Dependabot template for .NET projects with grouped NuGet updates and GitHub Actions support

dependabot.yml

version: 2

updates:

  #
  # NuGet dependencies
  #
  - package-ecosystem: "nuget"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: weekly

    open-pull-requests-limit: 10

    assignees:
      - "guibranco"

    reviewers:
      - "guibranco"

    labels:
      - "nuget"
      - "packages"
      - ".NET"
      - "dependencies"

    groups:

      #
      # Microsoft packages
      #
      microsoft:
        patterns:
          - "Microsoft.*"

      #
      # ASP.NET Core stack
      #
      aspnetcore:
        patterns:
          - "Microsoft.AspNetCore.*"

      #
      # Extensions ecosystem
      #
      extensions:
        patterns:
          - "Microsoft.Extensions.*"

      #
      # Test stack
      #
      testing:
        patterns:
          - "xunit*"
          - "FluentAssertions*"
          - "Moq*"
          - "coverlet*"
          - "Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk"

      #
      # Logging stack
      #
      logging:
        patterns:
          - "Serilog*"
          - "NLog*"

      #
      # OpenTelemetry
      #
      telemetry:
        patterns:
          - "OpenTelemetry*"

      #
      # Azure SDK
      #
      azure:
        patterns:
          - "Azure.*"

      #
      # Everything else
      #
      dependencies:
        patterns:
          - "*"

  - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
    directory: "/"

    schedule:
      interval: weekly

    open-pull-requests-limit: 5

    assignees:
      - "guibranco"

    reviewers:
      - "guibranco"

    labels:
      - "github-actions"
      - "dependencies"

    groups:

      github-actions:
        patterns:
          - "*"

Dependabot configuration template for modern .NET / C# repositories.

This setup reduces pull request noise by grouping related NuGet dependencies into logical update batches (Microsoft.*, ASP.NET Core, Extensions, Testing, Logging, Azure, etc.) instead of opening dozens of individual PRs.

It also includes GitHub Actions updates and sensible defaults for reviewers, labels, scheduling, and PR limits.

Useful for:

• .NET libraries
• ASP.NET Core APIs
• console tools
• GitHub Actions written in .NET
• automation repositories
• mono-repos with shared SDK dependencies

Highlights:

• Groups Microsoft dependency families together
• Bundles testing framework updates
• Bundles logging stack updates
• Bundles telemetry stack updates
• Supports Azure SDK updates
• Includes fallback catch-all dependency grouping
• Reduces CI failures caused by partial upgrades
• Keeps GitHub Actions dependencies up to date
• Prevents Dependabot PR spam

Designed as a reusable baseline template for production-grade repositories.