diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index 5ab8877..12c75fe 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ inputs:
     required: false
     default: "claude/"
   branch_name_template:
-    description: "Template for branch naming. Available variables: {{prefix}}, {{entityType}}, {{entityNumber}}, {{timestamp}}, {{year}}, {{month}}, {{day}}, {{hour}}, {{minute}}, {{sha}}, {{label}}, {{description}}. {{label}} will be first label from the issue/PR, or {{entityType}} as a fallback. {{description}} will be the first 3 words of the issue/PR title in kebab-case. Default: '{{prefix}}{{entityType}}-{{entityNumber}}-{{timestamp}}'"
+    description: "Template for branch naming. Available variables: {{prefix}}, {{entityType}}, {{entityNumber}}, {{timestamp}}, {{sha}}, {{label}}, {{description}}. {{label}} will be first label from the issue/PR, or {{entityType}} as a fallback. {{description}} will be the first 3 words of the issue/PR title in kebab-case. Default: '{{prefix}}{{entityType}}-{{entityNumber}}-{{timestamp}}'"
     required: false
     default: ""
   allowed_bots:
diff --git a/src/utils/branch-template.ts b/src/utils/branch-template.ts
index 5839c92..0d5a34e 100644
--- a/src/utils/branch-template.ts
+++ b/src/utils/branch-template.ts
@@ -28,11 +28,6 @@ export interface BranchTemplateVariables {
   entityType: string;
   entityNumber: number;
   timestamp: string;
-  year: string;
-  month: string;
-  day: string;
-  hour: string;
-  minute: string;
   sha?: string;
   label?: string;
   description?: string;
@@ -77,11 +72,6 @@ export function createBranchTemplateVariables(
     entityType,
     entityNumber,
     timestamp: `${now.getFullYear()}${String(now.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, "0")}${String(now.getDate()).padStart(2, "0")}-${String(now.getHours()).padStart(2, "0")}${String(now.getMinutes()).padStart(2, "0")}`,
-    year: String(now.getFullYear()),
-    month: String(now.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, "0"),
-    day: String(now.getDate()).padStart(2, "0"),
-    hour: String(now.getHours()).padStart(2, "0"),
-    minute: String(now.getMinutes()).padStart(2, "0"),
     sha: sha?.substring(0, 8), // First 8 characters of SHA
     label: label || entityType, // Fall back to entityType if no label
     description: title !== undefined ? extractDescription(title) : undefined,
diff --git a/test/branch-template.test.ts b/test/branch-template.test.ts
index ce8a966..d70bc88 100644
--- a/test/branch-template.test.ts
+++ b/test/branch-template.test.ts
@@ -17,11 +17,6 @@ describe("branch template utilities", () => {
         entityType: "issue",
         entityNumber: 123,
         timestamp: "20240301-1430",
-        year: "2024",
-        month: "03",
-        day: "01",
-        hour: "14",
-        minute: "30",
         sha: "abcd1234",
       };
 
@@ -31,22 +26,17 @@ describe("branch template utilities", () => {
 
     it("should handle custom templates with multiple variables", () => {
       const template =
-        "{{prefix}}fix/{{entityType}}_{{entityNumber}}_{{year}}{{month}}{{day}}_{{sha}}";
+        "{{prefix}}fix/{{entityType}}_{{entityNumber}}_{{timestamp}}_{{sha}}";
       const variables = {
         prefix: "claude-",
         entityType: "pr",
         entityNumber: 456,
         timestamp: "20240301-1430",
-        year: "2024",
-        month: "03",
-        day: "01",
-        hour: "14",
-        minute: "30",
         sha: "abcd1234",
       };
 
       const result = applyBranchTemplate(template, variables);
-      expect(result).toBe("claude-fix/pr_456_20240301_abcd1234");
+      expect(result).toBe("claude-fix/pr_456_20240301-1430_abcd1234");
     });
 
     it("should handle templates with missing variables gracefully", () => {
@@ -56,11 +46,6 @@ describe("branch template utilities", () => {
         entityType: "issue",
         entityNumber: 123,
         timestamp: "20240301-1430",
-        year: "2024",
-        month: "03",
-        day: "01",
-        hour: "14",
-        minute: "30",
       };
 
       const result = applyBranchTemplate(template, variables);
@@ -83,11 +68,6 @@ describe("branch template utilities", () => {
       expect(result.sha).toBe("abcdef12");
       expect(result.label).toBe("issue"); // fallback to entityType
       expect(result.timestamp).toMatch(/^\d{8}-\d{4}$/);
-      expect(result.year).toMatch(/^\d{4}$/);
-      expect(result.month).toMatch(/^\d{2}$/);
-      expect(result.day).toMatch(/^\d{2}$/);
-      expect(result.hour).toMatch(/^\d{2}$/);
-      expect(result.minute).toMatch(/^\d{2}$/);
     });
 
     it("should handle SHA truncation", () => {