AI / RenovateBot Interview Questions
How does Renovate work at a high level — what is its execution flow?
Renovate follows a repeatable discover-evaluate-act cycle each time it runs.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Discover repos | Connects to platform API and lists accessible repositories |
| 2. Clone and scan | Each repo is cloned; dependency files are detected |
| 3. Extract dependencies | Files are parsed by the relevant manager to extract current versions |
| 4. Look up updates | Registries (npm, PyPI, Docker Hub) are queried for newer versions |
| 5. Filter and apply config | Schedules, ranges, and ignore rules filter which updates to action |
| 6. Create/update PRs | Branches and PRs are raised for each actionable update |
| 7. Automerge (optional) | If enabled and CI passes, Renovate merges the PR automatically |
Renovate is stateless between runs — it re-discovers everything from scratch each time. The only persistent state is the PRs and branches on the platform. Rerunning Renovate is always safe and idempotent.
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