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Configuration options for the dependabot.yml file

Detailed information for all the options you can use to customize how Dependabot maintains your repositories.

Who can use this feature?

People with write permissions to a repository can configure Dependabot for the repository.

About the dependabot.yml file

The Dependabot configuration file, dependabot.yml, uses YAML syntax. If you're new to YAML and want to learn more, see "Learn YAML in five minutes."

You must store this file in the .github directory of your repository in the default branch. When you add or update the dependabot.yml file, this triggers an immediate check for version updates. For more information and an example, see "Configuring Dependabot version updates."

Any options that also affect security updates are used the next time a security alert triggers a pull request for a security update. For more information, see "Configuring Dependabot security updates."

Note: You cannot configure Dependabot alerts using the dependabot.yml file.

The dependabot.yml file has two mandatory top-level keys: version, and updates. You can, optionally, include a top-level registries key. The file must start with version: 2.

For a real-world example of dependabot.yml file, see Dependabot's own configuration file.

Configuration options for the dependabot.yml file

The top-level updates key is mandatory. You use it to configure how Dependabot updates the versions or your project's dependencies. Each entry configures the update settings for a particular package manager. You can use the following options.

OptionRequiredSecurity UpdatesVersion UpdatesDescription
package-ecosystemPackage manager to use
directoryLocation of package manifests
directoriesLocations of package manifests (multiple directories)
schedule.intervalHow often to check for updates
allowCustomize which updates are allowed
assigneesAssignees to set on pull requests
commit-messageCommit message preferences
enable-beta-ecosystemsEnable ecosystems that have beta-level support
groupsGroup updates for certain dependencies
ignoreSee ignoreSee ignoreIgnore certain dependencies or versions
insecure-external-code-executionAllow or deny code execution in manifest files
labelsLabels to set on pull requests
milestoneMilestone to set on pull requests
open-pull-requests-limitLimit number of open pull requests for version updates
pull-request-branch-name.separatorChange separator for pull request branch names
rebase-strategyDisable automatic rebasing
registriesPrivate registries that Dependabot can access
reviewersReviewers to set on pull requests
schedule.dayDay of week to check for updates
schedule.timeTime of day to check for updates (hh:mm)
schedule.timezoneTimezone for time of day (zone identifier)
target-branchBranch to create pull requests against
vendorUpdate vendored or cached dependencies
versioning-strategyHow to update manifest version requirements

Note: You cannot use both directory and directories in the same configuration block. Only one option is required, not both.

These options fit broadly into the following categories.

In addition, the open-pull-requests-limit option changes the maximum number of pull requests for version updates that Dependabot can open.

Note: Some of these configuration options may also affect pull requests raised for security updates of vulnerable package manifests.

Security updates are raised for vulnerable package manifests only on the default branch. When configuration options are set for the same branch (true unless you use target-branch), and specify a package-ecosystem and directory for the vulnerable manifest, then pull requests for security updates use relevant options.

In general, security updates use any configuration options that affect pull requests, for example, adding metadata or changing their behavior. For more information about security updates, see "Configuring Dependabot security updates."

package-ecosystem

Required. You add one package-ecosystem element for each package manager that you want Dependabot to monitor for new versions. The repository must also contain a dependency manifest or lock file for each of these package managers.

If you want to enable vendoring for a package manager that supports it, the vendored dependencies must be located in the required directory. For more information, see vendor below.

If you want to allow Dependabot to access a private package registry when performing a version update, you can include a registries setting in the configuration file. For more information, see registries below.

Package managerYAML valueSupported versionsVersion updatesSecurity updatesPrivate repositoriesPrivate registriesVendoring
Bundlerbundlerv2
Cargocargov1
Composercomposerv1, v2
Dev containersdevcontainersNot applicable
Dockerdockerv1Not applicable
Hexmixv1
elm-packageelmv0.19
git submodulegitsubmoduleNot applicableNot applicable
GitHub Actionsgithub-actionsNot applicableNot applicable
Go modulesgomodv1
GradlegradleNot applicable
MavenmavenNot applicable
npmnpmv6, v7, v8, v9
NuGetnuget<=6.8.0
pippipv21.1.2
pipenvpip<= 2021-05-29
pip-compilepip6.1.0
pnpmnpmv7, v8, v9
poetrypipv1
pubpubv2
Swiftswiftv5 (git only)
Terraformterraform>= 0.13, <= 1.8.xNot applicable
yarnnpmv1, v2, v3

Tip: For package managers such as pipenv and poetry, you need to use the pip YAML value. For example, if you use poetry to manage your Python dependencies and want Dependabot to monitor your dependency manifest file for new versions, use package-ecosystem: "pip" in your dependabot.yml file.

For further information about ecosystem support for Dependabot security updates, see also "Dependency graph supported package ecosystems."

Cargo

Private registry support includes cargo registries, so you can use Dependabot to keep your Rust dependencies up-to-date. For more information, see "Guidance for the configuration of private registries for Dependabot."

Dev containers

You can use devcontainers as a package-ecosystem in your dependabot.yml file to update Features in your devcontainer.json configuration files. For more information about this support, and for configuration file examples, see General Availability of Dependabot Integration in the Development Containers documentation.

Dev containers are used in several tools and services, including Codespaces. For more information about Features and the supported services, see Features and Supporting tools and services in the Development Containers documentation, respectively.

This updater ensures Features are pinned to the latest major version in the associated devcontainer.json file. If a dev container has a lockfile, that file will also be updated. For more information about lockfile specifications, see Lockfiles in the devcontainers/spec repository.

Features in any valid dev container location will be updated in a single pull request. For more information about the dev container specification, see Specification in the Development Containers documentation.

Docker

Dependabot can add metadata from Docker images to pull requests for version updates. The metadata includes release notes, changelogs and the commit history. Repository administrators can use the metadata to quickly evaluate the stability risk of the dependency update.

In order for Dependabot to fetch Docker metadata, maintainers of Docker images must add the org.opencontainers.image.source label to their Dockerfile, and include the URL of the source repository. Additionally, maintainers must tag the repository with the same tags as the published Docker images. For an example, see the dependabot-fixtures/docker-with-source repository. For more information on Docker labels, see Extension image labels and BUILDX_GIT_LABELS in the Docker documentation.

Dependabot can update Docker image tags in Kubernetes manifests. Add an entry to the Docker package-ecosystem element of your dependabot.yml file for each directory containing a Kubernetes manifest which references Docker image tags. Kubernetes manifests can be Kubernetes Deployment YAML files or Helm charts. For information about configuring your dependabot.yml file for docker, see "package-ecosystem" in "Configuration options for the dependabot.yml file."

Dependabot supports both public and private Docker registries. For a list of the supported registries, see "docker-registry" in "Configuration options for the dependabot.yml file."

Dependabot parses Docker image tags for Semantic Versioning (SemVer). If Dependabot detects a tag with a pre-release, then it will only suggest an update to the latest version with a matching pre-release, and it will not suggest a newer version that use a different pre-release label. For more information, see the dependabot-docker README.md file in the dependabot/dependabot-core repository.

GitHub Actions

Dependabot supports version updates for GitHub Actions with the following caveats.

  • Dependabot only supports updates to GitHub Actions using the GitHub repository syntax, such as actions/checkout@v4. Dependabot will ignore actions or reusable workflows referenced locally (for example, ./.github/actions/foo.yml).
  • Docker Hub and GitHub Packages Container registry URLs are currently not supported. For example, references to Docker container actions using docker:// syntax aren't supported.
  • Dependabot supports both public and private repositories for GitHub Actions. For private registry configuration options, see "git" in "Configuration options for the dependabot.yml file."

For more information about using Dependabot version updates with GitHub Actions, see "Using GitHub's security features to secure your use of GitHub Actions."

Gradle

Dependabot doesn't run Gradle but supports updates to the following files:

  • build.gradle, build.gradle.kts (for Kotlin projects)
  • gradle/libs.versions.toml (for projects using a standard Gradle version catalog)
  • Files included via the apply declaration that have dependencies in the filename. Note that apply does not support apply to, recursion, or advanced syntaxes (for example, Kotlin's apply with mapOf, filenames defined by property).

For Dependabot security updates, Gradle support is limited to manual uploads of the dependency graph data using the dependency submission API. For more information about the dependency submission API, see "Using the dependency submission API."

Notes:

  • When you upload Gradle dependencies to the dependency graph using the dependency submission API, all project dependencies are uploaded, even transitive dependencies that aren't explicitly mentioned in any dependency file. When an alert is detected in a transitive dependency, Dependabot isn't able to find the vulnerable dependency in the repository, and therefore won't create a security update for that alert.
  • Dependabot version updates will, however, create pull requests when the parent dependency is explicitly declared as a direct dependency in the project's manifest file.

Maven

Dependabot doesn't run Maven but supports updates to pom.xml files.

NuGet CLI

Dependabot doesn't run the NuGet CLI but does support most features up until version 6.8.0.

pip and pip-compile

In addition to supporting updates to requirements.txt files, Dependabot supports updates to pyproject.toml files if they follow the PEP 621 standard.

pub

Dependabot won't perform an update for pub when the version that it tries to update to is ignored, even if an earlier version is available.

You can use Dependabot to keep Dart dependencies up-to-date if you use private hosted pub repositories. For information about allowing Dependabot to access private GitHub dependencies, see "Allowing Dependabot to access private dependencies."

Swift

Private registry support applies to git registries only. Swift registries are not supported. Non-declarative manifests are not supported. For more information on non-declarative manifests, see Editing Non-Declarative Manifests in the Swift Evolution documentation.

Terraform

Terraform support includes:

  • Modules hosted on Terraform Registry or a publicly reachable Git repository.
  • Terraform providers.
  • Private Terraform Registry. You can configure access for private git repositories by specifying a git registry in your dependabot.yml file. For more information, see git.

yarn

Dependabot supports vendored dependencies for v2 onwards.

Example of a basic setup for three package managers

# Basic set up for three package managers

version: 2
updates:

  # Maintain dependencies for GitHub Actions
  - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
    # Workflow files stored in the default location of `.github/workflows`. (You don't need to specify `/.github/workflows` for `directory`. You can use `directory: "/"`.)
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

  # Maintain dependencies for npm
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

  # Maintain dependencies for Composer
  - package-ecosystem: "composer"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

directory

Required. You must define the location of the package manifests for each package manager (for example, the package.json or Gemfile). You define the directory relative to the root of the repository for all ecosystems except GitHub Actions.

You can use directories instead of directory to apply the same configuration to a list of multiple directories. The directory or directories entries must be unique and cannot overlap with the directory or directories entries in blocks that have the same ecosystem and target-branch. You can have one block specifying multiple directories and another block with specifications for one directory only, but both keys can't be present in the same block. For more information, see directories.

Note: You cannot use both directory and directories in the same configuration block. Only one option is required, not both.

For GitHub Actions, you do not need to set the directory to /.github/workflows. Configuring the key to / automatically instructs Dependabot to search the /.github/workflows directory, as well as the action.yml / action.yaml file from the root directory.

# Specify location of manifest files for each package manager

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "composer"
    # Files stored in repository root
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    # Files stored in `app` directory
    directory: "/app"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

  - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
    # Workflow files stored in the default location of `.github/workflows`. (You don't need to specify `/.github/workflows` for `directory`. You can use `directory: "/"`.)
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

directories

Required. You must define the locations of the package manifests for each package manager. You define directories relative to the root of the repository for all ecosystems except GitHub Actions. The directories option contains a list of strings representing directories.

Note: You cannot use both directory and directories in the same configuration block. Only one option is required, not both.

# Specify locations of manifest files for each package manager using `directories`

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "bundler"
    directories:
      - "/frontend"
      - "/backend"
      - "/admin"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

You can use directories instead of directory to apply the same configuration to a list of multiple directories. The directory or directories entries must be unique and cannot overlap with the directory or directories entries in blocks that have the same ecosystem and target-branch. You can have one block specifying multiple directories and another block with specifications for one directory only, but both keys can't be present in the same block.

Using directory, directories, or a mixture of both, are all valid approaches. You should tailor your configuration to your requirements. We recommend you use directories when you want to apply the exact same configuration to multiple directories or group dependency updates across multiple directories, and directory when you want to apply a configuration to only one directory, or if you want each directory to have a different configuration.

# Specify locations of manifest files for each package manager using both `directories` and `directory`

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "bundler"
    directories:
      - "/frontend"
      - "/backend"
      - "/admin"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
  - package-ecosystem: "bundler"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "daily"

Tip

The directories key supports globbing and the wildcard character *. These features are not supported by the directory key.

# Specify the root directory and directories that start with "lib-", using globbing, for locations of manifest files

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "composer"
    directories:
      - "/"
      - "/lib-*"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
# Specify the root directory and directories in the root directory as the location of manifest files using the wildcard character

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "composer"
    directories:
      - "*"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
# Specify all directories from the current layer and below recursively, using globstar, for locations of manifest files

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "composer"
    directories:
      - "**/*"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

Multidirectory support is different than update grouping in pull requests.

  • The directories option in the dependabot.yml file allows you to apply Dependabot updates to multiple directories at the same time.
  • The groups option in the dependabot.yml file creates sets of dependencies (per package manager) for Dependabot to put in the same single pull request.

If you want to use both features on your repositories, you need to enable these features independently and explicitly by using the two keys described above. For more information about grouping, see "groups."

schedule.interval

Required. You must define how often to check for new versions for each package manager. By default, Dependabot randomly assigns a time to apply all the updates in the configuration file. To set a specific time, you can use schedule.time and schedule.timezone.

Note: The schedule.time option is a best effort, and it may take some time before Dependabot opens pull requests to update to newer dependency versions.

Interval typesFrequency
dailyRuns on every weekday, Monday to Friday.
weeklyRuns once each week. By default, this is on Monday. To modify this, use schedule.day.
monthlyRuns once each month. This is on the first day of the month.
# Set update schedule for each package manager

version: 2
updates:

  - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
    # Workflow files stored in the default location of `.github/workflows`. (You don't need to specify `/.github/workflows` for `directory`. You can use `directory: "/"`.)
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      # Check for updates to GitHub Actions every weekday
      interval: "daily"

  - package-ecosystem: "composer"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      # Check for updates managed by Composer once a week
      interval: "weekly"

Note: schedule defines when Dependabot attempts a new update. However, it's not the only time you may receive pull requests. Updates can be triggered based on changes to your dependabot.yml file, or Dependabot security updates. For more information, see "About Dependabot version updates" and "About Dependabot security updates."

Sometimes, due to a misconfiguration or an incompatible version, you might see that a Dependabot run has failed. After 15 failed runs, Dependabot version updates will skip subsequent scheduled runs until you manually trigger a check for updates from the dependency graph. Dependabot security updates will still run as usual.

allow

By default all dependencies that are explicitly defined in a manifest are kept up to date by Dependabot version updates. In addition, Dependabot security updates also update vulnerable dependencies that are defined in lock files. You can use allow and ignore to customize which dependencies to maintain. Dependabot checks for all allowed dependencies and then filters out any ignored dependencies or versions. So a dependency that is matched by both an allow and an ignore will be ignored.

Use the allow option to customize which dependencies are updated. This applies to both version and security updates. You can use the following options:

  • dependency-name—use to allow updates for dependencies with matching names, optionally using * to match zero or more characters.

    • For Java dependencies, the format of the dependency-name attribute is: groupId:artifactId; for example: org.kohsuke:github-api.
    • For Docker image tags, the format is the full name of the repository; for example, for an image tag of <account ID>.dkr.ecr.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/base/foo/bar/ruby:3.1.0-focal-jemalloc, use base/foo/bar/ruby.
  • dependency-type—use to allow updates for dependencies of specific types.

    Dependency typesSupported by package managersAllow updates
    directAllAll explicitly defined dependencies.
    indirectbundler, pip, composer, cargo, gomodDependencies of direct dependencies (also known as sub-dependencies, or transient dependencies).
    allAllAll explicitly defined dependencies. For bundler, pip, composer, cargo, gomod, also the dependencies of direct dependencies.
    productionbundler, composer, mix, maven, npm, pip (not all managers)Only dependencies in the "Production dependency group".
    developmentbundler, composer, mix, maven, npm, pip (not all managers)Only dependencies in the "Development dependency group".
# Use `allow` to specify which dependencies to maintain

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    allow:
      # Allow updates for Lodash
      - dependency-name: "lodash"
      # Allow updates for React and any packages starting "react"
      - dependency-name: "react*"

  - package-ecosystem: "composer"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    allow:
      # Allow both direct and indirect updates for all packages
      - dependency-type: "all"

  - package-ecosystem: "pip"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    allow:
      # Allow only direct updates for
      # Django and any packages starting "django"
      - dependency-name: "django*"
        dependency-type: "direct"
      # Allow only production updates for Sphinx
      - dependency-name: "sphinx"
        dependency-type: "production"

assignees

Use assignees to specify individual assignees for all pull requests raised for a package manager.

Setting this option will also affect pull requests for security updates to the manifest files of this package manager, unless you use target-branch to check for version updates on a non-default branch.

# Specify assignees for pull requests

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Add assignees
    assignees:
      - "octocat"

commit-message

By default, Dependabot attempts to detect your commit message preferences and use similar patterns. Use the commit-message option to specify your preferences explicitly. This setting also impacts the titles of pull requests.

We populate the titles of pull requests based on the commit messages, whether explicitly set or auto-detected from the repository history.

Supported options

Note: The prefix and the prefix-development options have a 50-character limit.

  • prefix specifies a prefix for all commit messages and it will also be added to the start of the PR title. When you specify a prefix for commit messages, GitHub will automatically add a colon between the defined prefix and the commit message provided the defined prefix ends with a letter, number, closing parenthesis, or closing bracket. This means that, for example, if you end the prefix with a whitespace, there will be no colon added between the prefix and the commit message. The code snippet below provides examples of both in the same configuration file.

  • prefix-development specifies a separate prefix for all commit messages that update dependencies in the Development dependency group. When you specify a value for this option, the prefix is used only for updates to dependencies in the Production dependency group. This is supported by: bundler, composer, mix, maven, npm, and pip.

  • include: "scope" specifies that any prefix is followed by the type of the dependencies (deps or deps-dev) updated in the commit.

Setting this option will also affect pull requests for security updates to the manifest files of this package manager, unless you use target-branch to check for version updates on a non-default branch.

# Customize commit messages

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    commit-message:
      # Prefix all commit messages with "npm: "
      prefix: "npm"

  - package-ecosystem: "docker"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    commit-message:
      # Prefix all commit messages with "[docker] " (no colon, but a trailing whitespace)
      prefix: "[docker] "

  - package-ecosystem: "composer"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Prefix all commit messages with "Composer" plus its scope, that is, a
    # list of updated dependencies
    commit-message:
      prefix: "Composer"
      include: "scope"

  - package-ecosystem: "pip"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Include a list of updated dependencies
    # with a prefix determined by the dependency group
    commit-message:
      prefix: "pip prod"
      prefix-development: "pip dev"

If you use the same configuration as in the example above, bumping the requests library in the pip development dependency group will generate a commit message of:

pip dev: bump requests from 1.0.0 to 1.0.1

groups

You can use the dependabot.yml file to create separate rules to group Dependabot version updates and Dependabot security updates.

Note: If a grouped pull request for Dependabot version updates contains a vulnerable package, Dependabot security updates will still attempt to create a separate pull request to update the vulnerable package to a secure version. Creating a separate pull request for security updates ensures you have visibility into package vulnerabilities.

By default, Dependabot raises a single pull request for each dependency that needs to be updated to a newer version. You can use groups to create sets of dependencies (per package manager), so that Dependabot opens a single pull request to update multiple dependencies at the same time.

You can also specify grouping settings based on how updates affect a specific ecosystem and follow semantic versioning (SemVer). This means you can, for example, group all patch updates together. This approach helps Dependabot create as few pull requests as possible, while also reducing the chances of accidentally accepting changes that could cause issues. If a package follows SemVer, there's a higher chance (but not a guarantee) that minor and patch updates will be backwards compatible.

Note: SemVer is an accepted standard for defining versions of software packages, in the form x.y.z. Dependabot assumes that versions in this form are always major.minor.patch.

When you first configure a group, you specify a group name that will display in pull request titles and branch names, and whether the group rule applies to version updates or security updates. You can then define other options to include or exclude specific dependencies from the group. You must use the patterns, exclude-patterns, dependency-type, or update-types options to define the group, or any combination thereof.

OptionDescription
applies-toUse to specify whether the rules in the group apply to version updates or security updates. applies-to can be version-updates or security-updates.
dependency-typeUse to specify a dependency type to be included in the group. dependency-type can be development or production.
patternsUse to define strings of characters that match with a dependency name (or multiple dependency names) to include those dependencies in the group.
exclude-patternsUse to exclude certain dependencies from the group. If a dependency is excluded from a group, Dependabot will continue to raise single pull requests to update the dependency to its latest version.
update-typesUse to specify the semantic versioning level to include in the group. Possible values are minor, patch, and major.

The applies-to key is used to specify whether a set of grouping rules is intended for version updates or security updates. Using the applies-to key is optional. If the applies-to key is absent from a set of grouping rules, it defaults to version-updates for backwards compatibility. You cannot apply a single grouping set of rules to both version updates and security updates. Instead, if you want to group both version updates and security updates using the same criteria, you must define two, separately named, grouping sets of rules. To do this, you can copy the group configuration block for the ecosystem and directory, and name each set of rules differently.

Dependabot creates groups in the order they appear in your dependabot.yml file. If a dependency update could belong to more than one group, it is only assigned to the first group it matches with.

If a dependency doesn't belong to any group, Dependabot will continue to raise single pull requests to update the dependency to its latest version as normal. GitHub reports in the logs if a group is empty. For more information, see "Dependabot fails to group a set of dependencies into a single pull request."

When a scheduled update runs, Dependabot will refresh pull requests for grouped updates using the following rules:

  • If all the same dependencies need to be updated to the same versions, Dependabot will rebase the branch.
  • If all the same dependencies need to be updated, but a newer version has become available for one (or more) of the dependencies, Dependabot will close the pull request and create a new one.
  • If the dependencies to be updated have changed - for example, if another dependency in the group now has an update available - Dependabot will close the pull request and create a new one.

You can also manage pull requests for grouped version updates and security updates using comment commands, which are short comments you can make on a pull request to give instructions to Dependabot. For more information, see "Managing pull requests for dependency updates."

Example 1

The dependabot.yml file configuration uses patterns and dependency-type options to include specific dependencies in the group, and exclude-patterns to exclude a dependency (or multiple dependencies) from the group. The grouping rule defaults to applying to version updates only, since the applies-to key is absent.

# `dependabot.yml` file using the `dependency-type` option to group updates
# in conjunction with `patterns` and `exclude-patterns`.
# Grouping rules default to applying to version updates only, since
# the `applies-to` key is absent.

groups:
  production-dependencies:
    dependency-type: "production"
  development-dependencies:
    dependency-type: "development"
    exclude-patterns:
    - "rubocop*"
  rubocop:
    patterns:
    - "rubocop*"

Example 2

A dependabot.yml file with a customized Bundler configuration, which has been modified to create a group of dependencies. The configuration specifies patterns (strings of characters) that match with the name of a dependency (or multiple dependencies) in order to include the dependencies in the group. The grouping rule applies to version updates only, since applies-to: version-updates is used.

# `dependabot.yml` file with customized Bundler configuration
# In this example, the name of the group is `dev-dependencies`, and
# only the `patterns` and `exclude-patterns` options are used.
# Grouping rules apply to version updates only.

version: 2
updates:
  # Keep bundler dependencies up to date
  - package-ecosystem: "bundler"
    directories:
      - "/frontend"
      - "/backend"
      - "/admin"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Create a group of dependencies to be updated together in one pull request
    groups:
       # Specify a name for the group, which will be used in pull request titles
       # and branch names
       dev-dependencies:
          # Define patterns to include dependencies in the group (based on
          # dependency name)
          applies-to: version-updates # Applies the group rule to version updates
          patterns:
            - "rubocop" # A single dependency name
            - "rspec*"  # A wildcard string that matches multiple dependency names
            - "*"       # A wildcard that matches all dependencies in the package
                        # ecosystem. Note: using "*" may open a large pull request
          # Define patterns to exclude dependencies from the group (based on
          # dependency name)
          exclude-patterns:
            - "gc_ruboconfig"
            - "gocardless-*"

Example 3

The dependabot.yml file is configured so that any packages matching the pattern @angular* where the highest resolvable version is minor or patch will be grouped together. Dependabot will create a separate pull request for any package that doesn't match the pattern, or that doesn't update to a minor or patch version. The grouping rule applies to version updates only, since applies-to: version-updates is used.

# `dependabot.yml` file using the `update-types` option to group updates.
# Any packages matching the pattern @angular* where the highest resolvable
# version is minor or patch will be grouped together.
# Grouping rules apply to version updates only.

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    groups:
      angular:
        applies-to: version-updates
        patterns:
        - "@angular*"
        update-types:
        - "minor"
        - "patch"

Example 4

The dependabot.yml file uses an ignore condition to exclude updates to major versions of @angular* packages. Two grouping rules are specified, one for version updates and one for security updates.

# `dependabot.yml` file using the `update-types` option to group updates
# in conjunction with an `ignore` condition. If you do not want updates
# to `major` versions of `@angular*` packages, you can specify an `ignore` condition.
# Grouping rules for both version updates and security updates are specified.

groups:
  angular:
    applies-to: version-updates
    patterns:
    - "@angular*"
    update-types:
    - "minor"
    - "patch"
  minor-and-patch:
    applies-to: security-updates
    patterns:
    - "@angular*"
    update-types:
    - "patch"
    - "minor"
ignore:
  - dependency-name: "@angular*"
    update-types: ["version-update:semver-major"]

Multidirectory support is different than update grouping in pull requests.

  • The directories option in the dependabot.yml file allows you to apply Dependabot updates to multiple directories at the same time.
  • The groups option in the dependabot.yml file creates sets of dependencies (per package manager) for Dependabot to put in the same single pull request.

If you want to use both features on your repositories, you need to enable these features independently and explicitly by using the two keys described above. For more information about multidirectory support, see "directories."

ignore

By default all dependencies that are explicitly defined in a manifest are kept up to date by Dependabot version updates. In addition, Dependabot security updates also update vulnerable dependencies that are defined in lock files. You can use allow and ignore to customize which dependencies to maintain. Dependabot checks for all allowed dependencies and then filters out any ignored dependencies or versions. So a dependency that is matched by both an allow and an ignore will be ignored.

Dependencies can be ignored either by adding them to ignore or by using the @dependabot ignore command on a pull request opened by Dependabot.

Warning:

  • We recommend you do not use ignore to prevent Dependabot from accessing private registries. This may work for some ecosystems but we have no means of knowing whether package managers require access to all dependencies to be able to successfully perform updates, which makes this method unreliable. The supported way to handle private dependencies is to give Dependabot access to private registries or private repositories. For more information, see "Configuring access to private registries for Dependabot."

  • For GitHub Actions and Docker, you may use ignore to prevent Dependabot from accessing private registries.

Creating ignore conditions from @dependabot ignore

Dependencies ignored by using the @dependabot ignore command are stored centrally for each package manager. If you start ignoring dependencies in the dependabot.yml file, these existing preferences are considered alongside the ignore dependencies in the configuration.

You can check whether a repository has stored ignore preferences by searching the repository for "@dependabot ignore" in:comments, or by using the @dependabot show DEPENDENCY_NAME ignore conditions comment command. If you wish to unblock updates for a dependency ignored this way, re-open the pull request. This clears the ignore conditions that were set when the pull request was closed and resumes those Dependabot updates for the dependency. To update the dependency to a newer version, merge the pull request. In pull requests for grouped updates, you can also use the @dependabot unignore commands to clear ignore settings for dependencies.

For more information about the @dependabot ignore commands, see "Managing pull requests for dependency updates."

Specifying dependencies and versions to ignore

You can use the ignore option to customize which dependencies are updated. The ignore option supports the following options.

OptionDescription
dependency-nameUse to ignore updates for dependencies with matching names, optionally using * to match zero or more characters.
For Java dependencies, the format of the dependency-name attribute is: groupId:artifactId (for example: org.kohsuke:github-api).
To prevent Dependabot from automatically updating TypeScript type definitions from DefinitelyTyped, use @types/*.
versionsUse to ignore specific versions or ranges of versions. If you want to define a range, use the standard pattern for the package manager.
For example, for npm, use ^1.0.0; for Bundler, use ~> 2.0; for Docker, use Ruby version syntax; for NuGet, use 7.*.
update-typesUse to ignore types of updates, such as semver major, minor, or patch updates on version updates (for example: version-update:semver-patch will ignore patch updates). You can combine this with dependency-name: "*" to ignore particular update-types for all dependencies.
Currently, version-update:semver-major, version-update:semver-minor, and version-update:semver-patch are the only supported options.

When used alone, the ignore.versions key affects both Dependabot updates, but the ignore.update-types key affects only Dependabot version updates.

However, if versions and update-types are used together in the same ignore rule, both Dependabot updates are affected, unless the configuration uses target-branch to check for version updates on a non-default branch.

# Use `ignore` to specify dependencies that should not be updated

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    ignore:
      - dependency-name: "express"
        # For Express, ignore all Dependabot updates for version 4 and 5
        versions: ["4.x", "5.x"]
        # For Lodash, ignore all updates
      - dependency-name: "lodash"
        # For AWS SDK, ignore all patch updates for version updates only
      - dependency-name: "aws-sdk"
        update-types: ["version-update:semver-patch"]
  - package-ecosystem: 'github-actions'
    directory: '/'
    schedule:
      interval: 'weekly'
    ignore:
      - dependency-name: 'actions/checkout'
        # For GitHub Actions, ignore all updates greater than or equal to version 3
        versions: '>= 3'

Note: Dependabot can only run version updates on manifest or lock files if it can access all of the dependencies in the file, even if you add inaccessible dependencies to the ignore option of your configuration file. For more information, see "Managing security and analysis settings for your organization" and "Troubleshooting Dependabot errors."

Note: For the pub ecosystem, Dependabot won't perform an update when the version that it tries to update to is ignored, even if an earlier version is available.

The following examples show how ignore can be used to customize which dependencies are updated.

Ignore updates beyond a specific version
ignore:
  - dependency-name: "lodash:*"
    versions: [ ">=1.0.0" ]
Ignore updates beyond a specific version
ignore:
  - dependency-name: "sphinx"
    versions: [ "[1.1,)" ]
Ignore patch updates
ignore:
  - dependency-name: "@types/node"
    update-types: ["version-update:semver-patch"]
Ignore updates for a specific version
ignore:
  - dependency-name: "django*"
    versions: [ "11" ]

insecure-external-code-execution

Package managers with the package-ecosystem values bundler, mix, and pip may execute external code in the manifest as part of the version update process. This might allow a compromised package to steal credentials or gain access to configured registries. When you add a registries setting within an updates configuration, Dependabot automatically prevents external code execution, in which case the version update may fail. You can choose to override this behavior and allow external code execution for bundler, mix, and pip package managers by setting insecure-external-code-execution to allow.

# Allow external code execution when updating dependencies from private registries

version: 2
registries:
  ruby-github:
    type: rubygems-server
    url: https://rubygems.pkg.github.com/octocat/github_api
    token: ${{secrets.MY_GITHUB_PERSONAL_TOKEN}}
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "bundler"
    directory: "/rubygems-server"
    insecure-external-code-execution: allow
    registries: "*"
    schedule:
      interval: "monthly"

If you define a registries setting to allow Dependabot to access a private package registry, and you set insecure-external-code-execution to allow in the same updates configuration, external code execution that occurs will only have access to the package managers in the registries associated with that updatessetting. There is no access allowed to any of the registries defined in the top level registries configuration.

In this example, the configuration file allows Dependabot to access the ruby-github private package registry. In the same updatessetting, insecure-external-code-executionis set to allow, which means that the code executed by dependencies will only access the ruby-github registry, and not the dockerhub registry.

# Using `registries` in conjunction with `insecure-external-code-execution:allow`
# in the same `updates` setting

version: 2
registries:
  ruby-github:
    type: rubygems-server
    url: https://rubygems.pkg.github.com/octocat/github_api
    token: ${{secrets.MY_GITHUB_PERSONAL_TOKEN}}
  dockerhub:
    type: docker-registry
    url: registry.hub.docker.com
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.DOCKERHUB_PASSWORD}}
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "bundler"
    directory: "/rubygems-server"
    insecure-external-code-execution: allow
    registries:
      - ruby-github # only access to registries associated with this ecosystem/directory
    schedule:
      interval: "monthly"

You can explicitly deny external code execution, regardless of whether there is a registries setting for this update configuration, by setting insecure-external-code-execution to deny.

labels

By default, Dependabot raises all pull requests with the dependencies label. If more than one package manager is defined, Dependabot includes an additional label on each pull request. This indicates which language or ecosystem the pull request will update, for example: java for Gradle updates and submodules for git submodule updates. Dependabot creates these default labels automatically, as necessary in your repository.

Use labels to override the default labels and specify alternative labels for all pull requests raised for a package manager. If any of these labels is not defined in the repository, it is ignored. To disable all labels, including the default labels, use labels: [ ].

Setting this option will also affect pull requests for security updates to the manifest files of this package manager, unless you use target-branch to check for version updates on a non-default branch.

# Specify labels for pull requests

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Specify labels for npm pull requests
    labels:
      - "npm"
      - "dependencies"

milestone

Use milestone to associate all pull requests raised for a package manager with a milestone. You need to specify the numeric identifier of the milestone and not its label. If you view a milestone, the final part of the page URL, after milestone, is the identifier. For example: https://github.com/<org>/<repo>/milestone/3.

Setting this option will also affect pull requests for security updates to the manifest files of this package manager, unless you use target-branch to check for version updates on a non-default branch.

# Specify a milestone for pull requests

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Associate pull requests with milestone "4"
    milestone: 4

open-pull-requests-limit

By default, Dependabot opens a maximum of five pull requests for version updates. Once there are five open pull requests from Dependabot, Dependabot will not open any new requests until some of those open requests are merged or closed. Use open-pull-requests-limit to change this limit. This also provides a simple way to temporarily disable version updates for a package manager.

This option has no impact on security updates, which have a separate, internal limit of ten open pull requests.

# Specify the number of open pull requests allowed

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Disable version updates for npm dependencies
    open-pull-requests-limit: 0

  - package-ecosystem: "pip"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Allow up to 10 open pull requests for pip dependencies
    open-pull-requests-limit: 10

pull-request-branch-name.separator

Dependabot generates a branch for each pull request. Each branch name includes dependabot, and the package manager and dependency that are updated. By default, these parts are separated by a / symbol, for example: dependabot/npm_and_yarn/next_js/acorn-6.4.1.

Use pull-request-branch-name.separator to specify a different separator. This can be one of: "-", _ or /. The hyphen symbol must be quoted because otherwise it's interpreted as starting an empty YAML list.

Setting this option will also affect pull requests for security updates to the manifest files of this package manager, unless you use target-branch to check for version updates on a non-default branch.

# Specify a different separator for branch names

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    pull-request-branch-name:
      # Separate sections of the branch name with a hyphen
      # for example, `dependabot-npm_and_yarn-next_js-acorn-6.4.1`
      separator: "-"

rebase-strategy

By default, Dependabot automatically rebases open pull requests when it detects any changes to the pull request. Use rebase-strategy to disable this behavior.

Note: If a pull request has not been merged for 30 days, Dependabot will stop rebasing the pull request. You can still manually rebase and merge the pull request.

Available rebase strategies

  • auto to use the default behavior and rebase open pull requests when changes are detected.
  • disabled to disable automatic rebasing.

When rebase-strategy is set to auto, Dependabot attempts to rebase pull requests in the following cases.

  • When you use Dependabot version updates, for any open Dependabot pull request when your schedule runs.
  • When you reopen a closed Dependabot pull request.
  • When you change the value of target-branch in the Dependabot configuration file. For more information about this field, see "target-branch."
  • When Dependabot detects that a Dependabot pull request is in conflict after a recent push to the target branch.

When rebase-strategy is set to disabled, Dependabot stops rebasing pull requests.

Note: This behavior only applies to pull requests that go into conflict with the target branch. Dependabot will keep rebasing (until 30 days after opening) pull requests opened prior to the rebase-strategy setting being changed, and pull requests that are part of a scheduled run.

Setting this option will also affect pull requests for security updates to the manifest files of this package manager, unless you use target-branch to check for version updates on a non-default branch.

# Disable automatic rebasing

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Disable rebasing for npm pull requests
    rebase-strategy: "disabled"

registries

To allow Dependabot to access a private package registry when performing a version update, you must include a registries setting within the relevant updates configuration.

There are 2 locations in the dependabot.yml file where you can use the registries key:

  • At the top level, where you define the registries and their access information, if needed.
  • Within the updates blocks, where you can use registries: "*" to tell Dependabot to use any or all of the registries you defined at the top level.
# registries: gradle-artifactory - provides access details for the gradle-artifactory registry
# registries: "*" - allows Dependabot to use all the defined registries specified at the top level

version: 2
registries:
  gradle-artifactory:
    type: maven-repository
    url: https://acme.jfrog.io/artifactory/my-gradle-registry
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.MY_ARTIFACTORY_PASSWORD}}
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "gradle"
    directory: "/"
    registries: "*"
    schedule:
      interval: "monthly"

For more information, see "Configuration options for private registries" below.

For in-depth information about available options, as well as recommendations and advice when configuring private registries, see "Guidance for the configuration of private registries for Dependabot."

To allow Dependabot to use bundler, mix, and pip package managers to update dependencies in private registries, you can choose to allow external code execution. For more information, see insecure-external-code-execution above.

# Allow Dependabot to use one of the two defined private registries
# when updating dependency versions for this ecosystem

version: 2
registries:
  maven-github:
    type: maven-repository
    url: https://maven.pkg.github.com/octocat
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.MY_ARTIFACTORY_PASSWORD}}
  npm-npmjs:
    type: npm-registry
    url: https://registry.npmjs.org
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.MY_NPM_PASSWORD}}
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "gitsubmodule"
    directory: "/"
    registries:
      - maven-github
    schedule:
      interval: "monthly"

reviewers

Use reviewers to specify individual reviewers or teams of reviewers for all pull requests raised for a package manager. You must use the full team name, including the organization, as if you were @mentioning the team.

Setting this option will also affect pull requests for security updates to the manifest files of this package manager, unless you use target-branch to check for version updates on a non-default branch.

# Specify reviewers for pull requests

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "pip"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Add reviewers
    reviewers:
      - "octocat"
      - "my-username"
      - "my-org/python-team"

schedule.day

When you set a weekly update schedule, by default, Dependabot checks for new versions on Monday at a random set time for the repository. Use schedule.day to specify an alternative day to check for updates.

Supported values

  • monday
  • tuesday
  • wednesday
  • thursday
  • friday
  • saturday
  • sunday
# Specify the day for weekly checks

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
      # Check for npm updates on Sundays
      day: "sunday"

schedule.time

By default, Dependabot checks for new versions at a random set time for the repository. Use schedule.time to specify an alternative time of day to check for updates (format: hh:mm).

# Set a time for checks
version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
      # Check for npm updates at 9am UTC
      time: "09:00"

schedule.timezone

By default, Dependabot checks for new versions at a random set time for the repository. Use schedule.timezone to specify an alternative time zone. The time zone identifier must be from the Time Zone database maintained by iana. For more information, see List of tz database time zones.

# Specify the timezone for checks

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
      time: "09:00"
      # Use Japan Standard Time (UTC +09:00)
      timezone: "Asia/Tokyo"

target-branch

By default, Dependabot checks for manifest files on the default branch and raises pull requests for version updates against this branch. Use target-branch to specify a different branch for manifest files and for pull requests. When you use this option, the settings for this package manager will no longer affect any pull requests raised for security updates.

# Specify a non-default branch for pull requests for pip

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "pip"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Raise pull requests for version updates
    # to pip against the `develop` branch
    target-branch: "develop"
    # Labels on pull requests for version updates only
    labels:
      - "pip dependencies"

  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
      # Check for npm updates on Sundays
      day: "sunday"
    # Labels on pull requests for security and version updates
    labels:
      - "npm dependencies"

vendor

Use the vendor option to tell Dependabot to vendor dependencies when updating them. Don't use this option if you're using gomod as Dependabot automatically detects vendoring for this tool.

# Configure version updates for both dependencies defined in manifests and vendored dependencies

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "bundler"
    # Raise pull requests to update vendored dependencies that are checked in to the repository
    vendor: true
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

Dependabot only updates the vendored dependencies located in specific directories in a repository.

Package managerRequired file path for vendored dependenciesMore information
bundlerThe dependencies must be in the vendor/cache directory.
Other file paths are not supported.
bundle cache documentation
gomodNo path requirement (dependencies are usually located in the vendor directory)go mod vendor documentation

versioning-strategy

When Dependabot edits a manifest file to update a version, there are several different potential versioning strategies:

OptionAction
autoTry to differentiate between apps and libraries. Use increase for apps and widen for libraries.
increaseAlways increase the minimum version requirement to match the new version. If a range already exists, typically this only increases the lower bound.
increase-if-necessaryLeave the constraint if the original constraint allows the new version, otherwise, bump the constraint.
lockfile-onlyOnly create pull requests to update lockfiles. Ignore any new versions that would require package manifest changes.
widenWiden the allowed version requirements to include both the new and old versions, when possible. Typically, this only increases the maximum allowed version requirement.
N/ASome package managers do not yet support configuring the versioning-strategy parameter.

The following table shows an example of how versioning-strategy can be used.

Current constraintCurrent versionNew versionStrategyNew constraint
^1.0.01.0.01.2.0widen^1.0.0
^1.0.01.0.01.2.0increase^1.2.0
^1.0.01.0.01.2.0increase-if-necessary^1.0.0
^1.0.01.0.02.0.0widen>=1.0.0 <3.0.0
^1.0.01.0.02.0.0increase^2.0.0
^1.0.01.0.02.0.0increase-if-necessary^2.0.0

Use the versioning-strategy option to change this behavior for supported package managers.

Setting this option will also affect pull requests for security updates to the manifest files of this package manager, unless you use target-branch to check for version updates on a non-default branch.

Available update strategies:

EcosystemSupported versioning strategiesDefault strategy
bundlerauto, increase, increase-if-necessary, lockfile-onlyauto
cargoauto, lockfile-onlyauto
composerauto, increase, increase-if-necessary, lockfile-only, widenauto
dockerN/AN/A
github-actionsN/AN/A
gitsubmoduleN/AN/A
gomodN/AN/A
gradleN/AN/A
mavenN/AN/A
mixauto, lockfile-onlyauto
npmauto, increase, increase-if-necessary, lockfile-only, widenauto
nugetN/AN/A
pipauto, increase, increase-if-necessary, lockfile-onlyauto
pubauto, increase, increase-if-necessary, widenauto
terraformN/AN/A

Note: N/A indicates that the package manager does not yet support configuring the versioning-strategy parameter. The strategy code is open source, so if you'd like a particular ecosystem to support a new strategy, you are always welcome to submit a pull request in https://github.com/dependabot/dependabot-core/.

# Example configuration for customizing the manifest version strategy

version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "composer"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Increase the version requirements for Composer only when required
    versioning-strategy: increase-if-necessary

Configuration options for private registries

The top-level registries key is optional. It allows you to specify authentication details that Dependabot can use to access private package registries.

You can give Dependabot access to private package registries hosted by GitLab or Bitbucket by specifying a type of git. For more information, see git.

The value of the registries key is an associative array, each element of which consists of a key that identifies a particular registry and a value which is an associative array that specifies the settings required to access that registry. The following dependabot.yml file configures a registry identified as dockerhub in the registries section of the file and then references this in the updates section of the file.

# Minimal settings to update dependencies in one private registry

version: 2
registries:
  dockerhub: # Define access for a private registry
    type: docker-registry
    url: registry.hub.docker.com
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.DOCKERHUB_PASSWORD}}
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "docker"
    directory: "/docker-registry/dockerhub"
    registries:
      - dockerhub # Allow version updates for dependencies in this registry
    schedule:
      interval: "monthly"

You use the following options to specify access settings. Registry settings must contain a type and a url, and typically either a username and password combination or a token.

Option                Description
typeIdentifies the type of registry. For more information about the available registry types, see "registries." For further details about the configuration of private registries specifically, see "Configuration options for private registries."
urlThe URL to use to access the dependencies in this registry. The protocol is optional. If not specified, https:// is assumed. Dependabot adds or ignores trailing slashes as required.
usernameThe username that Dependabot uses to access the registry.
username is the username or email address for the account.
passwordA reference to a Dependabot secret containing the password for the specified user. For more information, see "Configuring access to private registries for Dependabot."
password is the password for the account specified by the username. If the account is a GitHub account, you can use a GitHub personal access token in place of the password.
keyA reference to a Dependabot secret containing an access key for this registry. For more information, see "Configuring access to private registries for Dependabot."
tokenA reference to a Dependabot secret containing an access token for this registry. For more information, see "Configuring access to private registries for Dependabot."
token is used to provide an access token for an external system and should not be used to provide a GitHub personal access token. If you want to use a GitHub personal access token, you should supply it as a password.
replaces-baseFor registries, if the boolean value is true, Dependabot will resolve dependencies by using the specified URL rather than the base URL of that specific ecosystem. For example, for registries with type: python-index, if the boolean value is true, pip resolves dependencies by using the specified URL rather than the base URL of the Python Package Index (by default https://pypi.org/simple).

You must provide the required settings for each configuration type that you specify. Some types allow more than one way to connect. The following sections provide details of the settings you should use for each type.

For in-depth information about available options, as well as recommendations and advice when configuring private registries, see "Guidance for the configuration of private registries for Dependabot."

cargo-registry

The cargo-registry type supports a token.

This registry type will prefix-match the path provided in the url option. This means you can provide multiple credentials to the same host, which can be used to access distinct paths. However, if you don't have multiple registries on the same host, we recommend that you omit the path from the url, so that all paths to the registry will receive credentials.

registries:
  cargo-example:
    type: cargo-registry
    registry: "name-of-your-registry"
    url: https://cargo.cloudsmith.io/foobaruser/test/
    token: "Token ${{secrets.CARGO_TOKEN}}"

We tested this configuration against the https://cargo.cloudsmith.io private registry.

composer-repository

The composer-repository type supports username and password. If the account is a GitHub account, you can use a GitHub personal access token in place of the password.

This registry type will prefix-match the path provided in the url option. This means you can provide multiple credentials to the same host, which can be used to access distinct paths. However, if you don't have multiple registries on the same host, we recommend that you omit the path from the url, so that all paths to the registry will receive credentials.

registries:
  composer:
    type: composer-repository
    url: https://repo.packagist.com/example-company/
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.MY_PACKAGIST_PASSWORD}}

docker-registry

Dependabot works with any container registries that implement the OCI container registry spec. For more information, see https://github.com/opencontainers/distribution-spec/blob/main/spec.md. Dependabot supports authentication to private registries via a central token service or HTTP Basic Auth. For further details, see Token Authentication Specification in the Docker documentation and Basic access authentication on Wikipedia.

The docker-registry type supports username and password. If the account is a GitHub account, you can use a GitHub personal access token in place of the password.

This registry type will prefix-match the path provided in the url option. This means you can provide multiple credentials to the same host, which can be used to access distinct paths. However, if you don't have multiple registries on the same host, we recommend that you omit the path from the url, so that all paths to the registry will receive credentials.

registries:
  dockerhub:
    type: docker-registry
    url: https://registry.hub.docker.com
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.MY_DOCKERHUB_PASSWORD}}
    replaces-base: true

The docker-registry type can also be used to pull from private Amazon ECR using static AWS credentials.

registries:
  ecr-docker:
    type: docker-registry
    url: https://1234567890.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
    username: ${{secrets.ECR_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID}}
    password: ${{secrets.ECR_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}}
    replaces-base: true

git

The git type supports username and password. If the account is a GitHub account, you can use a GitHub personal access token in place of the password.

registries:
  github-octocat:
    type: git
    url: https://github.com
    username: x-access-token
    password: ${{secrets.MY_GITHUB_PERSONAL_TOKEN}}

hex-organization

The hex-organization type supports organization and key.

This registry type will prefix-match the path provided in the url option. This means you can provide multiple credentials to the same host, which can be used to access distinct paths. However, if you don't have multiple registries on the same host, we recommend that you omit the path from the url, so that all paths to the registry will receive credentials.

registries:
  github-hex-org:
    type: hex-organization
    organization: github
    key: ${{secrets.MY_HEX_ORGANIZATION_KEY}}

hex-repository

The hex-repository type supports an authentication key.

repo is a required field, which must match the name of the repository used in your dependency declaration.

The public-key-fingerprint is an optional configuration field, representing the fingerprint of the public key for the Hex repository. public-key-fingerprint is used by Hex to establish trust with the private repository. The public-key-fingerprint field can be either listed in plaintext or stored as a Dependabot secret.

registries:
   github-hex-repository:
     type: hex-repository
     repo: private-repo
     url: https://private-repo.example.com
     auth-key: ${{secrets.MY_AUTH_KEY}}
     public-key-fingerprint: ${{secrets.MY_PUBLIC_KEY_FINGERPRINT}}

maven-repository

The maven-repository type supports username and password. If the account is a GitHub account, you can use a GitHub personal access token in place of the password.

This registry type will prefix-match the path provided in the url option. This means you can provide multiple credentials to the same host, which can be used to access distinct paths. However, if you don't have multiple registries on the same host, we recommend that you omit the path from the url, so that all paths to the registry will receive credentials.

registries:
  maven-artifactory:
    type: maven-repository
    url: https://acme.jfrog.io/artifactory/my-maven-registry
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.MY_ARTIFACTORY_PASSWORD}}

npm-registry

The npm-registry type supports username and password, or token. If the account is a GitHub account, you can use a GitHub personal access token in place of the password.

When using username and password, your .npmrc's auth token may contain a base64 encoded _password; however, the password referenced in your Dependabot configuration file must be the original (unencoded) password.

Note: When using npm.pkg.github.com, don't include a path. Instead use the https://npm.pkg.github.com URL without a path.

registries:
  npm-npmjs:
    type: npm-registry
    url: https://registry.npmjs.org
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.MY_NPM_PASSWORD}}  # Must be an unencoded password
    replaces-base: true
registries:
  npm-github:
    type: npm-registry
    url: https://npm.pkg.github.com
    token: ${{secrets.MY_GITHUB_PERSONAL_TOKEN}}
    replaces-base: true

For security reasons, Dependabot does not set environment variables. Yarn (v2 and later) requires that any accessed environment variables are set. When accessing environment variables in your .yarnrc.yml file, you should provide a fallback value such as ${ENV_VAR-fallback} or ${ENV_VAR:-fallback}. For more information, see Yarnrc files in the Yarn documentation.

nuget-feed

The nuget-feed type supports username and password, or token. If the account is a GitHub account, you can use a GitHub personal access token in place of the password.

registries:
  nuget-example:
    type: nuget-feed
    url: https://nuget.example.com/v3/index.json
    username: octocat@example.com
    password: ${{secrets.MY_NUGET_PASSWORD}}
registries:
  nuget-azure-devops:
    type: nuget-feed
    url: https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/.../_packaging/My_Feed/nuget/v3/index.json
    username: octocat@example.com
    password: ${{secrets.MY_AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN}}

pub-repository

The pub-repository type supports a URL and a token.

registries:
  my-pub-registry:
    type: pub-repository
    url: https://example-private-pub-repo.dev/optional-path
    token: ${{secrets.MY_PUB_TOKEN}}
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "pub"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    registries:
      - my-pub-registry

python-index

The python-index type supports username and password, or token. If the account is a GitHub account, you can use a GitHub personal access token in place of the password.

This registry type will prefix-match the path provided in the url option. This means you can provide multiple credentials to the same host, which can be used to access distinct paths. However, if you don't have multiple registries on the same host, we recommend that you omit the path from the url, so that all paths to the registry will receive credentials.

registries:
  python-example:
    type: python-index
    url: https://example.com/_packaging/my-feed/pypi/example
    username: octocat
    password: ${{secrets.MY_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD}}
    replaces-base: true
registries:
  python-azure:
    type: python-index
    url: https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/octocat/_packaging/my-feed/pypi/example
    username: octocat@example.com
    password: ${{secrets.MY_AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN}}
    replaces-base: true

rubygems-server

The rubygems-server type supports username and password, or token. If the account is a GitHub account, you can use a GitHub personal access token in place of the password.

This registry type will prefix-match the path provided in the url option. This means you can provide multiple credentials to the same host, which can be used to access distinct paths. However, if you don't have multiple registries on the same host, we recommend that you omit the path from the url, so that all paths to the registry will receive credentials.

registries:
  ruby-example:
    type: rubygems-server
    url: https://rubygems.example.com
    username: octocat@example.com
    password: ${{secrets.MY_RUBYGEMS_PASSWORD}}
    replaces-base: true
registries:
  ruby-github:
    type: rubygems-server
    url: https://rubygems.pkg.github.com/octocat/github_api
    token: ${{secrets.MY_GITHUB_PERSONAL_TOKEN}}
    replaces-base: true

terraform-registry

The terraform-registry type supports a token.

registries:
  terraform-example:
    type: terraform-registry
    url: https://terraform.example.com
    token: ${{secrets.MY_TERRAFORM_API_TOKEN}}

Enabling support for beta-level ecosystems

enable-beta-ecosystems

By default, Dependabot updates the dependency manifests and lock files only for fully supported ecosystems. Use the enable-beta-ecosystems flag to opt in to updates for ecosystems that are not yet generally available.

There are currently no ecosystems in beta.

# Configure beta ecosystem

version: 2
enable-beta-ecosystems: true
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "beta-ecosystem"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"