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Dependabot Configuration Guide

Guides an agent to set up and tune GitHub Dependabot dependency update configs and PRs

Source Download skill
Repository
github/awesome-copilot
Stars
40,703
Licence
MIT
Files
4 files

What it does

Dependabot is GitHub's built-in tool that watches a project's dependencies for known security problems and outdated versions, then opens pull requests to update them. This skill teaches an AI agent GitHub's rules for the Dependabot configuration file (.github/dependabot.yml), so it can detect which package managers a repository uses, group related updates, set schedules, and handle monorepos correctly. It also covers pull request options like labels, commit messages and target branches.

Great for

  • Developers who maintain a repository and want a correct dependabot.yml without reading all of GitHub's docs
  • Teams with monorepos or many package ecosystems who want fewer, grouped update PRs
  • Anyone troubleshooting Dependabot PR behaviour or grouping rules

Skip it if

  • Projects that don't use GitHub or Dependabot, since the advice is specific to GitHub's service
  • Scanning code for vulnerabilities right now: the skill points to a separate Advanced Security plugin for that, and it does not perform scans itself

Try asking

  • “Create a dependabot.yml for this repo, detecting npm, Docker and GitHub Actions ecosystems automatically”
  • “Group my dev dependencies and minor/patch updates to reduce the number of Dependabot PRs”
  • “Configure Dependabot for a monorepo with packages under /apps and /packages”
  • “Set a weekly schedule and custom commit message prefixes for Dependabot PRs”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Dependabot Configuration GuideInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 4 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    dependabot.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip dependabot.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip dependabot.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Give the agent access to the repository files so it can detect manifests and write .github/dependabot.yml directly.
  • Remember that dependabot.yml must live on the default branch and only one such file is supported per repository.
  • Review the generated groups and schedule before merging, since grouping rules depend on your project's dependency layout.

What's inside

  • references/dependabot-yml-reference.md
  • references/example-configs.md
  • references/pr-commands.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from github/awesome-copilot under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.