Changing the presets

Validate before pushing 

npx --yes --package renovate -- renovate-config-validator --strict --no-global *.json

Run it in the preset repo before pushing, because a broken preset causes a config error in every repo that extends it. CI runs the same check on every pull request and weekly, to catch presets broken by new Renovate releases.

Rules for new presets

  • A new preset is a modifier: it must not extend base or default. Extending the base from several presets loads it repeatedly and can make Renovate runs hang.
  • Give it a description that starts with Modifier, list after github>gander-settings/renovate.
  • Add a page under docs/presets/, a row to the preset tables (README.md, docs/index.md) and a link in docs/llms.txt.
  • Every snippet in the docs is a complete, copy-ready renovate.json.

Repository layout 

default.json     github>gander-settings/renovate: base + automerge
base.json        base config without automerge
defaults.json    deprecated alias of base
automerge.json   modifier: automerge rules
forks.json       modifier: fork processing
pin.json         modifier: pin(<dependency>,<version>)
before.json      modifier: before(<package>,<version>)
vue.json         modifier: before(typescript,7)
docker.json      modifier: docker:pinDigests
legacy.json      modifier: one PR per package for minors
approval.json    modifier: updates only after dashboard approval
lockfile.json    modifier: lock file maintenance on demand
disabled.json    modifier: Renovate turned off
docs/            this documentation (GitHub Pages) and llms.txt