diff --git a/update.sh b/update.sh
index b32d7706a174e91f1916341414ca7e83d93c49db..6382ca3020528023a3af5608b5be5eacf7373bac 100755
--- a/update.sh
+++ b/update.sh
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
+target="${1:-master}"
+
+echo "reset target is $target"
+
 # update meta repo
-git fetch origin master
+git fetch origin "$target"
 # use the latest commit on master, discard any local changes
-git reset --hard origin/master
+git reset --hard "$target"
 # sync repo urls
 git submodule sync --recursive
 # update commits, discard any local changes