Add a `renovate.json` (or `.github/renovate.json`) config file to the repo root; start with the `config:base` preset as a sensible default
Configure `packageRules` to group related dependencies (e.g., all `@aws-sdk/*` packages into one PR), set automerge for patch/minor updates, and pin major updates to require human review
For monorepos, set `enabledManagers` and use `matchPaths` within packageRules to scope rules to specific workspace directories or manifests
Enable the Renovate GitHub App (cloud-hosted) or self-host Renovate as a scheduled CI job using the `renovatebot/renovate` Docker image with a config-mounted token
Use `schedule` in renovate.json to batch PRs into a specific time window (e.g., weekday mornings) to avoid CI queue saturation
Onboard with `renovate --dry-run` or the Renovate Dependency Dashboard issue to preview what PRs would be opened before enabling live updates
Known gotchas
Without `automerge: true` and passing branch protection status checks, Renovate PRs accumulate — set up automerge for low-risk updates or they will pile up and cause rebase churn
Renovate creates a Dependency Dashboard issue that tracks all pending updates; closing this issue without merging or dismissing the updates causes them to be re-raised on the next run
The `rangeStrategy` setting controls how Renovate handles version range constraints in package.json — the default may widen ranges instead of pinning, which can surprise teams expecting exact version pins
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