diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index 6474a01..2c922c4 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -9,8 +9,13 @@ ci:
   autoupdate_schedule: monthly
   skip: [licensecheck] # does not run on pre-commit.ci, due to sqlite error, runs locally
 
-# do not touch the cassette files: these are auto-generated by vcr.py
-exclude: \/cassettes\/
+# Exclude "cassette" files: auto-generated by vcr.py
+# Exclude changelog: auto-generated by python-semantic-release
+exclude: |
+  (?x)^(
+      /cassettes/|
+      CHANGELOG.md
+  )$
 
 repos:
   # Ref: https://pre-commit.com/#meta-hooks
@@ -86,8 +91,6 @@ repos:
   hooks:
   - id: typos
     args: [--force-exclude]
-    # CHANGELOG.md: the commit hashes in changelog trigger the spell checker
-    exclude: CHANGELOG.md
 
 - repo: https://github.com/FHPythonUtils/LicenseCheck/
   rev: b2b50f4d40c95b15478279a7a00553a1dc2925ef  # frozen: 2024.2