diff --git a/share/spack/gitlab/pr_pipeline.yml b/share/spack/gitlab/pr_pipeline.yml
index 86b52c2ea1e..367a4b90779 100644
--- a/share/spack/gitlab/pr_pipeline.yml
+++ b/share/spack/gitlab/pr_pipeline.yml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ merge_pipeline:
   only:
   - develop
   variables:
-    SPACK_REF: develop
+    SPACK_REF: ${CI_COMMIT_SHA}
   trigger:
     project: spack/e4s
     strategy: depend
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