keeping-your-actions-up-to-date-with-dependabot.md

title	intro	redirect_from	versions	type	topics	shortTitle
Keeping your actions up to date with Dependabot	You can use {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} to keep the actions you use updated to the latest versions.	/github/administering-a-repository/keeping-your-actions-up-to-date-with-github-dependabot /github/administering-a-repository/keeping-your-actions-up-to-date-with-dependabot /code-security/supply-chain-security/keeping-your-actions-up-to-date-with-dependabot /code-security/supply-chain-security/keeping-your-dependencies-updated-automatically/keeping-your-actions-up-to-date-with-dependabot	fpt ghec ghes * * *	how_to	Repositories Dependabot Version updates Actions	Auto-update actions

{% data reusables.dependabot.enterprise-enable-dependabot %}

About {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot_version_updates %} for actions

Actions are often updated with bug fixes and new features to make automated processes more reliable, faster, and safer. When you enable {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot_version_updates %} for {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}, {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} will help ensure that references to actions in a repository's workflow.yml file{% ifversion dependabot-updates-actions-reusable-workflows %} and reusable workflows used inside workflows{% endif %} are kept up to date.

For each action in the file, {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} checks the action's reference (typically a version number or commit identifier associated with the action) against the latest version. For information about how action creators version their actions, see "Using release management for your custom actions."

If a more recent version of the action is available, {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} will send you a pull request that updates the reference in the workflow file to the latest version. For more information about {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot_version_updates %}, see "AUTOTITLE." For more information about configuring workflows for {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}, see "AUTOTITLE."

{% ifversion dependabot-updates-actions-reusable-workflows %} {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} also checks workflow files for uses of reusable workflows, and updates the git reference for these called reusable workflows. For more information about reusable workflows, see "AUTOTITLE."

{% endif %}

{% ifversion fpt or ghec %} {% note %}

Note: {% data reusables.actions.workflow-runs-dependabot-note %}

{% endnote %} {% endif %}

Enabling {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot_version_updates %} for actions

You can configure {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot_version_updates %} to maintain your actions as well as the libraries and packages you depend on.

1. If you have already enabled {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot_version_updates %} for other ecosystems or package managers, simply open the existing dependabot.yml file. Otherwise, create a dependabot.yml configuration file in the .github directory of your repository. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."
2. Specify "github-actions" as a package-ecosystem to monitor.
3. Set the directory to "/" to check for workflow files in .github/workflows.
4. Set a schedule.interval to specify how often to check for new versions. {% data reusables.dependabot.check-in-dependabot-yml %} If you have edited an existing file, save your changes.

You can also enable {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot_version_updates %} on forks. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

Example dependabot.yml file for {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}

The example dependabot.yml file below configures version updates for {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}. The directory must be set to "/" to check for workflow files in .github/workflows. The schedule.interval is set to "weekly". After this file has been checked in or updated, {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} checks for new versions of your actions. {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} will raise pull requests for version updates for any outdated actions that it finds. After the initial version updates, {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} will continue to check for outdated versions of actions once a week.

# Set update schedule for GitHub Actions

version: 2
updates:

  - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      # Check for updates to GitHub Actions every week
      interval: "weekly"

Configuring {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot_version_updates %} for actions

When enabling {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot_version_updates %} for actions, you must specify values for package-ecosystem, directory, and schedule.interval. There are many more optional properties that you can set to further customize your version updates. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

Further reading

• "AUTOTITLE"