diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index bea09a47c..4b37a4de8 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2333,7 +2333,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "git2",
  "gitbutler-tagged-string",
  "gix",
- "regex",
  "serde",
  "thiserror",
 ]
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-reference/Cargo.toml b/crates/gitbutler-reference/Cargo.toml
index 44ca4ba1f..26d68c8f4 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-reference/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-reference/Cargo.toml
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ authors = ["GitButler <gitbutler@gitbutler.com>"]
 publish = false
 
 [dependencies]
-regex = "1.10"
 anyhow.workspace = true
 git2.workspace = true
 gix.workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-reference/src/lib.rs b/crates/gitbutler-reference/src/lib.rs
index c44d9b2f6..a4de9ef79 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-reference/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-reference/src/lib.rs
@@ -3,27 +3,45 @@ mod refname;
 use anyhow::bail;
 use gitbutler_tagged_string::TaggedString;
 pub use refname::{LocalRefname, Refname, RemoteRefname, VirtualRefname};
-use regex::Regex;
 
+// TODO(ST): return `BString`, probably take BString, as branch names don't have to be valid UTF8
 pub fn normalize_branch_name(name: &str) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
-    // Remove specific symbols
-    let exclude_pattern = Regex::new(r"[|\+^~<>\\:*]").unwrap();
-    let mut result = exclude_pattern.replace_all(name, "-").to_string();
-
-    // Replace spaces with hyphens
-    let space_pattern = Regex::new(r"\s+").unwrap();
-    result = space_pattern.replace_all(&result, "-").to_string();
-
-    // Remove leading and trailing hyphens and slashes and dots
-    let trim_pattern = Regex::new(r"^[-/\.]+|[-/\.]+$").unwrap();
-    result = trim_pattern.replace_all(&result, "").to_string();
-
-    let refname = format!("refs/gitbutler/{result}");
-    if gix::validate::reference::name(refname.as_str().into()).is_err() {
-        bail!("Could not turn {result:?} into a valid reference name")
+    let mut sanitized = gix::validate::reference::name_partial_or_sanitize(name.into());
+    fn is_forbidden_in_trailer_or_leader(b: u8) -> bool {
+        b == b'-' || b == b'.' || b == b'/'
+    }
+    while let Some(last) = sanitized.last() {
+        if is_forbidden_in_trailer_or_leader(*last) {
+            sanitized.pop();
+        } else {
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    while let Some(first) = sanitized.first() {
+        if is_forbidden_in_trailer_or_leader(*first) {
+            sanitized.remove(0);
+        } else {
+            break;
+        }
     }
 
-    Ok(result)
+    let mut previous_is_hyphen = false;
+    sanitized.retain(|b| {
+        if *b == b'-' {
+            if previous_is_hyphen {
+                return false;
+            }
+            previous_is_hyphen = true;
+        } else {
+            previous_is_hyphen = false;
+        }
+        true
+    });
+
+    if sanitized.is_empty() {
+        bail!("Could not turn {name:?} into a valid reference name")
+    }
+    Ok(sanitized.to_string())
 }
 
 #[derive(Default, Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-reference/tests/reference.rs b/crates/gitbutler-reference/tests/reference.rs
index 624b2ec86..d3fd99218 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-reference/tests/reference.rs
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-reference/tests/reference.rs
@@ -5,11 +5,12 @@ mod normalize_branch_name {
     fn valid_substitutions() {
         for (input, expected) in [
             ("a", "a"),
-            ("a+b", "a-b"),
+            ("a+b", "a+b"),
             ("a^b", "a-b"),
+            ("a^^^b", "a-b"),
             ("a~b", "a-b"),
-            ("a<b", "a-b"),
-            ("a>b", "a-b"),
+            ("a<b", "a<b"),
+            ("a>b", "a>b"),
             ("a\\b", "a-b"),
             ("a:b", "a-b"),
             ("a*b", "a-b"),
@@ -24,7 +25,11 @@ mod normalize_branch_name {
             ("/-a-/", "a"),
             (".a.", "a"),
         ] {
-            assert_eq!(normalize_branch_name(input).expect("valid"), expected);
+            assert_eq!(
+                normalize_branch_name(input).expect("valid"),
+                expected,
+                "{input} -> {expected}"
+            );
         }
     }
 
@@ -32,17 +37,15 @@ mod normalize_branch_name {
     fn clear_error_on_failure() {
         assert_eq!(
             normalize_branch_name("-").unwrap_err().to_string(),
-            "Could not turn \"\" into a valid reference name"
-        );
-        assert_eq!(
-            normalize_branch_name("#[test]").unwrap_err().to_string(),
-            "Could not turn \"#[test]\" into a valid reference name"
+            "Could not turn \"-\" into a valid reference name",
+            "show the original value, not the processed one to be familiar to the user"
         );
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn complex_valid() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         assert_eq!(normalize_branch_name("feature/branch")?, "feature/branch");
+        assert_eq!(normalize_branch_name("#[test]")?, "#-test]");
         assert_eq!(normalize_branch_name("foo#branch")?, "foo#branch");
         assert_eq!(normalize_branch_name("foo!branch")?, "foo!branch");
         let input = r#"Revert "GitButler Integration Commit"