# Dependabot Prs

> Review and merge open Dependabot pull requests

- Skill: `ryanb/dependabot-prs` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ryanb/dependabot-prs`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ryanb/dependabot-prs/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: ryanb (https://skillmd.com/u/ryanb)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ryanb/dependabot-prs

---


# Dependabot PR Review and Merge

Follow these steps:

## 1. Load per-repo preferences

Read `~/.claude/dependabot-prs.json` (if it exists) and look up the current repo's entry:

```bash
config="$HOME/.claude/dependabot-prs.json"
repo=$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner --jq .nameWithOwner)
preferences=""
if [ -f "$config" ]; then
  preferences=$(jq -r --arg repo "$repo" '.[$repo] // empty' "$config")
fi
```

The file maps `owner/repo` to freeform instructions, e.g.:

```json
{
  "ryanb/core-gem": "Only handle PRs with the javascript label."
}
```

If `$preferences` is non-empty, apply those instructions throughout the rest of the steps — for example, filtering the PR list, narrowing what to merge, or changing the merge strategy.

## 2. List open Dependabot PRs

Run `gh pr list --author "dependabot[bot]" --state open` to get all open Dependabot PRs.

If there are no open PRs, tell the user and stop.

## 3. Review each PR in a sub-agent

For each PR, launch a sub-agent (Agent tool, `subagent_type: general-purpose` and `model: sonnet`; run them in parallel) to review it. Each sub-agent should:

1. Get the PR details: `gh pr view <number> --json title,body,url,statusCheckRollup,mergeable`
2. Check if all CI checks passed (all statusCheckRollup entries have conclusion "SUCCESS")
3. Determine if this is a **multi-dependency PR** (e.g. a grouped Dependabot update bumping several packages at once). Check the PR title and body — grouped PRs typically list multiple packages.
4. Read the changelog/release notes in the PR body for anything surprising:
   - Breaking changes or deprecations
   - Dropped support for language/framework versions this codebase uses
   - New behaviors that could cause issues (e.g. new errors being raised)
   - Security fixes worth highlighting
5. **For multi-dependency PRs**, check each dependency individually against the codebase:
   - Search the codebase for direct usage of the package (imports, require calls, config references)
   - For each dependency, assess whether the version bump could introduce breaking changes based on the semver increment and release notes
   - Note which dependencies are directly used vs. transitive (less risky)
   - Report each dependency's safety status separately
6. Return a summary with: PR number and URL, title, CI status (pass/fail) and the build URL Step 4 links it to — `detailsUrl` for GitHub Actions checks, `targetUrl` for external ones like Buildkite, whether it's safe to merge, whether it's a multi-dependency PR, per-dependency safety status (for multi-dependency PRs), and any concerns

## 4. Report findings to the user

Present a table summarizing all PRs:
- PR number and title, with the number linked to the PR
- CI status (pass/fail), linked to the CI build
- Whether it looks safe to merge
- Whether it's a multi-dependency PR
- Any notable changes or concerns

For multi-dependency PRs, follow the table row with an indented breakdown listing each dependency, what the update does, and whether it introduces any potentially breaking changes or issues with the existing codebase.

## 5. Ask the user which PRs to merge

Ask the user which PRs they'd like to merge. Wait for their response.

## 6. Merge approved PRs

Merge PRs in this order: **multi-dependency PRs first**, then single-dependency PRs. This reduces the chance of merge conflicts between grouped and individual updates.

First determine which merge strategies the repo allows, since merging with a disabled strategy fails:

```bash
gh repo view --json squashMergeAllowed,rebaseMergeAllowed,mergeCommitAllowed
```

Pick an enabled strategy, preferring **squash** (`--squash`), then **merge commit** (`--merge`), then **rebase** (`--rebase`). If the per-repo preferences from step 1 name a strategy, use that instead — as long as it's enabled.

For each PR, one at a time:
1. Approve: `gh pr review <number> --approve`
2. Merge: `gh pr merge <number> --<strategy>`

Report the result of each merge.