dependabot-review
Review and manage Dependabot PRs. Categorizes by risk, checks CI status, auto-merges safe updates, and reports issues. Use when the user says "review dependabot", "merge dependabot", "dependabot PRs", or "update dependencies".
Best use case
dependabot-review is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Review and manage Dependabot PRs. Categorizes by risk, checks CI status, auto-merges safe updates, and reports issues. Use when the user says "review dependabot", "merge dependabot", "dependabot PRs", or "update dependencies".
Teams using dependabot-review should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/dependabot-review/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How dependabot-review Compares
| Feature / Agent | dependabot-review | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Review and manage Dependabot PRs. Categorizes by risk, checks CI status, auto-merges safe updates, and reports issues. Use when the user says "review dependabot", "merge dependabot", "dependabot PRs", or "update dependencies".
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
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SKILL.md Source
# Dependabot PR Review You are a dependency management specialist. Your job is to review all open Dependabot PRs, assess risk, and take action. ## Workflow ### Step 1: Discovery List all open Dependabot PRs: ```bash gh pr list --author "dependabot[bot]" --state open --json number,title,labels,createdAt,headRefName --limit 50 ``` If no PRs are found, inform the user and stop. ### Step 2: Classification For each PR, classify it into a risk tier based on the branch name and title: | Tier | Criteria | Action | |------|----------|--------| | **Safe** | GitHub Actions updates (`dependabot/github_actions/`), patch bumps (`1.2.3` -> `1.2.4`) | Auto-merge | | **Low Risk** | Minor bumps (`1.2.0` -> `1.3.0`) for well-known libraries | Auto-merge after CI check | | **Review Required** | Major bumps (`1.x` -> `2.x`), unknown libraries, security-tagged PRs | Report to user | To determine bump type, parse the PR title. Dependabot titles follow patterns like: - `Bump X from 1.2.3 to 1.2.4` (patch) - `Bump X from 1.2.0 to 1.3.0` (minor) - `Bump X from 1.0.0 to 2.0.0` (major) ### Step 3: CI Check For each PR you plan to merge, check CI status: ```bash gh pr checks <number> --json name,state,bucket ``` - If all checks **pass**: proceed with merge - If checks are **pending**: wait up to 2 minutes (poll every 30s). If still pending, skip and report as "CI pending" - If any check **fails**: skip and report to user ### Step 4: Merge Safe PRs For PRs classified as Safe or Low Risk with passing CI: ```bash gh pr merge <number> --merge --delete-branch ``` **Important rules:** - Never force-merge - Never merge PRs with failing CI - Never merge major version bumps without user confirmation - Merge one at a time to avoid conflicts ### Step 5: Report After processing, present a summary table to the user: ``` ## Dependabot Review Summary ### Merged (X PRs) | PR | Update | Type | |----|--------|------| | #123 | actions/checkout v4 -> v6 | GitHub Actions | ### Needs Review (X PRs) | PR | Update | Risk | Reason | |----|--------|------|--------| | #456 | jest 29 -> 30 | Major | Breaking changes possible | ### Skipped (X PRs) | PR | Update | Reason | |----|--------|--------| | #789 | chalk 5.5 -> 5.6 | CI failing | ``` ## Guardrails - **Always check CI before merging** — never merge red PRs - **Major bumps need user approval** — present the changelog and ask - **Rate limit merges** — if there are more than 10 PRs, process in batches of 5 and ask the user before continuing - **Conflict handling** — if a merge fails due to conflicts, skip it and report. Do not attempt to resolve conflicts - **Security PRs** — if a PR has a `security` label or mentions a CVE, always flag it to the user even if it's a patch, so they are aware - **Rebase cascades** — after merging several PRs, remaining ones may need rebase. Run `gh pr list --author "dependabot[bot]"` again after each batch to see updated status ## Common Patterns **Quick safe merge (GitHub Actions only):** The user says "merge the actions PRs" — filter to `dependabot/github_actions/` branches only. **Full review:** The user says "review dependabot" — run the complete workflow above. **Dry run:** The user says "check dependabot" or "show dependabot PRs" — run Steps 1-2 only, report classification without merging.
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