Optimizing Java packages for Dependabot updates

By including metadata in your pom.xml file, you can enhance the information available to users in Dependabot pull requests to update your Java packages.

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Dependabot uses the information defined in pom.xml files to create pull requests to update Java dependencies for the Gradle and Maven ecosystems. When you include the project metadata that Dependabot expects, pull requests contain links to the release notes for the suggested package update and a link where users can report any issues. This information means that users can update their packages with confidence after reviewing all the release information.

Including the metadata Dependabot needs in pom.xml files

Dependabot uses the URLs for the project, the source code management system, and the issue management system to build the summary for update pull requests.

  • url the home page for the project, see More Project Information in the POM reference
  • scm the URL of the source code management system used by the project, see SCM in the POM Reference
  • issueManagement the URL of the issue management system used by the project, see Issue Management in the POM Reference

Example for a project hosted on GitHub

<project>
  <url>https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY</url>
  <scm>
    <url>https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY</url>
  </scm>
  <issueManagement>
    <url>https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY/issues</url>
  </issueManagement>
</project>

Replace OWNER and REPOSITORY with the detailed for your project.

Impact of omitting project metadata from pom.xml files

If you forget to include the URLs that Dependabot checks for, then pull requests to update Java packages are still created. However, the information available to users in the pull request summary will be limited.

  • Project repository or Source code management URL undefined: no links to release notes in Dependabot pull requests
  • Issue management URL undefined: no link to the issues page for reporting problems.

Adding this information helps Dependabot provide better, more accurate updates for your project, complete with helpful links to release notes and issue trackers.

Further reading