diff --git a/tools/ci/test_build_system.sh b/tools/ci/test_build_system.sh
index e5ae4ea9f3..efc3703b18 100755
--- a/tools/ci/test_build_system.sh
+++ b/tools/ci/test_build_system.sh
@@ -43,7 +43,11 @@ function run_tests()
     print_status "Cloning template from ${ESP_IDF_TEMPLATE_GIT}..."
     git clone ${ESP_IDF_TEMPLATE_GIT} template
     cd template
-    git checkout ${CI_BUILD_REF_NAME} || echo "Using esp-idf-template default branch..."
+    if [ -z $CHECKOUT_REF_SCRIPT ]; then
+        git checkout ${CI_BUILD_REF_NAME} || echo "Using esp-idf-template default branch..."
+    else
+        $CHECKOUT_REF_SCRIPT esp-idf-template
+    fi
 
     print_status "Updating template config..."
     make defconfig || exit $?
diff --git a/tools/ci/test_build_system_cmake.sh b/tools/ci/test_build_system_cmake.sh
index 6f245f6b60..8484255a04 100755
--- a/tools/ci/test_build_system_cmake.sh
+++ b/tools/ci/test_build_system_cmake.sh
@@ -45,7 +45,11 @@ function run_tests()
     print_status "Cloning template from ${ESP_IDF_TEMPLATE_GIT}..."
     git clone ${ESP_IDF_TEMPLATE_GIT} template
     cd template
-    git checkout ${CI_BUILD_REF_NAME} || echo "Using esp-idf-template default branch..."
+    if [ -z $CHECKOUT_REF_SCRIPT ]; then
+        git checkout ${CI_BUILD_REF_NAME} || echo "Using esp-idf-template default branch..."
+    else
+        $CHECKOUT_REF_SCRIPT esp-idf-template
+    fi
 
     print_status "Try to clean fresh directory..."
     idf.py fullclean || exit $?