Dependabot Configuration & Management Overview Dependabot is GitHub's built-in dependency management tool with three core capabilities: Dependabot Alerts — Notify when dependencies have known vulnerabilities (CVEs) Dependabot Security Updates — Auto-create PRs to fix vulnerable dependencies Dependabot Version Updates — Auto-create PRs to keep dependencies current All configuration lives in a single file : .github/dependabot.yml on the default branch. GitHub does not support multiple dependabot.yml files per repository. Configuration Workflow Follow this process when creating or optimizing a dependabot.yml : Step 1: Detect All Ecosystems Scan the repository for dependency manifests. Look for: Ecosystem YAML Value Manifest Files npm/pnpm/yarn npm package.json , package-lock.json , pnpm-lock.yaml , yarn.lock pip/pipenv/poetry/uv pip requirements.txt , Pipfile , pyproject.toml , setup.py Docker docker Dockerfile Docker Compose docker-compose docker-compose.yml GitHub Actions github-actions .github/workflows/.yml Go modules gomod go.mod Bundler (Ruby) bundler Gemfile Cargo (Rust) cargo Cargo.toml Composer (PHP) composer composer.json NuGet (.NET) nuget .csproj , packages.config .NET SDK dotnet-sdk global.json Maven (Java) maven pom.xml Gradle (Java) gradle build.gradle Terraform terraform .tf OpenTofu opentofu .tf Helm helm Chart.yaml Hex (Elixir) mix mix.exs Swift swift Package.swift Pub (Dart) pub pubspec.yaml Bun bun bun.lockb Dev Containers devcontainers devcontainer.json Git Submodules gitsubmodule .gitmodules Pre-commit pre-commit .pre-commit-config.yaml Note: pnpm and yarn both use the npm ecosystem value. Step 2: Map Directory Locations For each ecosystem, identify where manifests live. Use directories (plural) with glob patterns for monorepos: directories : - "/"
root
- "/apps/*"
all app subdirs
- "/packages/*"
all package subdirs
- "/lib-*"
dirs starting with lib-
- "*/"
recursive (all subdirs)
Important: directory (singular) does NOT support globs. Use directories (plural) for wildcards. Step 3: Configure Each Ecosystem Entry Every entry needs at minimum: - package-ecosystem : "npm" directory : "/" schedule : interval : "weekly" Step 4: Optimize with Grouping, Labels, and Scheduling See sections below for each optimization technique. Monorepo Strategies Glob Patterns for Workspace Coverage For monorepos with many packages, use glob patterns to avoid listing each directory: - package-ecosystem : "npm" directories : - "/" - "/apps/" - "/packages/" - "/services/" schedule : interval : "weekly" Cross-Directory Grouping Use group-by: dependency-name to create a single PR when the same dependency updates across multiple directories: groups : monorepo-deps : group-by : dependency - name This creates one PR per dependency across all specified directories, reducing CI costs and review burden. Limitations: All directories must use the same package ecosystem Applies to version updates only Incompatible version constraints create separate PRs Standalone Packages Outside Workspaces If a directory has its own lockfile and is NOT part of the workspace (e.g., scripts in .github/ ), create a separate ecosystem entry for it. Dependency Grouping Reduce PR noise by grouping related dependencies into single PRs. By Dependency Type groups : dev-dependencies : dependency-type : "development" update-types : [ "minor" , "patch" ] production-dependencies : dependency-type : "production" update-types : [ "minor" , "patch" ] By Name Pattern groups : angular : patterns : [ "@angular" ] update-types : [ "minor" , "patch" ] testing : patterns : [ "jest" , "@testing-library" , "ts-jest" ] For Security Updates groups : security-patches : applies-to : security - updates patterns : [ "" ] update-types : [ "patch" , "minor" ] Key behaviors: Dependencies matching multiple groups go to the first match applies-to defaults to version-updates when absent Ungrouped dependencies get individual PRs Multi-Ecosystem Groups Combine updates across different package ecosystems into a single PR: version : 2 multi-ecosystem-groups : infrastructure : schedule : interval : "weekly" labels : [ "infrastructure" , "dependencies" ] updates : - package-ecosystem : "docker" directory : "/" patterns : [ "nginx" , "redis" ] multi-ecosystem-group : "infrastructure" - package-ecosystem : "terraform" directory : "/" patterns : [ "aws" ] multi-ecosystem-group : "infrastructure" The patterns key is required when using multi-ecosystem-group . PR Customization Labels labels : - "dependencies" - "npm" Set labels: [] to disable all labels including defaults. SemVer labels ( major , minor , patch ) are always applied if present in the repo. Commit Messages commit-message : prefix : "deps" prefix-development : "deps-dev" include : "scope"
adds deps/deps-dev scope after prefix
Assignees and Milestones assignees : [ "security-team-lead" ] milestone : 4
numeric ID from milestone URL
Branch Name Separator pull-request-branch-name : separator : "-"
default is /
Target Branch target-branch : "develop"
PRs target this instead of default branch
Note: When target-branch is set, security updates still target the default branch; all ecosystem config only applies to version updates. Schedule Optimization Intervals Supported: daily , weekly , monthly , quarterly , semiannually , yearly , cron schedule : interval : "weekly" day : "monday"
for weekly only
time : "09:00"
HH:MM format
timezone : "America/New_York" Cron Expressions schedule : interval : "cron" cronjob : "0 9 * * 1"
Every Monday at 9 AM
Cooldown Periods Delay updates for newly released versions to avoid early-adopter issues: cooldown : default-days : 5 semver-major-days : 30 semver-minor-days : 7 semver-patch-days : 3 include : [ "" ] exclude : [ "critical-lib" ] Cooldown applies to version updates only, not security updates. Security Updates Configuration Enable via Repository Settings Settings → Advanced Security → Enable Dependabot alerts, security updates, and grouped security updates. Group Security Updates in YAML groups : security-patches : applies-to : security - updates patterns : [ "" ] update-types : [ "patch" , "minor" ] Disable Version Updates (Security Only) open-pull-requests-limit : 0
disables version update PRs
Auto-Triage Rules GitHub presets auto-dismiss low-impact alerts for development dependencies. Custom rules can filter by severity, package name, CWE, and more. Configure in repository Settings → Advanced Security. PR Comment Commands Interact with Dependabot PRs using @dependabot comments. Note: As of January 2026, merge/close/reopen commands have been deprecated. Use GitHub's native UI, CLI ( gh pr merge ), or auto-merge instead. Command Effect @dependabot rebase Rebase the PR @dependabot recreate Recreate the PR from scratch @dependabot ignore this dependency Close and never update this dependency @dependabot ignore this major version Ignore this major version @dependabot ignore this minor version Ignore this minor version @dependabot ignore this patch version Ignore this patch version For grouped PRs, additional commands: @dependabot ignore DEPENDENCY_NAME — ignore specific dependency in group @dependabot unignore DEPENDENCY_NAME — clear ignores, reopen with updates @dependabot unignore * — clear all ignores for all dependencies in group @dependabot show DEPENDENCY_NAME ignore conditions — display current ignores For the complete command reference, see references/pr-commands.md . Ignore and Allow Rules Ignore Specific Dependencies ignore : - dependency-name : "lodash" - dependency-name : "@types/node" update-types : [ "version-update:semver-patch" ] - dependency-name : "express" versions : [ "5.x" ] Allow Only Specific Types allow : - dependency-type : "production" - dependency-name : "express" Rule: If a dependency matches both allow and ignore , it is ignored . Exclude Paths exclude-paths : - "vendor/" - "test/fixtures/" Advanced Options Versioning Strategy Controls how Dependabot edits version constraints: Value Behavior auto Default — increase for apps, widen for libraries increase Always increase minimum version increase-if-necessary Only change if current range excludes new version lockfile-only Only update lockfiles, ignore manifests widen Widen range to include both old and new versions Rebase Strategy rebase-strategy : "disabled"
stop auto-rebasing
Allow rebase over extra commits by including [dependabot skip] in commit messages. Open PR Limit open-pull-requests-limit : 10
default is 5 for version, 10 for security
Set to 0 to disable version updates entirely. Private Registries registries : npm-private : type : npm - registry url : https : //npm.example.com token : $ { { secrets.NPM_TOKEN } } updates : - package-ecosystem : "npm" directory : "/" registries : - npm - private FAQ Can I have multiple dependabot.yml files? No. GitHub supports exactly one file at .github/dependabot.yml . Use multiple updates entries within that file for different ecosystems and directories. Does Dependabot support pnpm? Yes. Use package-ecosystem: "npm" — Dependabot detects pnpm-lock.yaml automatically. How do I reduce PR noise in a monorepo? Use groups to batch updates, directories with globs for coverage, and group-by: dependency-name for cross-directory grouping. Consider monthly or quarterly intervals for low-priority ecosystems. How do I handle dependencies outside the workspace? Create a separate ecosystem entry with its own directory pointing to that location. Resources references/dependabot-yml-reference.md — Complete YAML options reference references/pr-commands.md — Full PR comment commands reference references/example-configs.md — Real-world configuration examples