diff --git a/workflow-templates/dependabot-auto-merge.properties.json b/workflow-templates/dependabot-auto-merge.properties.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c4fec3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/workflow-templates/dependabot-auto-merge.properties.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "Dependabot Auto-Merge",
+  "description": "Approves and auto-merges Dependabot PRs for patch and minor version updates once CI passes. Major-version bumps are left open for manual review. Requires can_approve_pull_request_reviews enabled for this repo.",
+  "iconName": "git-merge",
+  "categories": ["automation", "dependencies"]
+}
diff --git a/workflow-templates/dependabot-auto-merge.yml b/workflow-templates/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
index ccc313c..e38c04d 100644
--- a/workflow-templates/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
+++ b/workflow-templates/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
@@ -1,22 +1,45 @@
 name: Dependabot Auto-Merge
 
-# Safely auto-merges Dependabot PRs after CI passes. Scope is narrow:
-#  - Only runs when github.actor == 'dependabot[bot]' (not spoofable;
-#    GitHub sets this from the authenticated user).
-#  - Only auto-merges patch + minor updates; major-version bumps are
-#    left open for manual review.
-#  - Uses pull_request_target so the BASE-branch workflow runs, not
-#    the PR branch's — a PR modifying this file cannot bypass itself.
-#  - Never executes PR code; the only action taken is `gh pr merge
-#    --auto`, which is a GitHub-side API call.
+# Caller stub for the reusable `dependabot-auto-merge` workflow. Approves
+# and auto-merges Dependabot PRs for patch and minor version updates once
+# CI passes; major-version bumps are left open for manual review. This
+# stub passes no `with:` inputs -- the reusable workflow declares no
+# `inputs:` today, so every behavior (the dependabot[bot]-actor gate, the
+# patch/minor scope, the squash-merge strategy) is governed entirely by
+# its defaults. The actor gate in particular is NOT visible in this file
+# -- it lives inside the reusable workflow itself; see
+# smartwatermelon/github-workflows/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
+# to audit it directly.
 #
-# `gh pr review --approve` satisfies branch-protection rules that
-# require review. `--auto` means the merge only happens after all
-# status checks pass; failing CI leaves the PR open indefinitely.
+# Requires `can_approve_pull_request_reviews: true` in this repo's Actions
+# workflow permissions (Settings -> Actions -> General -> Workflow
+# permissions) for the approval step to succeed. If unset, the approval
+# degrades to a visible ::warning:: instead of blocking the merge outright
+# (see smartwatermelon/github-workflows#87).
 #
-# Provisioned 2026-04-18 as part of the v2.0.1 / Dependabot rollout
-# (Phase 5). See the playbook at
-# smartwatermelon/github-workflows/docs/plans/2026-04-18-v2-rollout-playbook.md
+# Do NOT add `secrets: inherit` here. This workflow needs no secrets
+# beyond the ambient GITHUB_TOKEN it mints itself. `secrets: inherit`
+# would hand every repo secret (deploy keys, CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN,
+# etc.) to a job evaluating externally-authored PR content under
+# pull_request_target -- see the reusable workflow's own header comment
+# and smartwatermelon/github-workflows#64 for the full reasoning.
+#
+# Do NOT add `actions/checkout` to this file either -- same reasoning,
+# this file uses pull_request_target and the no-checkout property is
+# its core safety invariant.
+#
+# Pinned to the floating `dependabot-auto-merge-v1` tag (not a fixed
+# commit SHA), a deliberate, accepted tradeoff for this template -- not
+# an oversight. This workflow runs under pull_request_target with
+# contents:write / pull-requests:write, so a floating tag does put trust
+# in whoever can push tags to smartwatermelon/github-workflows (today:
+# repo owner only) to never move it to something malicious or broken.
+# In exchange, bug fixes and hardening land fleet-wide automatically,
+# matching how claude-blocking-review.yml@v3 already behaves -- the
+# same tradeoff this fleet has already made and lived with for the
+# review gate, extended here to the merge-automation workflow. Repos
+# that want a stricter, audited pin instead of this default can repoint
+# their own copy at `@dependabot-auto-merge-v1.0.0`.
 
 on:
   pull_request_target:
@@ -27,19 +50,5 @@ permissions:
   pull-requests: write
 
 jobs:
-  auto-merge:
-    if: github.actor == 'dependabot[bot]'
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Fetch Dependabot metadata
-        id: metadata
-        uses: dependabot/fetch-metadata@v2
-
-      - name: Approve and enable auto-merge (patch/minor only)
-        if: steps.metadata.outputs.update-type == 'version-update:semver-patch' || steps.metadata.outputs.update-type == 'version-update:semver-minor'
-        env:
-          PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        run: |
-          gh pr review --approve "$PR_URL"
-          gh pr merge --auto --squash --delete-branch "$PR_URL"
+  dependabot-auto-merge:
+    uses: smartwatermelon/github-workflows/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml@dependabot-auto-merge-v1