diff --git a/listen.py b/listen.py
index beecd40..1f036ba 100644
--- a/listen.py
+++ b/listen.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ def gitea():
         DeployerRequest(
             user = data["repository"]["owner"]["username"],
             repo = data["repository"]["name"],
-            branch = data["ref"].strip("refs/heads/"),
+            branch = data["ref"].removeprefix("refs/heads/"),
             commit_hash = data["after"]
         )
     )