Configure Renovate Bot for Automated Dependency Management

[DanyHenriquez]

Overview

Implement and configure Renovate bot to automatically manage dependencies by merging updates to the "next" branch and grouping non-major updates.

Description

We could implement Renovate bot to automate our dependency management process. The bot could be configured to target our "next" branch for all updates and group non-major updates together to reduce PR noise.

Requirements

• Automatically merge dependency updates to the "next" branch
• Group all non-major updates together in a single PR (Dependabot cannot do this)
• Separate major updates into individual PRs (due to potential breaking changes)
• Run on a regular schedule

Implementation Details

1. Base Configuration

Create a renovate.json file in the repository root:

{
  "$schema": "https://docs.renovatebot.com/renovate-schema.json",
  "extends": [
    "config:base"
  ],
  "baseBranches": ["next"],
  "labels": ["dependencies"],
  "schedule": ["every weekend"],
  "automerge": true,
  "automergeType": "branch",
  "platformAutomerge": true,
  "major": {
    "automerge": false
  },
  "dependencyDashboard": true,
  "packageRules": [
    {
      "matchUpdateTypes": ["minor", "patch", "pin", "digest"],
      "groupName": "all non-major dependencies",
      "groupSlug": "all-minor-patch"
    }
  ]
}

2. GitHub Repository Settings

• Enable Renovate GitHub app on the repository
• Configure branch protection rules for the "next" branch to ensure CI passes before merging
• Set up required status checks that must pass before PR can be merged

3. Additional Configuration Options to Consider

• Custom labels for different types of dependency updates
• Configuring ignored dependencies (if any)
• Path-specific rules (if needed?)
• Custom commit message format

Expected Outcome

• Renovate will create grouped PRs for all non-major updates targeting the "next" branch
• These grouped PRs will be automatically merged if CI passes
• Major updates will be created as separate PRs requiring manual review
• A dependency dashboard issue can be maintained to track all updates

Testing Plan

1. After implementation, verify Renovate creates PRs against the "next" branch
2. Confirm that non-major updates are grouped together
3. Verify that automatic merging works correctly
4. Check that major updates are properly separated for manual review

Resources

• [Renovate Documentation](https://docs.renovatebot.com/)
• [Renovate GitHub App](https://github.com/apps/renovate)
• [Example of grouping configurations](https://docs.renovatebot.com/configuration-options/#packagerules)