diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9532c2f..d43616c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/)
 ### Added
 - GHORG_GITHUB_TOPICS to filter cloning repos matching specified topics; thanks @ryanaross
 - GHORG_MATCH_PREFIX to filter cloning repos by prefix
-- example commands
+- example commands directory
+- base-url to github for self hosted github instances
 ### Changed
 ### Deprecated
 ### Removed
diff --git a/cmd/clone.go b/cmd/clone.go
index d934eb1..b3964bb 100644
--- a/cmd/clone.go
+++ b/cmd/clone.go
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ func init() {
 	cloneCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&skipArchived, "skip-archived", false, "GHORG_SKIP_ARCHIVED - skips archived repos, github/gitlab only")
 	cloneCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&skipArchived, "preserve-dir", false, "GHORG_PRESERVE_DIRECTORY_STRUCTURE - clones repos in a directory structure that matches gitlab namespaces eg company/unit/subunit/app would clone into *_ghorg/unit/subunit/app, gitlab only")
 	cloneCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&backup, "backup", false, "GHORG_BACKUP - backup mode, clone as mirror, no working copy (ignores branch parameter)")
-	cloneCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&baseURL, "base-url", "", "", "GHORG_SCM_BASE_URL - change SCM base url, for on self hosted instances (currently gitlab only, use format of https://git.mydomain.com/api/v3)")
+	cloneCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&baseURL, "base-url", "", "", "GHORG_SCM_BASE_URL - change SCM base url, for on self hosted instances (currently gitlab/github only, use format of https://git.mydomain.com/api/v3)")
 	cloneCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&concurrency, "concurrency", "", "", "GHORG_CONCURRENCY - max goroutines to spin up while cloning (default 25)")
 	cloneCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&topics, "topics", "", "", "GHORG_GITHUB_TOPICS - comma seperated list of github topics to filter for")
 	cloneCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&outputDir, "output-dir", "", "", "GHORG_OUTPUT_DIR - name of directory repos will be cloned into, will force underscores and always append _ghorg (default {org/repo being cloned}_ghorg)")
diff --git a/configs/configs.go b/configs/configs.go
index 8aa8929..ad9c68c 100644
--- a/configs/configs.go
+++ b/configs/configs.go
@@ -137,15 +137,20 @@ func getOrSetDefaults(envVar string) {
 			os.Setenv(envVar, "25")
 		}
 	} else {
-		// User forgot to put a / at the end of path, so we will add for them
-		if envVar == "GHORG_ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO_CLONE_TO" && !strings.HasSuffix(viper.GetString(envVar), "/") {
-			os.Setenv(envVar, viper.GetString(envVar)+"/")
-		} else {
-			os.Setenv(envVar, viper.GetString(envVar))
-		}
+		s := viper.GetString(envVar)
+		os.Setenv(envVar, EnsureTrailingSlash(s))
 	}
 }
 
+// EnsureTrailingSlash takes a string and ensures a single / is appened
+func EnsureTrailingSlash(s string) string {
+	if !strings.HasSuffix(s, "/") {
+		s = s + "/"
+	}
+
+	return s
+}
+
 // GhorgIgnoreLocation returns the path of users ghorgignore
 func GhorgIgnoreLocation() string {
 	return GhorgDir() + "/ghorgignore"
diff --git a/internal/github/github.go b/internal/github/github.go
index 7aa85c1..d64ba96 100644
--- a/internal/github/github.go
+++ b/internal/github/github.go
@@ -2,9 +2,11 @@ package github
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 
+	"github.com/gabrie30/ghorg/configs"
 	"github.com/gabrie30/ghorg/internal/repo"
 	"github.com/google/go-github/v32/github"
 	"golang.org/x/oauth2"
@@ -20,6 +22,11 @@ func GetOrgRepos(targetOrg string) ([]repo.Data, error) {
 	tc := oauth2.NewClient(ctx, ts)
 	client := github.NewClient(tc)
 
+	if os.Getenv("GHORG_SCM_BASE_URL") != "" {
+		u := configs.EnsureTrailingSlash(os.Getenv("GHORG_SCM_BASE_URL"))
+		client.BaseURL, _ = url.Parse(u)
+	}
+
 	opt := &github.RepositoryListByOrgOptions{
 		Type:        "all",
 		ListOptions: github.ListOptions{PerPage: 100, Page: 0},
@@ -30,6 +37,7 @@ func GetOrgRepos(targetOrg string) ([]repo.Data, error) {
 	// get all pages of results
 	var allRepos []*github.Repository
 	for {
+
 		repos, resp, err := client.Repositories.ListByOrg(context.Background(), targetOrg, opt)
 
 		if err != nil {
@@ -107,6 +115,11 @@ func GetUserRepos(targetUser string) ([]repo.Data, error) {
 	tc := oauth2.NewClient(ctx, ts)
 	client := github.NewClient(tc)
 
+	if os.Getenv("GHORG_SCM_BASE_URL") != "" {
+		u := configs.EnsureTrailingSlash(os.Getenv("GHORG_SCM_BASE_URL"))
+		client.BaseURL, _ = url.Parse(u)
+	}
+
 	opt := &github.RepositoryListOptions{
 		Type:        "all",
 		ListOptions: github.ListOptions{PerPage: 100, Page: 0},
diff --git a/sample-conf.yaml b/sample-conf.yaml
index 21860b4..dcfc47e 100644
--- a/sample-conf.yaml
+++ b/sample-conf.yaml
@@ -19,11 +19,6 @@ GHORG_GITHUB_TOPICS:
 # |G|I|T|L|A|B| |S|P|E|C|I|F|I|C|
 # +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 
-# Change SCM base url, for on self hosted instances (currently gitlab only, use format of https://git.mydomain.com/api/v3)
-# default: gitlab.com/api/v3
-# flag (--base-url)
-GHORG_SCM_BASE_URL:
-
 # Add your GitLab token
 # Defaults to using key returned by
 # $ security find-internet-password -s gitlab.com  | grep "acct" | awk -F\" '{ print $4 }'
@@ -53,6 +48,11 @@ GHORG_BITBUCKET_USERNAME:
 # |G|E|N|E|R|A|L| |C|O|N|F|I|G|U|R|A|T|I|O|N|
 # +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 
+# Change SCM base url, for on self hosted instances (currently gitlab only, use format of https://git.mydomain.com/api/v3)
+# default: uses github/gitlab public api
+# flag (--base-url)
+GHORG_SCM_BASE_URL:
+
 # Which provider to clone from (github, gitlab, or bitbucket)
 # default: github
 # flag (--scm, -s)