diff --git a/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh b/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
index 592dab2ea..c856bae37 100644
--- a/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
+++ b/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
@@ -134,21 +134,23 @@ check_existing_branches() {
     # 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)
+    # Find all feature branches using git ls-remote (check all branches, not just matching short-name)
+    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}$" | sed 's/^[* ]*//' | sed 's/-.*//' | sort -n)
+    # Also check local branches (all feature branches)
+    local local_branches=$(git branch 2>/dev/null | grep -E "^[* ]*[0-9]+-" | sed 's/^[* ]*//' | sed 's/-.*//' | sort -n)
     
-    # Check specs directory as well
+    # Check specs directory as well (all feature directories)
     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
     local max_num=0
     for num in $remote_branches $local_branches $spec_dirs; do
+        # Convert from potential octal (leading zeros) to decimal
+        num=$((10#$num))
         if [ "$num" -gt "$max_num" ]; then
             max_num=$num
         fi
diff --git a/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1 b/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1
index 351f4e9e7..5e4725f32 100644
--- a/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1
+++ b/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1
@@ -112,12 +112,12 @@ function Get-NextBranchNumber {
         # Ignore fetch errors
     }
     
-    # Find remote branches matching the pattern using git ls-remote
+    # Find all feature branches using git ls-remote (check all branches, not just matching short-name)
     $remoteBranches = @()
     try {
         $remoteRefs = git ls-remote --heads origin 2>$null
         if ($remoteRefs) {
-            $remoteBranches = $remoteRefs | Where-Object { $_ -match "refs/heads/(\d+)-$([regex]::Escape($ShortName))$" } | ForEach-Object {
+            $remoteBranches = $remoteRefs | Where-Object { $_ -match "refs/heads/(\d+)-" } | ForEach-Object {
                 if ($_ -match "refs/heads/(\d+)-") {
                     [int]$matches[1]
                 }
@@ -127,12 +127,12 @@ function Get-NextBranchNumber {
         # Ignore errors
     }
     
-    # Check local branches
+    # Check local branches (all feature branches)
     $localBranches = @()
     try {
         $allBranches = git branch 2>$null
         if ($allBranches) {
-            $localBranches = $allBranches | Where-Object { $_ -match "^\*?\s*(\d+)-$([regex]::Escape($ShortName))$" } | ForEach-Object {
+            $localBranches = $allBranches | Where-Object { $_ -match "^\*?\s*(\d+)-" } | ForEach-Object {
                 if ($_ -match "(\d+)-") {
                     [int]$matches[1]
                 }
@@ -142,11 +142,11 @@ function Get-NextBranchNumber {
         # Ignore errors
     }
     
-    # Check specs directory
+    # Check specs directory (all feature directories)
     $specDirs = @()
     if (Test-Path $SpecsDir) {
         try {
-            $specDirs = Get-ChildItem -Path $SpecsDir -Directory | Where-Object { $_.Name -match "^(\d+)-$([regex]::Escape($ShortName))$" } | ForEach-Object {
+            $specDirs = Get-ChildItem -Path $SpecsDir -Directory | Where-Object { $_.Name -match "^(\d+)-" } | ForEach-Object {
                 if ($_.Name -match "^(\d+)-") {
                     [int]$matches[1]
                 }
diff --git a/templates/commands/specify.md b/templates/commands/specify.md
index 3f0ddb78b..2bff93d65 100644
--- a/templates/commands/specify.md
+++ b/templates/commands/specify.md
@@ -46,14 +46,14 @@ 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 feature branches:
+      - 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
-      - Find the highest number N
+      - Extract all numbers from all three sources (all feature branches, not just matching short-name)
+      - Find the highest number N across ALL features
       - Use N+1 for the new branch number
    
    d. Run the script `{SCRIPT}` with the calculated number and short-name:
@@ -63,8 +63,8 @@ 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
+   - Search across ALL feature branches (pattern: `[0-9]+-*`), not just branches matching the short-name
+   - Branch numbers increment globally across all features (001, 002, 003, etc.)
    - 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