diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0664705..73f2ac8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.7.1] - 2026-02-14
+
+### Fixed
+- Load all `.goodchangesrc.json` configs once at startup instead of re-reading from disk per changed file and again during target detection
+
 ## [0.7.0] - 2026-02-14
 
 ### Changed
@@ -88,6 +93,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Multi-stage Docker build
 - Automated vendor upgrade workflow
 
+[0.7.1]: https://github.com/gooddata/gooddata-goodchanges/compare/v0.7.0...v0.7.1
 [0.7.0]: https://github.com/gooddata/gooddata-goodchanges/compare/v0.6.0...v0.7.0
 [0.6.0]: https://github.com/gooddata/gooddata-goodchanges/compare/v0.5.1...v0.6.0
 [0.5.1]: https://github.com/gooddata/gooddata-goodchanges/compare/v0.5.0...v0.5.1
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index bcaffe1..7deb86f 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.7.0
\ No newline at end of file
+0.7.1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/internal/rush/rush.go b/internal/rush/rush.go
index bec96b5..8755992 100644
--- a/internal/rush/rush.go
+++ b/internal/rush/rush.go
@@ -139,6 +139,16 @@ func LoadProjectConfig(projectFolder string) *ProjectConfig {
 	return &cfg
 }
 
+// LoadAllProjectConfigs reads .goodchangesrc.json for every project in the config.
+// Returns a map keyed by project folder. Entries are nil for projects without a config file.
+func LoadAllProjectConfigs(config *Config) map[string]*ProjectConfig {
+	result := make(map[string]*ProjectConfig, len(config.Projects))
+	for _, rp := range config.Projects {
+		result[rp.ProjectFolder] = LoadProjectConfig(rp.ProjectFolder)
+	}
+	return result
+}
+
 // IsIgnored checks if a file path (relative to project root) matches any ignore glob.
 // The config file itself (.goodchangesrc.json) is always ignored.
 func (pc *ProjectConfig) IsIgnored(relPath string) bool {
@@ -168,7 +178,7 @@ func (pc *ProjectConfig) IsVirtualTarget() bool {
 
 // FindChangedProjects determines which projects have files in the changed file list.
 // Files matching ignore globs in .goodchangesrc.json are excluded.
-func FindChangedProjects(config *Config, projectMap map[string]*ProjectInfo, changedFiles []string) map[string]*ProjectInfo {
+func FindChangedProjects(config *Config, projectMap map[string]*ProjectInfo, changedFiles []string, configMap map[string]*ProjectConfig) map[string]*ProjectInfo {
 	result := make(map[string]*ProjectInfo)
 	for _, file := range changedFiles {
 		if file == "" {
@@ -177,7 +187,7 @@ func FindChangedProjects(config *Config, projectMap map[string]*ProjectInfo, cha
 		for _, rp := range config.Projects {
 			if strings.HasPrefix(file, rp.ProjectFolder+"/") {
 				relPath := strings.TrimPrefix(file, rp.ProjectFolder+"/")
-				cfg := LoadProjectConfig(rp.ProjectFolder)
+				cfg := configMap[rp.ProjectFolder]
 				if cfg.IsIgnored(relPath) {
 					break
 				}
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 5046907..1c6a2d4 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -73,7 +73,8 @@ func main() {
 	}
 
 	projectMap := rush.BuildProjectMap(rushConfig)
-	changedProjects := rush.FindChangedProjects(rushConfig, projectMap, changedFiles)
+	configMap := rush.LoadAllProjectConfigs(rushConfig)
+	changedProjects := rush.FindChangedProjects(rushConfig, projectMap, changedFiles, configMap)
 
 	// Detect lockfile dep changes per subspace (folder → set of changed dep names)
 	depChangedDeps := findLockfileAffectedProjects(rushConfig, mergeBase)
@@ -258,7 +259,7 @@ func main() {
 	}
 
 	for _, rp := range rushConfig.Projects {
-		cfg := rush.LoadProjectConfig(rp.ProjectFolder)
+		cfg := configMap[rp.ProjectFolder]
 
 		if cfg.IsTarget() {
 			if len(targetPatterns) > 0 && !matchesTargetFilter(rp.PackageName, targetPatterns) {