Table of contents
Automated Dependency Updates
Dependabot automatically scans your project for outdated dependencies and creates pull requests to update them, saving time and effort.
Security Vulnerability Alerts
Dependabot identifies and alerts you to security vulnerabilities in your dependencies, providing fixes to enhance the security of your application.
Customizable Configuration
Users can configure Dependabot's update frequency, dependency types (production, development), and even filter by specific packages or ecosystems.
Integration with CI/CD
Integrates seamlessly with continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, enabling automated testing of dependency updates.
Ease of Use
Dependabot is easy to set up and integrates directly within GitHub, making it convenient for developers already using the platform.
Dependabot is a highly recommended tool for projects of any size that rely on external dependencies. It simplifies the update process, improves security, and integrates well with modern development workflows.
We have collected here some useful links to help you find out if Dependabot is good.
Check the traffic stats of Dependabot on SimilarWeb. The key metrics to look for are: monthly visits, average visit duration, pages per visit, and traffic by country. Moreoever, check the traffic sources. For example "Direct" traffic is a good sign.
Check the "Domain Rating" of Dependabot on Ahrefs. The domain rating is a measure of the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. It shows the strength of Dependabot's backlink profile compared to the other websites. In most cases a domain rating of 60+ is considered good and 70+ is considered very good.
Check the "Domain Authority" of Dependabot on MOZ. A website's domain authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). It is based on a 100-point logarithmic scale, with higher scores corresponding to a greater likelihood of ranking. This is another useful metric to check if a website is good.
The latest comments about Dependabot on Reddit. This can help you find out how popualr the product is and what people think about it.
Additionally, while tools like Dependabot already automate dependency updates, this solution offers something a bit different: it doesn’t stop at upgrading libraries—it helps you deal with the consequences of those upgrades by offering suggestions for fixing build errors, which is an area where Dependabot falls short. Let's dive in! - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
GitHub integrated security scanning for vulnerabilities in their repositories. When they find a vulnerability that is solved in a newer version, they file a Pull Request with the suggested fix. This is done by a tool called Dependabot. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
Dependabot provides a way to keep your dependencies up to date. Depending on the configuration, it checks your dependency files for outdated dependencies and opens PRs individually. Then based on requirement PRs can be reviewed and merged. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
The first approach we looked at was Dependabot - a well-known tool for bumping dependencies. It checks for possible updates, opens Pull Requests with them, and allow users to review and merge (if you're confident enough with your test suite you can even set auto-merge). - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
Dependabot is dead simple and their punchline clearly states what it does. We started using it a couple of years back, a bit before Github acquired it. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
The most known tool for this is Dependabot. Dependabot integrates seemlessly into Github and is able to create pull requests for outdated dependencies. If you have set up automated tests on your codebase all you have to do is merge the pull request created by Dependabot. It does not get any easier. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
Hello everyone! You probably well know and often use Dependabot in your projects. It's quite nice tool for automating the management of a project dependencies. I also use it on many Github repositories I manage. And recently I started noticing that I spend quite some time to manage the PRs. Dependabot can easily overwhelm you with the auto-generated PRs. Especially if you manage many repositories. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
Depandabot is a really productive solution to keep our products secure and updated. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
GitHub itself has acquired dependabot, which supports Ruby, Python, JavaScript, Java, .NET, PHP, Elixir and Rust, and tries to help keep dev projects ahead of known vulnerabilities. Should be possible to setup automated acceptance of PRs from it, but I haven't looked into that yet. Source: about 4 years ago
This will unlock the ability for our downstream customers to pin their projects to our published releases, and enable a wider range of automated tools that support automated Docker dependency updates (Whitesource Renovate, Dependabot and others) to generate pull requests automatically for any new Lagoon image release, which can then trigger Lagoon to automatically build them. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
Where Dependabot really shines, is that it supports 15 languages, including Terraform, Rust and Github Actions. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
I believe you got a rough idea of what needed to be done. Clearly I updated all dependencies that Leon relies on. Of course I could make use of tools such as Dependabot but I preferred to update everything manually. It allowed me to have a better control of what I was doing and see if each dependency still has its seat in the project. Most of all, and this is only my own opinion, I prefer to keep dependency... - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
Probot-auto-merge can be customized quite heavily, but the above is the minimal configuration that is required to automatically merge Dependabot's pull requests. It instructs probot-auto-merge to merge any pull request with the label PR-merge, and report the status of its runs as a check on the pull request. The latter is not required, but very helpful to understand and debug the configuration. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
One of the features I use a lot on Netlify is the deploy preview. Every time a pull-request is made on your main branch, Netlify will build a merge of the two branches and deploy a preview for you to approve on something like https://deploy-preview-57--elianvancutsem.netlify.app/. This also counts as a check on GitHub, so if the build fails, the pull request will fail that check. This feature really comes in handy... - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
Dependabot: Public Opinion and Industry Perception
Dependabot, a key player in the DevSecOps and software development spheres, is widely recognized for its role in automating dependency management within repositories. Acquired by GitHub, Dependabot is also associated with continuous integration, security, and web application security. Given its integration with GitHub, Dependabot seamlessly generates pull requests (PRs) to address outdated dependencies, aligning well with organizations striving to maintain secure and up-to-date codebases.
Overall, the public perception of Dependabot is fairly positive, with widespread appreciation across various forums and articles. Users frequently commend Dependabot for its straightforward integration with GitHub, easing the process of automating dependency updates. It supports a multitude of programming languages, including Ruby, Python, JavaScript, Java, .NET, PHP, Elixir, and Rust, enhancing its applicability across diverse projects. Additionally, its support for less common languages like Terraform and GitHub Actions showcases its versatility—an asset that broadens its appeal to developers and DevOps teams alike.
Several discussions highlight the sheer convenience offered by Dependabot, particularly in teams with rigorous testing frameworks. For many developers, once automation processes are configured suitably, the tool allows seamless merging of PRs, significantly reducing the manual overhead traditionally associated with dependency management.
Despite these positives, some limitations and challenges have been highlighted by users. Compared to other solutions, Dependabot’s focus is primarily on generating updates rather than assisting with the broader issues ensuing from upgrades—such as resolving build errors. This has been seen as a shortcoming when juxtaposed against AI-driven solutions that not only manage updates but also provide assistance in rectifying related integration issues.
Furthermore, there appears to be a general consensus regarding the potentially overwhelming nature of the autogenerated PRs from Dependabot. For individuals and organizations managing multiple repositories, the volume of updates can be daunting, leading to perceptions of it being somewhat intrusive without careful configuration and setup. This necessitates robust filtering and prioritization mechanisms to manage the influx effectively.
Additionally, some users express a preference for manual updates, emphasizing a greater degree of control and a more comprehensive understanding of the dependency landscape within their projects. These users often view Dependabot’s steady stream of updates as excessive or disruptive, preferring a more controlled, batch update approach.
In conclusion, Dependabot has established itself as a reliable and efficient tool within the DevSecOps domain, primarily when utilized within a well-structured testing framework. While it excels in automating the dependency update process, complementing it with tools that manage the subsequent changes remains vital. Thus, Dependabot is a valued component of a comprehensive set of solutions designed to keep projects secure, compliant, and efficient, although careful implementation and complementary setups are advised to maximize its potential.
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Is Dependabot good? This is an informative page that will help you find out. Moreover, you can review and discuss Dependabot here. The primary details have not been verified within the last quarter, and they might be outdated. If you think we are missing something, please use the means on this page to comment or suggest changes. All reviews and comments are highly encouranged and appreciated as they help everyone in the community to make an informed choice. Please always be kind and objective when evaluating a product and sharing your opinion.
