diff --git a/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh b/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
index 86d9ecf83..708706ec8 100644
--- a/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
+++ b/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
@@ -82,21 +82,20 @@ find_repo_root() {
 
 # Function to check existing branches (local and remote) and return next available number
 check_existing_branches() {
-    local short_name="$1"
     
     # Fetch all remotes to get latest branch info (suppress errors if no remotes)
     git fetch --all --prune 2>/dev/null || true
     
     # Find all branches matching the pattern using git ls-remote (more reliable)
-    local remote_branches=$(git ls-remote --heads origin 2>/dev/null | grep -E "refs/heads/[0-9]+-${short_name}$" | sed 's/.*\/\([0-9]*\)-.*/\1/' | sort -n)
+    local remote_branches=$(git ls-remote --heads origin 2>/dev/null | grep -E "refs/heads/[0-9]+-" | sed 's/.*\/\([0-9]*\)-.*/\1/' | sort -n)
     
     # Also check local branches
-    local local_branches=$(git branch 2>/dev/null | grep -E "^[* ]*[0-9]+-${short_name}$" | sed 's/^[* ]*//' | sed 's/-.*//' | sort -n)
+    local local_branches=$(git branch 2>/dev/null | grep -E "^[* ]*[0-9]+-" | sed 's/^[* ]*//' | sed 's/-.*//' | sort -n)
     
     # Check specs directory as well
     local spec_dirs=""
     if [ -d "$SPECS_DIR" ]; then
-        spec_dirs=$(find "$SPECS_DIR" -maxdepth 1 -type d -name "[0-9]*-${short_name}" 2>/dev/null | xargs -n1 basename 2>/dev/null | sed 's/-.*//' | sort -n)
+        spec_dirs=$(find "$SPECS_DIR" -maxdepth 1 -type d -name "[0-9]*-*" 2>/dev/null | xargs -n1 basename 2>/dev/null | sed 's/-.*//' | sort -n)
     fi
     
     # Combine all sources and get the highest number
@@ -193,7 +192,7 @@ fi
 if [ -z "$BRANCH_NUMBER" ]; then
     if [ "$HAS_GIT" = true ]; then
         # Check existing branches on remotes
-        BRANCH_NUMBER=$(check_existing_branches "$BRANCH_SUFFIX")
+        BRANCH_NUMBER=$(check_existing_branches)
     else
         # Fall back to local directory check
         HIGHEST=0
diff --git a/templates/commands/specify.md b/templates/commands/specify.md
index 69258a8bf..077106b45 100644
--- a/templates/commands/specify.md
+++ b/templates/commands/specify.md
@@ -38,10 +38,10 @@ Given that feature description, do this:
       git fetch --all --prune
       ```
    
-   b. Find the highest feature number across all sources for the short-name:
-      - Remote branches: `git ls-remote --heads origin | grep -E 'refs/heads/[0-9]+-<short-name>$'`
-      - Local branches: `git branch | grep -E '^[* ]*[0-9]+-<short-name>$'`
-      - Specs directories: Check for directories matching `specs/[0-9]+-<short-name>`
+   b. Find the highest feature number across all sources:
+      - Remote branches: `git ls-remote --heads origin | grep -E 'refs/heads/[0-9]+-'`
+      - Local branches: `git branch | grep -E '^[* ]*[0-9]+-'`
+      - Specs directories: Check for directories matching `specs/[0-9]+-*`
    
    c. Determine the next available number:
       - Extract all numbers from all three sources
@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@ Given that feature description, do this:
    
    **IMPORTANT**:
    - Check all three sources (remote branches, local branches, specs directories) to find the highest number
-   - Only match branches/directories with the exact short-name pattern
-   - If no existing branches/directories found with this short-name, start with number 1
+   - Find the highest number across ALL branches/directories with the numeric prefix pattern `[0-9]+-`
+   - If no existing branches/directories found, start with number 1
    - You must only ever run this script once per feature
    - The JSON is provided in the terminal as output - always refer to it to get the actual content you're looking for
    - The JSON output will contain BRANCH_NAME and SPEC_FILE paths