diff --git a/lifemonitor/api/models/issues/general/lm.py b/lifemonitor/api/models/issues/general/lm.py
index 3e219d286..1d029b789 100644
--- a/lifemonitor/api/models/issues/general/lm.py
+++ b/lifemonitor/api/models/issues/general/lm.py
@@ -22,10 +22,12 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from lifemonitor.utils import get_validation_schema_url
 from lifemonitor.api.models.issues import IssueMessage, WorkflowRepositoryIssue
+from lifemonitor.api.models.issues.general.repo_layout import \
+    GitRepositoryWithoutMainBranch
 from lifemonitor.api.models.repositories import WorkflowRepository
 from lifemonitor.schemas.validators import ValidationError, ValidationResult
+from lifemonitor.utils import get_validation_schema_url
 
 # set module level logger
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -36,6 +38,7 @@ class MissingLMConfigFile(WorkflowRepositoryIssue):
     description = "No <code>lifemonitor.yaml</code> configuration file found on this repository.<br>"\
         "The <code>lifemonitor.yaml</code> should be placed on the root of this repository."
     labels = ['lifemonitor']
+    depends_on = [GitRepositoryWithoutMainBranch]
 
     def check(self, repo: WorkflowRepository) -> bool:
         if repo.config is None:
diff --git a/lifemonitor/api/models/issues/general/repo_layout.py b/lifemonitor/api/models/issues/general/repo_layout.py
index 98624d045..556ffbb64 100644
--- a/lifemonitor/api/models/issues/general/repo_layout.py
+++ b/lifemonitor/api/models/issues/general/repo_layout.py
@@ -24,15 +24,34 @@
 
 from lifemonitor.api.models.issues import WorkflowRepositoryIssue
 from lifemonitor.api.models.repositories import WorkflowRepository
+from lifemonitor.api.models.repositories.local import \
+    LocalGitWorkflowRepository
 
 # set module level logger
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+class GitRepositoryWithoutMainBranch(WorkflowRepositoryIssue):
+    name = "Repository without main branch"
+    description = "This repository does not have a main branch."
+    labels = ['best-practices']
+
+    def check(self, repo: WorkflowRepository) -> bool:
+        """
+        If the repository is a Git repository, check if it has a main branch.
+        """
+        if not LocalGitWorkflowRepository.is_git_repo(repo.local_path):
+            return False
+        git_repo = LocalGitWorkflowRepository(repo.local_path)
+        logger.debug("Local Git repository: %r - branches: %r", git_repo, git_repo.heads)
+        return git_repo.heads is None or len(git_repo.heads) == 0
+
+
 class RepositoryNotInitialised(WorkflowRepositoryIssue):
     name = "Repository not intialised"
     description = "No workflow and crate metadata found on this repository."
     labels = ['best-practices']
+    depends_on = [GitRepositoryWithoutMainBranch]
 
     def check(self, repo: WorkflowRepository) -> bool:
         return repo.find_workflow() is None and repo.metadata is None
diff --git a/lifemonitor/api/models/repositories/local.py b/lifemonitor/api/models/repositories/local.py
index 6a8e9d2a5..b594868ab 100644
--- a/lifemonitor/api/models/repositories/local.py
+++ b/lifemonitor/api/models/repositories/local.py
@@ -301,7 +301,8 @@ def __init__(self,
         self._remote_repo_info = None
         try:
             self._remote_repo_info = RemoteGitRepoInfo.parse(self._git_repo.remotes.origin.url)
-        except git.exc.GitCommandError as e:
+        except (git.exc.GitCommandError, AttributeError) as e:
+            logger.warning("Unable to parse remote repository info: %s", e)
             if logger.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
                 logger.exception(e)
 
@@ -309,6 +310,14 @@ def __init__(self,
     def main_branch(self) -> str:
         return self._git_repo.active_branch.name
 
+    @property
+    def remotes(self) -> List[str]:
+        return [r.name for r in self._git_repo.remotes]
+
+    @property
+    def heads(self) -> List[str]:
+        return [h.name for h in self._git_repo.heads]
+
     @property
     def owner(self) -> str:
         return super().owner or \
diff --git a/lifemonitor/utils.py b/lifemonitor/utils.py
index 830f6a557..d6b9187f2 100644
--- a/lifemonitor/utils.py
+++ b/lifemonitor/utils.py
@@ -807,7 +807,8 @@ class RemoteGitRepoInfo(giturlparse.result.GitUrlParsed):
 
     def __init__(self, parsed_info):
         # fix for giturlparse: protocols are not parsed correctly
-        del parsed_info['protocols']
+        if 'protocols' in parsed_info:
+            del parsed_info['protocols']
         super().__init__(parsed_info)
 
     @property