diff --git a/custom/conf/app.example.ini b/custom/conf/app.example.ini
index b0260f21d..5a1edf9fb 100644
--- a/custom/conf/app.example.ini
+++ b/custom/conf/app.example.ini
@@ -1222,10 +1222,6 @@ ROUTER = console
 ;;
 ;; Whether to enable a Service Worker to cache frontend assets
 ;USE_SERVICE_WORKER = false
-;;
-;; Whether to only show relevant repos on the explore page when no keyword is specified and default sorting is used.
-;; A repo is considered irrelevant if it's a fork or if it has no metadata (no description, no icon, no topic).
-;ONLY_SHOW_RELEVANT_REPOS = false
 
 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
diff --git a/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md b/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
index e12d1feeb..67ca7a516 100644
--- a/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
+++ b/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
@@ -231,8 +231,6 @@ The following configuration set `Content-Type: application/vnd.android.package-a
 - `DEFAULT_SHOW_FULL_NAME`: **false**: Whether the full name of the users should be shown where possible. If the full name isn't set, the username will be used.
 - `SEARCH_REPO_DESCRIPTION`: **true**: Whether to search within description at repository search on explore page.
 - `USE_SERVICE_WORKER`: **false**: Whether to enable a Service Worker to cache frontend assets.
-- `ONLY_SHOW_RELEVANT_REPOS`: **false** Whether to only show relevant repos on the explore page when no keyword is specified and default sorting is used.
-    A repo is considered irrelevant if it's a fork or if it has no metadata (no description, no icon, no topic).
 
 ### UI - Admin (`ui.admin`)
 
diff --git a/models/repo/repo_list.go b/models/repo/repo_list.go
index c6e9a204d..d64368daa 100644
--- a/models/repo/repo_list.go
+++ b/models/repo/repo_list.go
@@ -494,7 +494,7 @@ func SearchRepositoryCondition(opts *SearchRepoOptions) builder.Cond {
 	}
 
 	if opts.OnlyShowRelevant {
-		// Only show a repo that either has a topic or description.
+		// Only show a repo that has at least a topic, an icon, or a description
 		subQueryCond := builder.NewCond()
 
 		// Topic checking. Topics are present.
@@ -504,13 +504,13 @@ func SearchRepositoryCondition(opts *SearchRepoOptions) builder.Cond {
 			subQueryCond = subQueryCond.Or(builder.And(builder.Neq{"topics": "null"}, builder.Neq{"topics": "[]"}))
 		}
 
-		// Description checking. Description not empty.
+		// Description checking. Description not empty
 		subQueryCond = subQueryCond.Or(builder.Neq{"description": ""})
 
-		// Repo has a avatar.
+		// Repo has a avatar
 		subQueryCond = subQueryCond.Or(builder.Neq{"avatar": ""})
 
-		// Always hide repo's that are empty.
+		// Always hide repo's that are empty
 		subQueryCond = subQueryCond.And(builder.Eq{"is_empty": false})
 
 		cond = cond.And(subQueryCond)
diff --git a/modules/setting/setting.go b/modules/setting/setting.go
index afd7a4015..23cd90553 100644
--- a/modules/setting/setting.go
+++ b/modules/setting/setting.go
@@ -241,7 +241,6 @@ var (
 		CustomEmojisMap       map[string]string `ini:"-"`
 		SearchRepoDescription bool
 		UseServiceWorker      bool
-		OnlyShowRelevantRepos bool
 
 		Notification struct {
 			MinTimeout            time.Duration
@@ -1123,7 +1122,6 @@ func loadFromConf(allowEmpty bool, extraConfig string) {
 	UI.DefaultShowFullName = Cfg.Section("ui").Key("DEFAULT_SHOW_FULL_NAME").MustBool(false)
 	UI.SearchRepoDescription = Cfg.Section("ui").Key("SEARCH_REPO_DESCRIPTION").MustBool(true)
 	UI.UseServiceWorker = Cfg.Section("ui").Key("USE_SERVICE_WORKER").MustBool(false)
-	UI.OnlyShowRelevantRepos = Cfg.Section("ui").Key("ONLY_SHOW_RELEVANT_REPOS").MustBool(false)
 
 	HasRobotsTxt, err = util.IsFile(path.Join(CustomPath, "robots.txt"))
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/routers/web/explore/repo.go b/routers/web/explore/repo.go
index 5271e39bb..e9684dd28 100644
--- a/routers/web/explore/repo.go
+++ b/routers/web/explore/repo.go
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ import (
 
 const (
 	// tplExploreRepos explore repositories page template
-	tplExploreRepos base.TplName = "explore/repos"
+	tplExploreRepos        base.TplName = "explore/repos"
+	relevantReposOnlyParam string       = "no_filter"
 )
 
 // RepoSearchOptions when calling search repositories
@@ -81,13 +82,11 @@ func RenderRepoSearch(ctx *context.Context, opts *RepoSearchOptions) {
 	default:
 		ctx.Data["SortType"] = "recentupdate"
 		orderBy = db.SearchOrderByRecentUpdated
-		onlyShowRelevant = setting.UI.OnlyShowRelevantRepos && !ctx.FormBool("no_filter")
 	}
 
+	onlyShowRelevant = !ctx.FormBool(relevantReposOnlyParam)
+
 	keyword := ctx.FormTrim("q")
-	if keyword != "" {
-		onlyShowRelevant = false
-	}
 
 	ctx.Data["OnlyShowRelevant"] = onlyShowRelevant
 
@@ -139,7 +138,7 @@ func RenderRepoSearch(ctx *context.Context, opts *RepoSearchOptions) {
 	pager.SetDefaultParams(ctx)
 	pager.AddParam(ctx, "topic", "TopicOnly")
 	pager.AddParam(ctx, "language", "Language")
-	pager.AddParamString("no_filter", ctx.FormString("no_filter"))
+	pager.AddParamString(relevantReposOnlyParam, ctx.FormString(relevantReposOnlyParam))
 	ctx.Data["Page"] = pager
 
 	ctx.HTML(http.StatusOK, opts.TplName)