diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3d7fdea108b..f031671c3f5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,3 +3,4 @@
 - Added emulator support for SDK defined extensions.
 - Fixed various trigger handling issues in the Functions emualtor, including an issue where Eventarc functions would not be emulated correctly after a reload.
 - Added support for generating Dart SDKs for Data Connect connectors.
+- Commands now correctly default to 'default' alias when there is more than one alias listed. (#7624)
diff --git a/src/command.spec.ts b/src/command.spec.ts
index 465750d8180..a1dee5228f7 100644
--- a/src/command.spec.ts
+++ b/src/command.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import { expect } from "chai";
+import * as sinon from "sinon";
+import * as rc from "./rc";
 import * as nock from "nock";
 
 import { Command, validateProjectId } from "./command";
@@ -30,6 +32,18 @@ describe("Command", () => {
   });
 
   describe("runner", () => {
+    let rcStub: sinon.SinonStub;
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      rcStub = sinon
+        .stub(rc, "loadRC")
+        .returns(new rc.RC(undefined, { projects: { default: "default-project" } }));
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      rcStub.restore();
+      nock.cleanAll();
+    });
+
     it("should work when no arguments are passed and options", async () => {
       const run = command
         .action((options) => {
@@ -126,6 +140,25 @@ describe("Command", () => {
         project: "resolved-project",
       });
     });
+
+    it("should use the 'default' alias if no project is passed", async () => {
+      const run = command
+        .action((options) => {
+          return {
+            project: options.project,
+            projectNumber: options.projectNumber,
+            projectId: options.projectId,
+          };
+        })
+        .runner();
+
+      const result = await run({});
+      expect(result).to.deep.eq({
+        projectId: "default-project",
+        projectNumber: undefined,
+        project: "default-project",
+      });
+    });
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/src/command.ts b/src/command.ts
index 7d400377367..1886c9faea6 100644
--- a/src/command.ts
+++ b/src/command.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import * as clc from "colorette";
 import { CommanderStatic } from "commander";
-import { first, last, get, size, head, keys, values } from "lodash";
+import { first, last, size, head, keys, values } from "lodash";
 
 import { FirebaseError } from "./error";
 import { getInheritedOption, setupLoggers, withTimeout } from "./utils";
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { trackEmulator, trackGA4 } from "./track";
 import { selectAccount, setActiveAccount } from "./auth";
 import { getFirebaseProject } from "./management/projects";
 import { requireAuth } from "./requireAuth";
+import { Options } from "./options";
 
 // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
 type ActionFunction = (...args: any[]) => any;
@@ -334,25 +335,33 @@ export class Command {
    * @param options the command options object.
    */
   // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
-  private applyRC(options: any): void {
+  private applyRC(options: Options): void {
     const rc = loadRC(options);
     options.rc = rc;
-
-    options.project =
-      options.project || (configstore.get("activeProjects") || {})[options.projectRoot];
+    const activeProject = options.projectRoot
+      ? (configstore.get("activeProjects") ?? {})[options.projectRoot]
+      : undefined;
+    options.project = options.project ?? activeProject;
     // support deprecated "firebase" key in firebase.json
     if (options.config && !options.project) {
       options.project = options.config.defaults.project;
     }
 
     const aliases = rc.projects;
-    const rcProject = get(aliases, options.project);
+    const rcProject = options.project ? aliases[options.project] : undefined;
     if (rcProject) {
+      // Look up aliases
       options.projectAlias = options.project;
       options.project = rcProject;
     } else if (!options.project && size(aliases) === 1) {
+      // If there's only a single alias, use that.
+      // This seems to be how we originally implemented default project - keeping this behavior to avoid breaking any unusual set ups.
       options.projectAlias = head(keys(aliases));
       options.project = head(values(aliases));
+    } else if (!options.project && aliases["default"]) {
+      // If there's an alias named 'default', default to that.
+      options.projectAlias = "default";
+      options.project = aliases["default"];
     }
   }