[PP-7685] Update Dependabot configuration#478
Merged
Conversation
For consistency with other repos. The quotes are not needed.
This gives the community time to flag compromised or broken releases before updates are applied, helping us avoid pulling in unstable or unsafe dependencies. Sets the values according to GOV.UK Developer docs recommendations: - 3 days for code dependencies - 7 days for infrastructure tooling (Terraform, Docker), as these changes tend to carry more risk. https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/reference/supply-chain-security/dependabot-options-reference#cooldown-
Groups Bundler updates to reduce noise and make reviews more focused by batching related dependencies together. Test libraries (e.g. Minitest, SimpleCov) are grouped so they can be reviewed and updated in context. This approach helps streamline pull requests, making them less disruptive to the team’s delivery work. We’re only using one linter for ruby so there’s no point in grouping at the moment. https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/reference/supply-chain-security/dependabot-options-reference#groups--
We schedule updates weekly on Tuesdays at 7:00am UTC to balance staying current with a manageable review workload. A monthly cadence would be too infrequent for a single person on the daily rota, and Tuesdays avoid common non-working days in our team (Mondays and Fridays at the time). The `timezone` is not set, so it defaults to UTC, and the time is chosen to run before the automatic Dependabot merger (currently 08:30 UTC)[^1]. However, with the current scheduling and grouping of updates, we may not benefit from the auto merger that much. Security updates are still raised immediately regardless of schedule. [^1]: https://github.com/alphagov/govuk-dependabot-merger/blob/main/.github/workflows/merge-dependabot-prs.yml#L5 https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/reference/supply-chain-security/dependabot-options-reference#schedule-
We increase the Dependabot open PR limit to 25 to accommodate our weekly schedule and grouped updates, ensuring multiple batches can be raised and reviewed without being artificially capped. This helps avoid delays while still keeping changes manageable alongside the cooldown and grouping strategy. Note that security updates are unaffected by this setting, as they have a separate internal limit of ten open pull requests which cannot be changed. https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/reference/supply-chain-security/dependabot-options-reference#open-pull-requests-limit-
Configure Dependabot to only open pull requests for direct dependencies, reducing noise from transitive updates and keeping changes more relevant and easier to review. Approach recommended in GOV.UK Developer Docs. https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/reference/supply-chain-security/dependabot-options-reference#dependency-type-allow
brucebolt
approved these changes
Apr 16, 2026
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
2 participants
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
This PR refines Dependabot configuration to reduce noise and improve update safety. It introduces cooldown periods to avoid unstable releases, groups related Bundler updates and switches to a weekly Tuesday 7:00 UTC schedule.
It also increases the open PR limit to 25 to support batching, and restricts updates to direct dependencies only for more relevant, manageable changes.
Security updates remain unaffected and continue to be raised immediately.