - Add empty line in README.md to fix badges. ([#2729](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/2729))
+- Replace automatic branch detection in `nf-core download` CI test with hardcoded `dev` and input. ([#2727](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/2727))
 
 ### Linting
 
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@
 
 ### Template
 
-- Add a Github Action Workflow to the pipeline template that tests a successful download with 'nf-core download' ([#2618](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/2618))
+- Add a Github Action Workflow to the pipeline template that tests a successful download with `nf-core download` ([#2618](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/2618))
 - Use `pre-commit` to lint files in GitHub CI ([#2635](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/2635))
 - Use pdiff also on gitpod for nf-test ([#2640](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/2640))
 - switch to new image syntax in readme ([#2645](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/2645))
diff --git a/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/workflows/download_pipeline.yml b/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/workflows/download_pipeline.yml
index 31cf61f358..08fc30c936 100644
--- a/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/workflows/download_pipeline.yml
+++ b/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/workflows/download_pipeline.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@ name: Test successful pipeline download with 'nf-core download'
 #  - the head branch of the pull request is updated, i.e. if fixes for a release are pushed last minute to dev.
 on:
   workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      testbranch:
+        description: "The specific branch you wish to utilize for the test execution of nf-core download."
+        required: true
+        default: "dev"
   pull_request:
     types:
       - opened
@@ -42,7 +47,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           echo "REPO_LOWERCASE=${GITHUB_REPOSITORY,,}" >> ${GITHUB_ENV}
           echo "REPOTITLE_LOWERCASE=$(basename ${GITHUB_REPOSITORY,,})" >> ${GITHUB_ENV}
-          echo "REPO_BRANCH=${GITHUB_REF#refs/heads/}" >> ${GITHUB_ENV}
+          echo "REPO_BRANCH=${{ github.event.inputs.testbranch || 'dev' }}" >> ${GITHUB_ENV}
 
       - name: Download the pipeline
         env:
@@ -64,4 +69,4 @@ jobs:
         env:
           NXF_SINGULARITY_CACHEDIR: ./
           NXF_SINGULARITY_HOME_MOUNT: true
-        run: nextflow run ./${{ env.REPOTITLE_LOWERCASE }}/$( sed 's/\W/_/g' <<< ${{ env.REPO_BRANCH }}) -stub -profile test,singularity --outdir ./results {% endraw %}
+        run: nextflow run ./${{ env.REPOTITLE_LOWERCASE }}/$( sed 's/\W/_/g' <<< ${{ env.REPO_BRANCH }}) -stub -profile test,singularity --outdir ./results{% endraw %}