renovate-operations

name	renovate-operations
description	Grounds Renovate configuration, Renovate PR review, and config migration handling in live Renovate documentation. Use when modifying `renovate.json`, reviewing Renovate PRs, tuning automerge or vulnerability policy, or when the user mentions Renovate setup, migrations, dashboards, or dependency queue behavior.

Renovate Operations

When to use

• Modifying renovate.json
• Reviewing Renovate PRs, including config migration PRs
• Tuning automerge, vulnerability alerts, grouping, or dashboard policy
• Investigating unexpected Renovate behavior
• Updating docs or skills that describe Renovate behavior in this repo

Core rule

Do not edit Renovate config from memory alone.

Before changing renovate.json, re-check live Renovate docs for the exact features you are using. The repo policy may be stable, but Renovate config names, matcher syntax, and defaults can move.

Required live-doc grounding

Read the current versions of these docs before changing Renovate behavior:

1. https://docs.renovatebot.com/upgrade-best-practices/
2. https://docs.renovatebot.com/key-concepts/automerge/
3. https://docs.renovatebot.com/configuration-options/#vulnerabilityalerts
4. https://docs.renovatebot.com/configuration-options/#packagerules
5. Any matcher-specific section you rely on, such as matchPackageNames, matchDepTypes, or matchUpdateTypes

If a config migration PR exists, inspect its diff and compare it against the docs before deciding whether to merge, edit, or supersede it.

Repo-specific policy

• renovate.json is the primary dependency update policy.
• Dependabot remains the GitHub-native alerting surface.
• Major updates stay behind Dependency Dashboard approval.
• Routine non-major updates are intended to auto-merge after required checks pass.
• Vulnerability PRs are intended to auto-merge after required checks pass, using the lowest fixed version by default.
• Failing PRs, code-breaking upgrades, and config migrations are exception paths that may require manual intervention.

Workflow

1. Read renovate.json.
2. Refresh the live Renovate docs listed above.
3. Compare the repo config with any live Renovate PRs or migration PRs.
4. Decide whether the repo wants:
   • policy change
   • syntax migration only
   • both
5. Update the config.
6. Update the affected docs and skills in the same PR.
7. Run repo verification:
   • pnpm lint
   • pnpm test if tooling behavior changed
   • pnpm build
8. If working on an open PR, update the PR description after pushing.

Documentation ripple

When Renovate behavior changes, check these surfaces:

• AGENTS.md
• .cursor/skills/dependency-management/SKILL.md
• docs/guidance/dependency-update-operations.md
• docs/infra/renovate-app-setup.md
• docs/onboarding/ai-guidance.md
• docs/architecture/workspace.md
• ADRs in docs/decisions/ if the decision meaningfully changes policy

Current references

• For repo-specific policy details, see reference.md

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© 2026 Mikey Sebastian Drozd. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Repository code and tooling: MIT. Source: https://github.com/Mikeys-Tech-Lab/poc