diff --git a/scripts/lib/devtool/standard.py b/scripts/lib/devtool/standard.py
index 2a3a62d081..cae8793307 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/devtool/standard.py
+++ b/scripts/lib/devtool/standard.py
@@ -1200,6 +1200,10 @@ def _get_patchset_revs(srctree, recipe_path, initial_rev=None, force_patch_refre
     commits = {}
     patches = []
     initial_revs = {}
+    if initial_rev:
+        # A user-specified override applies to the main repo ("."); the
+        # parse loop below leaves it in place of the recorded value
+        initial_revs["."] = initial_rev
     with open(recipe_path, 'r') as f:
         for line in f:
             pattern = r'^#\s.*\s(.*):\s([0-9a-fA-F]+)$'