diff --git a/lua/pending/complete.lua b/lua/pending/complete.lua
index 98291ce..135d1a4 100644
--- a/lua/pending/complete.lua
+++ b/lua/pending/complete.lua
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 local config = require('pending.config')
-local forge = require('pending.forge')
 
 ---@class pending.CompletionItem
 ---@field word string
@@ -110,17 +109,6 @@ local function recur_completions()
   return result
 end
 
----@param source string
----@return boolean
-function M._is_forge_source(source)
-  for _, b in ipairs(forge.backends()) do
-    if b.shorthand == source then
-      return true
-    end
-  end
-  return false
-end
-
 ---@type string?
 local _complete_source = nil
 
@@ -140,10 +128,10 @@ function M.omnifunc(findstart, base)
       { vim.pesc(dk) .. ':([%S]*)$', dk },
       { 'cat:([%S]*)$', 'cat' },
       { vim.pesc(rk) .. ':([%S]*)$', rk },
+      { 'gh:([%S]*)$', 'gh' },
+      { 'gl:([%S]*)$', 'gl' },
+      { 'cb:([%S]*)$', 'cb' },
     }
-    for _, b in ipairs(forge.backends()) do
-      table.insert(checks, { vim.pesc(b.shorthand) .. ':([%S]*)$', b.shorthand })
-    end
 
     for _, check in ipairs(checks) do
       local start = before:find(check[1])
@@ -184,7 +172,7 @@ function M.omnifunc(findstart, base)
         table.insert(matches, { word = c.word, menu = '[' .. source .. ']', info = c.info })
       end
     end
-  elseif M._is_forge_source(source) then
+  elseif source == 'gh' or source == 'gl' or source == 'cb' then
     local s = require('pending.buffer').store()
     if s then
       local seen = {}
diff --git a/lua/pending/config.lua b/lua/pending/config.lua
index 5a139cb..b1ab639 100644
--- a/lua/pending/config.lua
+++ b/lua/pending/config.lua
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@
 ---@field icon? string
 ---@field issue_format? string
 ---@field instances? string[]
----@field shorthand? string
 
 ---@class pending.ForgeConfig
 ---@field auto_close? boolean
diff --git a/lua/pending/forge.lua b/lua/pending/forge.lua
index baebc0a..9b32655 100644
--- a/lua/pending/forge.lua
+++ b/lua/pending/forge.lua
@@ -62,14 +62,6 @@ function M.backends()
   return _backends
 end
 
-function M._reset_instances()
-  _instances_resolved = false
-  _by_shorthand = {}
-  for _, b in ipairs(_backends) do
-    _by_shorthand[b.shorthand] = b
-  end
-end
-
 local function _ensure_instances()
   if _instances_resolved then
     return
@@ -81,27 +73,17 @@ local function _ensure_instances()
     for _, inst in ipairs(forge_cfg.instances or {}) do
       _by_host[inst] = backend
     end
-    if forge_cfg.shorthand and forge_cfg.shorthand ~= backend.shorthand then
-      _by_shorthand[backend.shorthand] = nil
-      backend.shorthand = forge_cfg.shorthand
-      _by_shorthand[backend.shorthand] = backend
-    end
   end
 end
 
 ---@param token string
 ---@return pending.ForgeRef?
 function M._parse_shorthand(token)
-  _ensure_instances()
-  local backend, rest
-  for prefix, b in pairs(_by_shorthand) do
-    local candidate = token:match('^' .. vim.pesc(prefix) .. ':(.+)$')
-    if candidate then
-      backend = b
-      rest = candidate
-      break
-    end
+  local prefix, rest = token:match('^(%l%l):(.+)$')
+  if not prefix then
+    return nil
   end
+  local backend = _by_shorthand[prefix]
   if not backend then
     return nil
   end
diff --git a/spec/forge_spec.lua b/spec/forge_spec.lua
index 8bd4162..fac8021 100644
--- a/spec/forge_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/forge_spec.lua
@@ -391,73 +391,6 @@ describe('forge registry', function()
   end)
 end)
 
-describe('custom forge prefixes', function()
-  local config = require('pending.config')
-  local complete = require('pending.complete')
-
-  it('parses custom-length shorthand (3+ chars)', function()
-    local custom = forge.gitea_backend({
-      name = 'customforge',
-      shorthand = 'cgf',
-      default_host = 'custom.example.com',
-    })
-    forge.register(custom)
-
-    local ref = forge._parse_shorthand('cgf:alice/proj#99')
-    assert.is_not_nil(ref)
-    assert.equals('customforge', ref.forge)
-    assert.equals('alice', ref.owner)
-    assert.equals('proj', ref.repo)
-    assert.equals(99, ref.number)
-  end)
-
-  it('parse_ref dispatches custom-length shorthand', function()
-    local ref = forge.parse_ref('cgf:alice/proj#5')
-    assert.is_not_nil(ref)
-    assert.equals('customforge', ref.forge)
-    assert.equals(5, ref.number)
-  end)
-
-  it('find_refs finds custom-length shorthand', function()
-    local refs = forge.find_refs('Fix cgf:alice/proj#12')
-    assert.equals(1, #refs)
-    assert.equals('customforge', refs[1].ref.forge)
-    assert.equals(12, refs[1].ref.number)
-  end)
-
-  it('completion returns entries for custom backends', function()
-    assert.is_true(complete._is_forge_source('cgf'))
-  end)
-
-  it('config shorthand override re-registers backend', function()
-    vim.g.pending = {
-      forge = {
-        github = { shorthand = 'github' },
-      },
-    }
-    config.reset()
-    forge._reset_instances()
-
-    local ref = forge._parse_shorthand('github:user/repo#1')
-    assert.is_not_nil(ref)
-    assert.equals('github', ref.forge)
-    assert.equals('user', ref.owner)
-    assert.equals('repo', ref.repo)
-    assert.equals(1, ref.number)
-
-    assert.is_nil(forge._parse_shorthand('gh:user/repo#1'))
-
-    vim.g.pending = nil
-    config.reset()
-    for _, b in ipairs(forge.backends()) do
-      if b.name == 'github' then
-        b.shorthand = 'gh'
-      end
-    end
-    forge._reset_instances()
-  end)
-end)
-
 describe('forge diff integration', function()
   local store = require('pending.store')
   local diff = require('pending.diff')