Renovate "Branch automerge failed" (required checks) in CI

Renovate automerges only when the branch is mergeable: required status checks pass and branch protection is satisfied. When checks are pending or failing, or protection forbids it, Renovate logs "Branch automerge failed" and leaves the PR open.

What this error means

Renovate logs "Branch automerge failed" or "PR is not mergeable", and update PRs configured to automerge stay open despite the automerge setting.

WARN: Branch automerge failed
  branch: renovate/lodash-4.x
  reason: Required status check "build" has not passed

Common causes

Required checks are not passing

Branch protection requires checks that are still pending or failing on the Renovate branch, so the merge is blocked.

Branch protection forbids the merge

A required review, a linear-history rule, or a restriction on who can merge prevents Renovate from completing the automerge.

How to fix it

Make required checks run and pass on Renovate branches

1. Ensure required check workflows trigger on Renovate branches/PRs.
2. Confirm the required context names match the workflow job names.
3. Fix any genuinely failing check before expecting automerge.

{
  "$schema": "https://docs.renovatebot.com/renovate-schema.json",
  "automerge": true,
  "automergeType": "pr",
  "platformAutomerge": true
}

Align branch protection with automerge

If protection requires a review, give the Renovate/app account permission or use platform auto-merge so the merge completes once checks pass.

How to prevent it

• Run required checks on Renovate branches and match context names.
• Use platformAutomerge so merges happen when checks pass.
• Keep branch protection compatible with the automerge account.

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