diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index b057d29..36f179c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -64,3 +64,47 @@ jobs:
       - name: Print Output
         id: output
         run: echo "${{ steps.test-action.outputs.gop-version }}"
+
+  test-versions:
+    name: Gop Versions Test
+
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        gop-version: ['1.1.7', '', 'latest', 'main', 'v1.0']
+        include:
+          - gop-version: '1.1.7'
+            gop-version-verified: 'true'
+          - gop-version: ''
+            gop-version-verified: 'true'
+          - gop-version: 'latest'
+            gop-version-verified: 'true'
+          - gop-version: 'main'
+            gop-version-verified: 'false'
+          - gop-version: 'v1.0'
+            gop-version-verified: 'false'
+
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        id: checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Test Gop Version
+        id: test-gop-version
+        uses: ./
+        with:
+          gop-version: ${{ matrix.gop-version }}
+
+      - name: Test version verified
+        env:
+          VERIFIED: ${{ matrix.gop-version-verified }}
+          GOP_VERSION: ${{ matrix.gop-version }}
+        run: |
+          echo "gop-version: $GOP_VERSION"
+          echo "gop-version-verified: $VERIFIED"
+          if [[ "$VERIFIED" != "$VERIFIED" ]]; then
+            echo "gop-version-verified does not match expected value"
+            echo "expected: $VERIFIED, got: $VERIFIED"
+            exit 1
+          fi
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index f1b24f5..d739c56 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ outputs:
   gop-version:
     description:
       'The installed Go+ version. Useful when given a version range as input.'
+  gop-version-verified:
+    description:
+      Whether the installed Go+ version checked, true if the installed version
+      is in the tags, false otherwise.
   go-version:
     description:
       'The installed Go version. Useful when given a version range as input.'
diff --git a/dist/index.js b/dist/index.js
index b03a5f9..ffa68f7 100644
--- a/dist/index.js
+++ b/dist/index.js
@@ -6020,7 +6020,7 @@ var __importDefault = (this && this.__importDefault) || function (mod) {
     return (mod && mod.__esModule) ? mod : { "default": mod };
 };
 Object.defineProperty(exports, "__esModule", ({ value: true }));
-exports.parseGopVersionFile = exports.installGop = void 0;
+exports.parseGopVersionFile = exports.selectVersion = exports.installGop = void 0;
 const core = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(2186));
 const semver = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(1383));
 const fs_1 = __importDefault(__nccwpck_require__(7147));
@@ -6035,24 +6035,40 @@ const GOPLUS_REPO = 'https://github.com/goplus/gop.git';
 async function installGop() {
     try {
         const versionSpec = resolveVersionInput() || '';
-        const versions = semver.rsort(fetchVersions().filter(v => semver.valid(v)));
+        const tagVersions = semver.rsort(fetchTags().filter(v => semver.valid(v)));
         let version = null;
         if (!versionSpec || versionSpec === 'latest') {
-            version = versions[0];
+            version = tagVersions[0];
             core.warning(`No gop-version specified, using latest version: ${version}`);
         }
         else {
-            version = semver.maxSatisfying(versions, versionSpec);
+            version = semver.maxSatisfying(tagVersions, versionSpec);
+            if (!version) {
+                core.warning(`No gop-version found that satisfies '${versionSpec}', trying branches...`);
+                const branchVersions = fetchBranches();
+                if (!branchVersions.includes(versionSpec)) {
+                    throw new Error(`No gop-version found that satisfies '${versionSpec}' in branches or tags`);
+                }
+                version = '';
+            }
         }
-        if (!version) {
-            throw new Error(`Unable to find a version that satisfies the version spec '${versionSpec}'`);
+        let checkoutVersion = '';
+        if (version) {
+            core.info(`Selected version ${version} by spec ${versionSpec}`);
+            checkoutVersion = `v${version}`;
+            core.setOutput('gop-version-verified', true);
+        }
+        else {
+            core.warning(`Unable to find a version that satisfies the version spec '${versionSpec}', trying branches...`);
+            checkoutVersion = versionSpec;
+            core.setOutput('gop-version-verified', false);
         }
-        core.info(`Selected version ${version} by spec ${versionSpec}`);
-        const tagVersion = `v${version}`;
-        const gopDir = clone(tagVersion);
+        const gopDir = cloneBranchOrTag(checkoutVersion);
         install(gopDir);
-        test(tagVersion);
-        core.setOutput('gop-version', version);
+        if (version) {
+            checkVersion(version);
+        }
+        core.setOutput('gop-version', gopVersion());
     }
     catch (error) {
         // Fail the workflow run if an error occurs
@@ -6061,7 +6077,15 @@ async function installGop() {
     }
 }
 exports.installGop = installGop;
-function clone(versionSpec) {
+function selectVersion(versions, versionSpec) {
+    const sortedVersions = semver.rsort(versions.filter(v => semver.valid(v)));
+    if (!versionSpec || versionSpec === 'latest') {
+        return sortedVersions[0];
+    }
+    return semver.maxSatisfying(sortedVersions, versionSpec);
+}
+exports.selectVersion = selectVersion;
+function cloneBranchOrTag(versionSpec) {
     // git clone https://github.com/goplus/gop.git with tag $versionSpec to $HOME/workdir/gop
     const workDir = path_1.default.join(os_1.default.homedir(), 'workdir');
     if (fs_1.default.existsSync(workDir)) {
@@ -6088,16 +6112,20 @@ function install(gopDir) {
     core.addPath(bin);
     core.info('gop installed');
 }
-function test(versionSpec) {
+function checkVersion(versionSpec) {
     core.info(`Testing gop ${versionSpec} ...`);
-    const out = (0, child_process_1.execSync)('gop env GOPVERSION', { env: process.env });
-    const actualVersion = out.toString().trim();
+    const actualVersion = gopVersion();
     if (actualVersion !== versionSpec) {
         throw new Error(`Installed gop version ${actualVersion} does not match expected version ${versionSpec}`);
     }
     core.info(`Installed gop version ${actualVersion}`);
+    return actualVersion;
 }
-function fetchVersions() {
+function gopVersion() {
+    const out = (0, child_process_1.execSync)('gop env GOPVERSION', { env: process.env });
+    return out.toString().trim().replace(/^v/, '');
+}
+function fetchTags() {
     const cmd = `git -c versionsort.suffix=- ls-remote --tags --sort=v:refname ${GOPLUS_REPO}`;
     const out = (0, child_process_1.execSync)(cmd).toString();
     const versions = out
@@ -6107,6 +6135,15 @@ function fetchVersions() {
         .map(s => s.replace(/^v/, ''));
     return versions;
 }
+function fetchBranches() {
+    const cmd = `git -c versionsort.suffix=- ls-remote --heads --sort=v:refname ${GOPLUS_REPO}`;
+    const out = (0, child_process_1.execSync)(cmd).toString();
+    const versions = out
+        .split('\n')
+        .filter(s => s)
+        .map(s => s.split('\t')[1].replace('refs/heads/', ''));
+    return versions;
+}
 function resolveVersionInput() {
     let version = process.env['INPUT_GOP_VERSION'];
     const versionFilePath = process.env['INPUT_GOP_VERSION_FILE'];
diff --git a/src/install-gop.ts b/src/install-gop.ts
index 7471aef..4c657c8 100644
--- a/src/install-gop.ts
+++ b/src/install-gop.ts
@@ -14,33 +14,63 @@ const GOPLUS_REPO = 'https://github.com/goplus/gop.git'
 export async function installGop(): Promise<void> {
   try {
     const versionSpec = resolveVersionInput() || ''
-    const versions = semver.rsort(fetchVersions().filter(v => semver.valid(v)))
+    const tagVersions = semver.rsort(fetchTags().filter(v => semver.valid(v)))
     let version: string | null = null
     if (!versionSpec || versionSpec === 'latest') {
-      version = versions[0]
+      version = tagVersions[0]
       core.warning(`No gop-version specified, using latest version: ${version}`)
     } else {
-      version = semver.maxSatisfying(versions, versionSpec)
+      version = semver.maxSatisfying(tagVersions, versionSpec)
+      if (!version) {
+        core.warning(
+          `No gop-version found that satisfies '${versionSpec}', trying branches...`
+        )
+        const branchVersions = fetchBranches()
+        if (!branchVersions.includes(versionSpec)) {
+          throw new Error(
+            `No gop-version found that satisfies '${versionSpec}' in branches or tags`
+          )
+        }
+        version = ''
+      }
     }
 
-    if (!version) {
-      throw new Error(
-        `Unable to find a version that satisfies the version spec '${versionSpec}'`
+    let checkoutVersion = ''
+    if (version) {
+      core.info(`Selected version ${version} by spec ${versionSpec}`)
+      checkoutVersion = `v${version}`
+      core.setOutput('gop-version-verified', true)
+    } else {
+      core.warning(
+        `Unable to find a version that satisfies the version spec '${versionSpec}', trying branches...`
       )
+      checkoutVersion = versionSpec
+      core.setOutput('gop-version-verified', false)
     }
-    core.info(`Selected version ${version} by spec ${versionSpec}`)
-    const tagVersion = `v${version}`
-    const gopDir = clone(tagVersion)
+    const gopDir = cloneBranchOrTag(checkoutVersion)
     install(gopDir)
-    test(tagVersion)
-    core.setOutput('gop-version', version)
+    if (version) {
+      checkVersion(version)
+    }
+    core.setOutput('gop-version', gopVersion())
   } catch (error) {
     // Fail the workflow run if an error occurs
     if (error instanceof Error) core.setFailed(error.message)
   }
 }
 
-function clone(versionSpec: string): string {
+export function selectVersion(
+  versions: string[],
+  versionSpec?: string
+): string | null {
+  const sortedVersions = semver.rsort(versions.filter(v => semver.valid(v)))
+  if (!versionSpec || versionSpec === 'latest') {
+    return sortedVersions[0]
+  }
+  return semver.maxSatisfying(sortedVersions, versionSpec)
+}
+
+function cloneBranchOrTag(versionSpec: string): string {
   // git clone https://github.com/goplus/gop.git with tag $versionSpec to $HOME/workdir/gop
   const workDir = path.join(os.homedir(), 'workdir')
   if (fs.existsSync(workDir)) {
@@ -69,19 +99,24 @@ function install(gopDir: string): void {
   core.info('gop installed')
 }
 
-function test(versionSpec: string): void {
+function checkVersion(versionSpec: string): string {
   core.info(`Testing gop ${versionSpec} ...`)
-  const out = execSync('gop env GOPVERSION', { env: process.env })
-  const actualVersion = out.toString().trim()
+  const actualVersion = gopVersion()
   if (actualVersion !== versionSpec) {
     throw new Error(
       `Installed gop version ${actualVersion} does not match expected version ${versionSpec}`
     )
   }
   core.info(`Installed gop version ${actualVersion}`)
+  return actualVersion
 }
 
-function fetchVersions(): string[] {
+function gopVersion(): string {
+  const out = execSync('gop env GOPVERSION', { env: process.env })
+  return out.toString().trim().replace(/^v/, '')
+}
+
+function fetchTags(): string[] {
   const cmd = `git -c versionsort.suffix=- ls-remote --tags --sort=v:refname ${GOPLUS_REPO}`
   const out = execSync(cmd).toString()
   const versions = out
@@ -92,6 +127,16 @@ function fetchVersions(): string[] {
   return versions
 }
 
+function fetchBranches(): string[] {
+  const cmd = `git -c versionsort.suffix=- ls-remote --heads --sort=v:refname ${GOPLUS_REPO}`
+  const out = execSync(cmd).toString()
+  const versions = out
+    .split('\n')
+    .filter(s => s)
+    .map(s => s.split('\t')[1].replace('refs/heads/', ''))
+  return versions
+}
+
 function resolveVersionInput(): string | undefined {
   let version = process.env['INPUT_GOP_VERSION']
   const versionFilePath = process.env['INPUT_GOP_VERSION_FILE']