diff --git a/aider_gitea/__main__.py b/aider_gitea/__main__.py
index 632c8c1..ce918fd 100644
--- a/aider_gitea/__main__.py
+++ b/aider_gitea/__main__.py
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ def generate_branch_name(issue_number: str, issue_title: str) -> str:
     Non-alphanumeric characters (except spaces) are removed,
     the text is lowercased, and spaces are replaced with dashes.
     """
-    title_slug = issue_title.lower().replace(" ", "-")
-    return f"issue-{issue_number}-{title_slug}"
+    sanitized = re.sub(r"[^0-9a-zA-Z ]+", "", issue_title)
+    return "issue-" + "-".join(sanitized.lower().split())
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)