PP-7685 Update Dependabot configuration#762
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Adds Docker ecosystem support to Dependabot with a weekly schedule, while explicitly ignoring Ruby updates since it must be upgraded manually in multiple places. This avoids redundant or misleading pull requests and helps prevent accidental attempts to upgrade Ruby via Dependabot. Added for consistency with other apps, however this config is redundant at the moment. There’re no reference to Node version in the app code and CI uses latest LTS (Long-Term Support) version: https://github.com/alphagov/govuk-infrastructure/blob/060035dcac31d40036e0ec68773ea7dc95cb7bb4/.github/actions/setup-node/action.yml#L9
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 programming language 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. RSpec, SimpleCov) and linting tools (e.g. RuboCop) 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. https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/reference/supply-chain-security/dependabot-options-reference#groups--
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. https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/reference/supply-chain-security/dependabot-options-reference#dependency-type-allow
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 (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 dependency 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-
It's not currently used. For consistency with other repos.
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brucebolt
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Apr 17, 2026
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This PR refines Dependabot configuration to reduce noise and improve update safety. It adds Docker support (while ignoring Ruby, which must be upgraded manually), 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.