diff --git a/apps/studio/server/demoPublish.ts b/apps/studio/server/demoPublish.ts
index c25a160..1769453 100644
--- a/apps/studio/server/demoPublish.ts
+++ b/apps/studio/server/demoPublish.ts
@@ -19,16 +19,56 @@ import {
 } from "@sourcedraft/publishers";
 import type { PublishRequestBody, PublishResponse } from "./publish.js";
 
+function isAllowedBranchChar(char: string): boolean {
+  const code = char.charCodeAt(0);
+  return (
+    (code >= 97 && code <= 122) ||
+    (code >= 48 && code <= 57) ||
+    char === "." ||
+    char === "_" ||
+    char === "/" ||
+    char === "-"
+  );
+}
+
+function isTrimChar(char: string | undefined): boolean {
+  return char === "-" || char === "." || char === "/";
+}
+
+function sanitizeBranchSegment(value: string): string {
+  const chars: string[] = [];
+
+  for (const char of value.trim().toLowerCase()) {
+    if (isAllowedBranchChar(char)) {
+      if (char === "-") {
+        if (chars[chars.length - 1] !== "-") {
+          chars.push(char);
+        }
+      } else {
+        chars.push(char);
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (chars.length > 0 && chars[chars.length - 1] !== "-") {
+      chars.push("-");
+    }
+  }
+
+  while (isTrimChar(chars[0])) {
+    chars.shift();
+  }
+
+  while (chars.length > 0 && isTrimChar(chars[chars.length - 1])) {
+    chars.pop();
+  }
+
+  return chars.length > 0 ? chars.join("") : "post";
+}
+
 function demoPrBranch(slug: string, prefix: string): string {
   const safePrefix = prefix.endsWith("/") ? prefix : `${prefix}/`;
-  const segment = slug
-    .trim()
-    .toLowerCase()
-    .replace(/[^a-z0-9._/-]+/gu, "-")
-    .replace(/-+/gu, "-")
-    .replace(/^[-./]+|[-./]+$/gu, "") || "post";
-
-  return `${safePrefix}${segment}`;
+  return `${safePrefix}${sanitizeBranchSegment(slug)}`;
 }
 
 function renderArticle(article: Article, env: Omit<PublishEnvConfig, "token">): string {
diff --git a/apps/studio/src/lib/prBranch.ts b/apps/studio/src/lib/prBranch.ts
index f74144f..d5d8256 100644
--- a/apps/studio/src/lib/prBranch.ts
+++ b/apps/studio/src/lib/prBranch.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,48 @@
+function isAllowedBranchChar(char: string): boolean {
+  const code = char.charCodeAt(0);
+  return (
+    (code >= 97 && code <= 122) ||
+    (code >= 48 && code <= 57) ||
+    char === "." ||
+    char === "_" ||
+    char === "/" ||
+    char === "-"
+  );
+}
+
+function isTrimChar(char: string | undefined): boolean {
+  return char === "-" || char === "." || char === "/";
+}
+
 function sanitizeBranchSegment(value: string): string {
-  const normalized = value
-    .trim()
-    .toLowerCase()
-    .replace(/[^a-z0-9._/-]+/gu, "-")
-    .replace(/-+/gu, "-")
-    .replace(/^[-./]+|[-./]+$/gu, "");
-
-  return normalized.length > 0 ? normalized : "post";
+  const chars: string[] = [];
+
+  for (const char of value.trim().toLowerCase()) {
+    if (isAllowedBranchChar(char)) {
+      if (char === "-") {
+        if (chars[chars.length - 1] !== "-") {
+          chars.push(char);
+        }
+      } else {
+        chars.push(char);
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (chars.length > 0 && chars[chars.length - 1] !== "-") {
+      chars.push("-");
+    }
+  }
+
+  while (isTrimChar(chars[0])) {
+    chars.shift();
+  }
+
+  while (chars.length > 0 && isTrimChar(chars[chars.length - 1])) {
+    chars.pop();
+  }
+
+  return chars.length > 0 ? chars.join("") : "post";
 }
 
 export function previewPrBranch(slug: string, prefix: string): string {
diff --git a/packages/github-publisher/src/githubBranchNames.ts b/packages/github-publisher/src/githubBranchNames.ts
index d5563a9..2d4030d 100644
--- a/packages/github-publisher/src/githubBranchNames.ts
+++ b/packages/github-publisher/src/githubBranchNames.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,50 @@
 const BRANCH_NAME_MAX_LENGTH = 255;
 
+function isAllowedBranchChar(char: string): boolean {
+  const code = char.charCodeAt(0);
+  return (
+    (code >= 97 && code <= 122) ||
+    (code >= 48 && code <= 57) ||
+    char === "." ||
+    char === "_" ||
+    char === "/" ||
+    char === "-"
+  );
+}
+
+function isTrimChar(char: string | undefined): boolean {
+  return char === "-" || char === "." || char === "/";
+}
+
 export function sanitizeBranchSegment(value: string): string {
-  const normalized = value
-    .trim()
-    .toLowerCase()
-    .replace(/[^a-z0-9._/-]+/gu, "-")
-    .replace(/-+/gu, "-")
-    .replace(/^[-./]+|[-./]+$/gu, "");
-
-  return normalized.length > 0 ? normalized : "post";
+  const chars: string[] = [];
+
+  for (const char of value.trim().toLowerCase()) {
+    if (isAllowedBranchChar(char)) {
+      if (char === "-") {
+        if (chars[chars.length - 1] !== "-") {
+          chars.push(char);
+        }
+      } else {
+        chars.push(char);
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (chars.length > 0 && chars[chars.length - 1] !== "-") {
+      chars.push("-");
+    }
+  }
+
+  while (isTrimChar(chars[0])) {
+    chars.shift();
+  }
+
+  while (chars.length > 0 && isTrimChar(chars[chars.length - 1])) {
+    chars.pop();
+  }
+
+  return chars.length > 0 ? chars.join("") : "post";
 }
 
 export function branchNameFromSlug(