diff --git a/include/antler/project/dependency.hpp b/include/antler/project/dependency.hpp
index 85df090..8a2d05d 100644
--- a/include/antler/project/dependency.hpp
+++ b/include/antler/project/dependency.hpp
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <utility> // std::pair
 
+#include "location.hpp"
 #include "version.hpp"
 #include "yaml.hpp"
 #include "../system/utils.hpp"
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ class dependency {
    [[nodiscard]] inline const std::string& location() const noexcept { return m_loc; }
    /// Set the location field of this dependency.
    /// @param s  The new from location of this dependency.
-   void location(std::string s) noexcept { m_loc = std::move(s); }
+   void location(std::string s) noexcept { m_loc = location::strip_github_com(std::move(s)); }
 
    /// Report on the status of this dependencies from field: does it look like an archive?
    /// @return true if location ends in an archive format (e.g. ".tar.gz", ".tgz", etc")
diff --git a/include/antler/project/location.hpp b/include/antler/project/location.hpp
index 53ce33b..9dda3a0 100644
--- a/include/antler/project/location.hpp
+++ b/include/antler/project/location.hpp
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@
 
 namespace antler::project::location {
 
+/// If location is github URL then strips out `https://github.com/` from URL. Otherwise returns input argument.
+/// @param loc Github location - either full URL or shorthand
+/// @return string_view location striped from `https://github.com/`
+[[nodiscard]] std::string_view strip_github_com(std::string_view location);
+
 /// @param l  Location to evaluate.
 /// @return true if l looks an archive.
 [[nodiscard]] bool is_archive(std::string_view l);
diff --git a/include/antler/project/net_utils.hpp b/include/antler/project/net_utils.hpp
index 9e17c2a..ab66db0 100644
--- a/include/antler/project/net_utils.hpp
+++ b/include/antler/project/net_utils.hpp
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ namespace antler::project {
 
       static inline bool is_shorthand(std::string_view s) {
          auto sub = s.substr(0, s.find_last_of("/"));
-         return sub.size() != s.size() && sub.find_last_of("/") == std::string_view::npos;
+         return s.size() > (sub.size() + 1) && sub.find_last_of("/") == std::string_view::npos;
       }
 
    private:
diff --git a/include/antler/project/object.hpp b/include/antler/project/object.hpp
index 5498833..b5c6711 100644
--- a/include/antler/project/object.hpp
+++ b/include/antler/project/object.hpp
@@ -90,12 +90,19 @@ namespace antler::project {
 
       /// Update or insert a dependency.
       /// @param dep  The dependency to upsert.
-      /// @return true if it is an insert, false if it is an update
+      /// @return false if it is an insert, true if it is an update
       bool upsert_dependency(antler::project::dependency&& dep) noexcept {
          const auto& itr = m_dependencies.find(dep.name());
-         bool has_value = itr == m_dependencies.end();
+         bool has_value = itr != m_dependencies.end();
+
+         if(has_value) {
+            itr->second = dep;
+         }
+         else {
+            auto name = dep.name();
+            m_dependencies.emplace(std::move(name), std::move(dep));
+         }
 
-         m_dependencies.emplace(dep.name(), std::move(dep));
          return has_value;
       }
 
diff --git a/include/antler/system/utils.hpp b/include/antler/system/utils.hpp
index beb7d7f..a918158 100644
--- a/include/antler/system/utils.hpp
+++ b/include/antler/system/utils.hpp
@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@ namespace antler::system {
       for (const auto& arg : args) {
          cmd += " " + arg;
       }
+      //redirect stderr to stdout in case caller wants to parse the error
+      cmd += " 2>&1";
 
       FILE* h = popen(cmd.c_str(), "r");
       if (h == nullptr) {
diff --git a/src/dependency.cpp b/src/dependency.cpp
index 3a5b133..0823d65 100644
--- a/src/dependency.cpp
+++ b/src/dependency.cpp
@@ -72,12 +72,11 @@ void dependency::patch_remove(const system::fs::path& path) noexcept {
       m_patchfiles.erase(i);
 }
 
-
 void dependency::set(std::string nm, std::string_view loc, std::string_view tag, std::string_view rel, std::string_view hash) {
 
    m_name = std::move(nm);
 
-   m_loc = loc;
+   m_loc = location::strip_github_com(loc);
 
    m_tag_or_commit = tag;
    m_rel = rel;
diff --git a/src/location.cpp b/src/location.cpp
index 9a3f7a6..6172eb6 100644
--- a/src/location.cpp
+++ b/src/location.cpp
@@ -22,7 +22,17 @@ bool is_archive(std::string_view s) {
          ends_with(s, ".tar.zst");
 }
 
-static inline bool is_github(std::string_view s) { return starts_with(s, "https://github.com"); }
+constexpr std::string_view github_com = "https://github.com/";
+
+std::string_view strip_github_com(std::string_view location) {
+   if (is_github_repo(location)) {
+      return location.substr(github_com.size());
+   }   
+
+   return location;
+}
+
+static inline bool is_github(std::string_view s) { return starts_with(s, github_com); }
 
 bool is_github_archive(std::string_view s) { return is_github(s) && is_archive(s); }
 
@@ -34,12 +44,12 @@ bool is_github_repo(std::string_view s) { return is_github(s) && !is_archive(s);
 
 bool is_reachable(std::string_view l) {
    if (!is_github_shorthand(l)) {
-      system::error_log("In this version of antler-proj only github shorthands (i.e. org/project) are supported. Generalized git repos and archives will be supported in a future version.");
+      system::error_log("In this version of antler-proj only github shorthands (i.e. org/project) and github URLs (i.e. https://github.com/org/project) are supported. Archives will be supported in a future version.");
       return false;
    }
 
    return github{}.is_reachable(l);
-   // TODO add support for general git repos and archives
+   // TODO add support for archives
    if (is_github_repo(l) || is_github_shorthand(l)) {
       return github{}.is_reachable(l);
    } else if (is_archive(l) || is_url(l) || is_github_archive(l)) {
diff --git a/src/object.cpp b/src/object.cpp
index a35ce4b..912ead4 100644
--- a/src/object.cpp
+++ b/src/object.cpp
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ object::type_t object::type() const noexcept {
 
 
 void object::upsert_dependency(antler::project::dependency&& dep) noexcept {
-   // If possible, find a dependency with matching name and reurrn it.
+   // If possible, find a dependency with matching name and return it.
    auto i = std::find_if(m_dependencies.begin(), m_dependencies.end(), [dep](const antler::project::dependency& d) { return d.name() == dep.name(); } );
    if( i == m_dependencies.end() )
       m_dependencies.emplace_back(dep);
diff --git a/src/project-parse.cpp b/src/project-parse.cpp
index dec47fa..14101a2 100644
--- a/src/project-parse.cpp
+++ b/src/project-parse.cpp
@@ -161,11 +161,12 @@ template <typename NODE_T>
                os << "Duplicate " << tok << " values in dependency list: " << i.val() << ", " << rv.location() << "\n";
                return {};
             }
-            if (!dependency::validate_location(sv_from_csubstr(i.val()))) {
+            auto location = strip_github_com(sv_from_csubstr(i.val()));
+            if (!dependency::validate_location(location)) {
                os << "Invalid location: " << i.val() << "\n";
                return {};
             }
-            rv.location(sv_from_csubstr(i.val()));
+            rv.location(location);
          } break;
 
          case token::patch: {
diff --git a/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index a8ecf37..48f9abc 100644
--- a/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ add_executable(unit_tests
                dependency_tests.cpp
                location_tests.cpp
                object_tests.cpp
+               net_utils_tests.cpp
                project_tests.cpp
                init_tests.cpp
                version_constraint_tests.cpp 
diff --git a/tests/dependency_tests.cpp b/tests/dependency_tests.cpp
index 8d25cc0..857d523 100644
--- a/tests/dependency_tests.cpp
+++ b/tests/dependency_tests.cpp
@@ -18,13 +18,6 @@ TEST_CASE("Testing dependency validating locations") {
    CHECK(d.location() == "larryk85/does-not-exist");
 
    CHECK(!d.is_valid_location());
-
-   // TODO: reinstate these tests when support for general git repos and archives is added
-   //d.location("https://github.com/larryk85/cturtle");
-   //CHECK(d.is_valid_location());
-
-   //d.location("https://github.com/larryk85/does-not-exist");
-   //CHECK(!d.is_valid_location());
 }
 
 TEST_CASE("Testing dependency yaml conversions") {
diff --git a/tests/location_tests.cpp b/tests/location_tests.cpp
index cca1d01..a058c7d 100644
--- a/tests/location_tests.cpp
+++ b/tests/location_tests.cpp
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@
 
 #include <catch2/catch.hpp>
 
-TEST_CASE("Testing location clone") {
-   using namespace antler::project;
+using namespace std::literals;
+using namespace antler::project;
 
+TEST_CASE("Testing location clone") {
    antler::system::fs::remove_all("./clone_test");
 
    CHECK(location::clone_github_repo("antelopeio", "antler-proj", "main", 10, "./clone_test/foo2"));
@@ -17,8 +18,6 @@ TEST_CASE("Testing location clone") {
 }
 
 TEST_CASE("Testing location github REST API requests") {
-   using namespace antler::project;
-
    std::string default_branch = location::get_github_default_branch("antelopeio", "antler-proj");
    CHECK(default_branch == "main");
 
@@ -27,3 +26,14 @@ TEST_CASE("Testing location github REST API requests") {
 
    CHECK_THROWS(location::get_github_default_branch("antelopeio", "repo-does-not-exist"));
 }
+
+TEST_CASE("strip_github_com") {
+   CHECK(location::strip_github_com("https://github.com/org/project"sv) == "org/project"sv);
+   CHECK(location::strip_github_com("https://github.com/org/project/z"sv) == "org/project/z"sv);
+   CHECK(location::strip_github_com("https://github.com/org"sv) == "org"sv);
+   CHECK(location::strip_github_com("https://xyz.com"sv) == "https://xyz.com"sv);
+   CHECK(location::strip_github_com(""sv) == ""sv);
+   CHECK(location::strip_github_com("https://github.com"sv) == "https://github.com"sv);
+   CHECK(location::strip_github_com("https://github.comx"sv) == "https://github.comx"sv);
+   CHECK(location::strip_github_com("https://github.com/"sv) == ""sv);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/net_utils_tests.cpp b/tests/net_utils_tests.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d099931
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/net_utils_tests.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/// @copyright See `LICENSE` in the root directory of this project.
+
+#include <antler/project/net_utils.hpp>
+
+#include <catch2/catch.hpp>
+
+using namespace std::literals;
+
+TEST_CASE("shorthand") {
+   using namespace antler::project;
+   
+   CHECK(github::is_shorthand("org/project"sv));
+   CHECK(github::is_shorthand("org/a"sv));
+
+   CHECK(github::is_shorthand("https://github.com/org/project"sv) == false);
+   CHECK(github::is_shorthand("org/project/"sv) == false);
+   CHECK(github::is_shorthand("org/"sv) == false);
+   CHECK(github::is_shorthand("org"sv) == false);
+   CHECK(github::is_shorthand(""sv) == false);
+}
diff --git a/tests/object_tests.cpp b/tests/object_tests.cpp
index 075b377..3f5b7cd 100644
--- a/tests/object_tests.cpp
+++ b/tests/object_tests.cpp
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ TEST_CASE("Testing object") {
    CHECK(!app1.dependency_exists("dep1"));
    CHECK(!app1.find_dependency("dep1"));
 
-   CHECK(app1.upsert_dependency(std::move(dep1)));
+   CHECK(app1.upsert_dependency(std::move(dep1)) == false);
 
    CHECK(app1.dependency_exists("dep1"));
    const auto& d = app1.find_dependency("dep1");
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ TEST_CASE("Testing object") {
    CHECK(d->hash().empty());
 
    CHECK(app1.dependencies().size() == 1);
-   CHECK(app1.upsert_dependency({"dep2", "larryk85/foo2"}));
+   CHECK(app1.upsert_dependency({"dep2", "larryk85/foo2"}) == false);
    CHECK(app1.dependencies().size() == 2);
    CHECK(app1.remove_dependency("dep2"));
 
diff --git a/tests/project_tests.cpp b/tests/project_tests.cpp
index aabfdfb..f460ff8 100644
--- a/tests/project_tests.cpp
+++ b/tests/project_tests.cpp
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ TEST_CASE("Testing project") {
                   {"appd", "C++", "", ""} };
 
    apps[0].upsert_dependency({"foo", "https://github.com/larryk85/dune", "v13.3"});
+   apps[0].upsert_dependency({"foo", "mikelik/dune", "v13.4"});
    apps[1].upsert_dependency({"bar", "https://github.com/larryk85/fast_math", "blah"});
    apps[0].upsert_dependency({"baz", "https://github.com/antelopeio/leap", "v2.2.2v"});
    apps[1].upsert_dependency({"libc", ""});
@@ -22,7 +23,8 @@ TEST_CASE("Testing project") {
                   {"libc", "C", "", ""},
                   {"libd", "C++", "", ""} };
 
-   libs[0].upsert_dependency({"foo", "https://github.com/larryk85/dune", "v13.3"});
+   libs[0].upsert_dependency({"foo", "https://github.com/larryk85/dune", "main"});
+   libs[0].upsert_dependency({"foo", "mikelik/dune2", "branch"});
    libs[0].upsert_dependency({"bar", "https://github.com/larryk85/fast_math", "blah"});
    libs[1].upsert_dependency({"baz", "https://github.com/antelopeio/leap", "v2.2.2v"});
 
@@ -43,7 +45,11 @@ TEST_CASE("Testing project") {
    CHECK(proj.version().to_string() == "1.3.4");
 
    CHECK(proj.apps().size() == 4);
+   CHECK(proj.apps()["appa"].dependencies()["foo"].location() == "mikelik/dune");
+   CHECK(proj.apps()["appa"].dependencies()["foo"].tag() == "v13.4");
    CHECK(proj.libs().size() == 3);
+   CHECK(proj.libs()["libb"].dependencies()["foo"].location() == "mikelik/dune2");
+   CHECK(proj.libs()["libb"].dependencies()["foo"].tag() == "branch");
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tools/add_to.hpp b/tools/add_to.hpp
index 2e7a28a..da9281d 100644
--- a/tools/add_to.hpp
+++ b/tools/add_to.hpp
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ namespace antler {
             obj.upsert_dependency(std::move(dep));
 
             // We have values, so query the user if they want to apply.
-            system::info_log("\nObject name (to update): {0}\n"
+            system::info_log("Adding dependency:\nObject name (to update): {0}\n"
                              "Dependency name: {1}\n"
                              "Dependency location: {2}\n"
                              "tag/commit hash: {3}\n"