Dependabot auto-merge workflow (VerbalExpressions/JSVerbalExpressions)

The Dependabot auto-merge workflow from VerbalExpressions/JSVerbalExpressions, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

CI health: C - fair

Point runs-on at Latchkey and get run de-duplication, job timeouts, self-healing for flaky steps, and up to 58% lower cost, applied automatically.

Grade your own workflow free or run it on Latchkey →

Source: VerbalExpressions/JSVerbalExpressions.github/workflows/automerge.ymlLicense MITView source

What it does

This is the Dependabot auto-merge workflow from the VerbalExpressions/JSVerbalExpressions repository, a real project running GitHub Actions. It is shown here with attribution under its MIT license.

Below, Latchkey shows a faster, safer version produced by its optimization engine.

The workflow

workflow (.yml)

name: Dependabot auto-merge
on: pull_request

permissions:
  pull-requests: write
  contents: write

jobs:
  dependabot:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: ${{ github.actor == 'dependabot[bot]' }}
    steps:
      - name: Enable auto-merge for Dependabot PRs
        env:
          PR_URL: ${{github.event.pull_request.html_url}}
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN}}
        run: |
          function get_pending_jobs() {
            gh pr view "$PR_URL" --json statusCheckRollup --jq '.statusCheckRollup | map(select(.name != "dependabot")) | map(select(.status != "COMPLETED")).[]'
          }

          function get_failed_jobs() {
            gh pr view "$PR_URL" --json statusCheckRollup --jq '.statusCheckRollup | map(select(.name != "dependabot")) | map(select(.conclusion != "SUCCESS")).[]'
          }

          function wait_until_completed() {
            while [[ $(get_pending_jobs) ]]
            do
              sleep 5
            done
          }

          function fail_if_unsuccessful() {
            if [[ $(get_failed_jobs) ]]; then
              echo "Some jobs failed, unable to automerge"
              exit 1
            fi
          }

          function auto_merge() {
            gh pr merge --auto --rebase "$PR_URL"
          }

          wait_until_completed && \
          fail_if_unsuccessful && \
          auto_merge

The same workflow, on Latchkey

Removes redundant runs and caps runaway jobs. Added and changed lines are highlighted.

name: Dependabot auto-merge
on: pull_request
 
permissions:
  pull-requests: write
  contents: write
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  dependabot:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    if: ${{ github.actor == 'dependabot[bot]' }}
    steps:
      - name: Enable auto-merge for Dependabot PRs
        env:
          PR_URL: ${{github.event.pull_request.html_url}}
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN}}
        run: |
          function get_pending_jobs() {
            gh pr view "$PR_URL" --json statusCheckRollup --jq '.statusCheckRollup | map(select(.name != "dependabot")) | map(select(.status != "COMPLETED")).[]'
          }
 
          function get_failed_jobs() {
            gh pr view "$PR_URL" --json statusCheckRollup --jq '.statusCheckRollup | map(select(.name != "dependabot")) | map(select(.conclusion != "SUCCESS")).[]'
          }
 
          function wait_until_completed() {
            while [[ $(get_pending_jobs) ]]
            do
              sleep 5
            done
          }
 
          function fail_if_unsuccessful() {
            if [[ $(get_failed_jobs) ]]; then
              echo "Some jobs failed, unable to automerge"
              exit 1
            fi
          }
 
          function auto_merge() {
            gh pr merge --auto --rebase "$PR_URL"
          }
 
          wait_until_completed && \
          fail_if_unsuccessful && \
          auto_merge

What changed

Run on Latchkey managed runners with one line (runs-on), which apply the fixes below automatically and self-heal transient failures. This example uses latchkey-small; pick the runner size that fits the job.
Cancel superseded runs when a branch or PR gets a newer push.
Add a job timeout so a hung step cannot burn hours of runner time.

This workflow runs 1 job per trigger. On Latchkey the same minutes cost up to 58% less than GitHub-hosted, with zero queue time.