diff --git a/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserPage.cpp b/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserPage.cpp
index b4d9f99af..1997c6dcf 100644
--- a/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserPage.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserPage.cpp
@@ -140,6 +140,16 @@ PackageChooserPage::setModel( QAbstractItemModel* model )
              &PackageChooserPage::updateLabels );
 }
 
+void
+PackageChooserPage::setSelection( const QModelIndex& index )
+{
+    if ( index.isValid() )
+    {
+        ui->products->selectionModel()->select( index, QItemSelectionModel::Select );
+        currentChanged( index );
+    }
+}
+
 bool
 PackageChooserPage::hasSelection() const
 {
diff --git a/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserPage.h b/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserPage.h
index 79b9fa69c..b4ef2169b 100644
--- a/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserPage.h
+++ b/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserPage.h
@@ -35,10 +35,13 @@ class PackageChooserPage : public QWidget
 public:
     explicit PackageChooserPage( PackageChooserMode mode, QWidget* parent = nullptr );
 
+    /// @brief Sets the data model for the listview
     void setModel( QAbstractItemModel* model );
 
     /// @brief Sets the introductory (no-package-selected) texts
     void setIntroduction( const PackageItem& item );
+    /// @brief Selects a listview item
+    void setSelection( const QModelIndex& index );
     /// @brief Is anything selected?
     bool hasSelection() const;
     /** @brief Get the list of selected ids
diff --git a/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserViewStep.cpp b/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserViewStep.cpp
index 6fb29a4f7..36f6ae015 100644
--- a/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserViewStep.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserViewStep.cpp
@@ -144,6 +144,12 @@ PackageChooserViewStep::isAtEnd() const
     return true;
 }
 
+void
+PackageChooserViewStep::onActivate()
+{
+    if ( !m_widget->hasSelection() )
+        m_widget->setSelection( m_defaultIdx );
+}
 
 void
 PackageChooserViewStep::onLeave()
@@ -198,6 +204,9 @@ PackageChooserViewStep::setConfigurationMap( const QVariantMap& configurationMap
         }
     }
 
+    QString default_item_id = CalamaresUtils::getString( configurationMap, "default" );
+    m_defaultIdx = QModelIndex();
+
     bool first_time = !m_model;
     if ( configurationMap.contains( "items" ) )
     {
@@ -208,6 +217,22 @@ PackageChooserViewStep::setConfigurationMap( const QVariantMap& configurationMap
     {
         hookupModel();
     }
+
+    // find default item
+    if ( first_time && m_model && !default_item_id.isEmpty() )
+    {
+        for (int item_n = 0; item_n < m_model->packageCount(); ++item_n)
+        {
+            QModelIndex item_idx = m_model->index( item_n, 0 );
+            QVariant item_id = m_model->data( item_idx, PackageListModel::IdRole );
+
+            if ( item_id.toString() == default_item_id )
+            {
+                m_defaultIdx = item_idx;
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserViewStep.h b/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserViewStep.h
index 499571c12..29e65ef82 100644
--- a/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserViewStep.h
+++ b/src/modules/packagechooser/PackageChooserViewStep.h
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ public:
     bool isAtBeginning() const override;
     bool isAtEnd() const override;
 
+    void onActivate() override;
     void onLeave() override;
 
     Calamares::JobList jobs() const override;
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@ private:
     PackageChooserMode m_mode;
     QString m_id;
     CalamaresUtils::Locale::TranslatedString* m_stepName;  // As it appears in the sidebar
+    QModelIndex m_defaultIdx;
 };
 
 CALAMARES_PLUGIN_FACTORY_DECLARATION( PackageChooserViewStepFactory )
diff --git a/src/modules/packagechooser/packagechooser.conf b/src/modules/packagechooser/packagechooser.conf
index b82a52d3f..d48fa83ce 100644
--- a/src/modules/packagechooser/packagechooser.conf
+++ b/src/modules/packagechooser/packagechooser.conf
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ labels:
     step: "Packages"
     step[nl]: "Pakketten"
 
+# (Optional) 'id' of pre-selected list-view item.
+# Pre-selects one of the items below.
+# default: kde
+
 # Items to display in the chooser. In general, this should be a
 # pretty short list to avoid overwhelming the UI. This is a list
 # of objects, and the items are displayed in list order.