diff --git a/CHANGELOG.yml b/CHANGELOG.yml
index 671d06d..e6ad922 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.yml
+++ b/CHANGELOG.yml
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ releases:
       - type: feat
         desc: cutting a release also add a new NEXT release
         commit: 167f631d1fe4eadba3ed5fdadbe378b8255d4ad2
+      - type: feat
+        desc: git-gather also filters on descs
   - version: 0.1.0
     changes:
       - port the core of the Perl changelord to JavaScript.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 64a828d..049859e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ Git messages are compared to the regular expression
 configured at `project.commit_regex`. If none is found, it
 defaults to
 
-    ^(?<type>[^: ]+):(?<desc>.*?)(\[(?<ticket>[^\]]+)\])?$
+    ^(?<type>[^: ]+):\s*(?<desc>.*?)(\[(?<ticket>[^\]]+)\])?$
 
 The regular expression must capture a `desc` field, and may
 capture a `type` and `ticket` as well.
diff --git a/src/changelord.js b/src/changelord.js
index a45c4ab..395af53 100755
--- a/src/changelord.js
+++ b/src/changelord.js
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import fs from "fs-extra";
 import consola from "consola";
 import u from "@yanick/updeep-remeda";
 import { once } from "remeda";
+import simpleGit from "simple-git";
 
 import print from "./command/print.js";
 import init from "./command/init.js";
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ consola.raw = (...args) => console.log(...args);
 
 yargs(hideBin(process.argv))
   .middleware((config) => {
+    config.git = once(simpleGit);
     config.consola = consola;
     config.changelog = once(() =>
       fs.readFile(config.source, "utf-8").then(yaml.parse)
diff --git a/src/command/git-gather.js b/src/command/git-gather.js
index 45b792e..aa6a78f 100644
--- a/src/command/git-gather.js
+++ b/src/command/git-gather.js
@@ -2,50 +2,54 @@ import simpleGit from "simple-git";
 import { prop, compact, pickBy } from "remeda";
 
 const handler = async (config) => {
-    const next = await config.next_release();
-    const seen_sha1s = compact(next?.changes.map(prop("commit")));
+  const next = await config.next_release();
+  const seen_sha1s = compact(next?.changes.map(prop("commit")));
+  const seen_descs = next?.changes.map((change) =>
+    typeof change === "string" ? change : change.desc
+  );
 
-    const git = simpleGit();
+  const git = config.git();
 
-    const { version } = await config.latest_version();
+  const { version } = await config.latest_version();
 
-    let { all: commits } = await git.log({
-        from: "v" + version,
-    });
+  let { all: commits } = await git.log({
+    from: "v" + version,
+  });
 
-    config.consola.start(`gathering changes since v${version}`);
+  config.consola.start(`gathering changes since v${version}`);
 
-    commits = commits.filter(({ hash }) => !seen_sha1s.includes(hash));
+  commits = commits.filter(({ hash }) => !seen_sha1s.includes(hash));
 
-    const regex = new RegExp(
-        (await config.changelog().project?.commit_regex) ??
-        /^(?<type>[^: ]+):(?<desc>.*?)(\[(?<ticket>[^\]]+)\])?$/
+  const regex = new RegExp(
+    (await config.changelog().project?.commit_regex) ??
+      /^(?<type>[^: ]+):\s*(?<desc>.*?)(\[(?<ticket>[^\]]+)\])?$/
+  );
+
+  const changes = commits
+    .map((commit) => [commit, commit.message.match(regex)])
+    .filter((x) => x[1])
+    .filter((x) => !seen_descs.includes(x[1].groups.desc))
+    .map(([commit, res]) =>
+      pickBy({ ...res.groups, commit: commit.hash }, (x) => x)
     );
 
-    const changes = commits
-        .map((commit) => [commit, commit.message.match(regex)])
-        .filter((x) => x[1])
-        .map(([commit, res]) =>
-            pickBy({ ...res.groups, commit: commit.hash }, (x) => x)
-        );
+  if (changes.length === 0) {
+    config.consola.success("no changes detected");
+    return;
+  }
 
-    if (changes.length === 0) {
-        config.consola.success("no changes detected");
-        return;
-    }
-
-    for (const change of changes) {
-        config.consola.info(`${change.type}: ${change.desc}`);
-        config.add_to_next(change);
-    }
-    config.consola.success("done");
+  for (const change of changes) {
+    config.consola.info(`${change.type}: ${change.desc}`);
+    config.add_to_next(change);
+  }
+  config.consola.success("done");
 };
 
 export default {
-    command: "git-gather",
-    desc: "gather change entries from git commits",
-    builder: (yargs) => {
-        yargs;
-    },
-    handler,
+  command: "git-gather",
+  desc: "gather change entries from git commits",
+  builder: (yargs) => {
+    yargs;
+  },
+  handler,
 };
diff --git a/src/command/git-gather.test.js b/src/command/git-gather.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8bccd17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/command/git-gather.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import { test, expect, vi } from "vitest";
+import gather from "./git-gather.js";
+
+test("no changes detected", async () => {
+  const changelog = {
+    releases: [{ version: "NEXT", changes: [] }, { version: "1.0.0" }],
+  };
+
+  const noop = () => {};
+  const config = {
+    consola: {
+      start: noop,
+      success: vi.fn(),
+    },
+    changelog: () => changelog,
+    next_release: () => ({
+      changes: [],
+    }),
+    latest_version: () => ({ version: "1.2.3" }),
+    git: () => ({
+      log: () => ({ all: [] }),
+    }),
+  };
+
+  await gather.handler(config);
+
+  expect(config.consola.success).toHaveBeenCalledWith("no changes detected");
+});