diff --git a/aider_gitea/__init__.py b/aider_gitea/__init__.py
index 6345df6..ae5ea5d 100644
--- a/aider_gitea/__init__.py
+++ b/aider_gitea/__init__.py
@@ -282,15 +282,9 @@ def has_commits_on_branch(cwd: Path, base_branch: str, current_branch: str) -> b
         True if there are commits on the current branch not in the base branch, False otherwise.
     """
     try:
-        result = subprocess.run(
-            ['git', 'log', f'{base_branch}..{current_branch}', '--oneline'],
-            check=True,
-            cwd=cwd,
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-        )
-        return bool(result.stdout.strip())
-    except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
+        commit_messages = get_commit_messages(cwd, base_branch, current_branch)
+        return bool(list(commit_messages))
+    except Exception:
         logger.exception('Failed to check commits on branch %s', current_branch)
         return False
 
diff --git a/test/test_has_commits_on_branch.py b/test/test_has_commits_on_branch.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..86119c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_has_commits_on_branch.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock
+
+import pytest
+
+from aider_gitea import has_commits_on_branch, get_commit_messages
+
+
+class TestHasCommitsOnBranch:
+    def setup_method(self):
+        self.cwd = Path('/tmp/test-repo')
+        self.base_branch = 'main'
+        self.current_branch = 'feature-branch'
+
+    @patch('aider_gitea.get_commit_messages')
+    def test_has_commits_true(self, mock_get_commit_messages):
+        # Setup mock to return some commit messages
+        mock_get_commit_messages.return_value = ['Commit 1', 'Commit 2']
+        
+        # Test function returns True when there are commits
+        assert has_commits_on_branch(self.cwd, self.base_branch, self.current_branch) is True
+        
+        # Verify get_commit_messages was called with correct arguments
+        mock_get_commit_messages.assert_called_once_with(
+            self.cwd, self.base_branch, self.current_branch
+        )
+
+    @patch('aider_gitea.get_commit_messages')
+    def test_has_commits_false(self, mock_get_commit_messages):
+        # Setup mock to return empty list
+        mock_get_commit_messages.return_value = []
+        
+        # Test function returns False when there are no commits
+        assert has_commits_on_branch(self.cwd, self.base_branch, self.current_branch) is False
+        
+        # Verify get_commit_messages was called with correct arguments
+        mock_get_commit_messages.assert_called_once_with(
+            self.cwd, self.base_branch, self.current_branch
+        )
+
+    @patch('aider_gitea.get_commit_messages')
+    def test_has_commits_exception(self, mock_get_commit_messages):
+        # Setup mock to raise an exception
+        mock_get_commit_messages.side_effect = Exception("Git command failed")
+        
+        # Test function returns False when an exception occurs
+        assert has_commits_on_branch(self.cwd, self.base_branch, self.current_branch) is False