diff --git a/src/idiap_devtools/scripts/pixi.py b/src/idiap_devtools/scripts/pixi.py
index 78edebf9bec313743cd687a11928a6ea22d347e1..184cd4656ace50293519c53fe1c0a80bdebffedc 100644
--- a/src/idiap_devtools/scripts/pixi.py
+++ b/src/idiap_devtools/scripts/pixi.py
@@ -187,7 +187,9 @@ def pixi(
                 "qa-install": "pre-commit install",
             }
             # this feature can be separated from the rest
-            config.setdefault("environments", {})["qa"] = [feature]
+            config.setdefault("environments", {}).setdefault(
+                "default", []
+            ).insert(0, feature)
             cmds.append(
                 "To install pre-commit hook, run: `pixi run qa-install`"
             )