On January 27, 2026, several Dependabot-specific pull request comment commands will be deprecated in favor of GitHub’s native pull request features and functionality. This change is intended to reduce confusion, improve reliability, and encourage use of the GitHub platform’s built-in tools for working with pull requests.

Upcoming Dependabot comment command deprecations

  • @dependabot merge
  • @dependabot cancel merge
  • @dependabot squash and merge
  • @dependabot close
  • @dependabot reopen

Over the next few months, you will notice Dependabot posts a comment on the pull request when you use these commands, letting you know of the upcoming deprecation. Beginning on January 27th, these comment commands will no longer be supported.

Migration guidance

Please update your workflows to rely on GitHub’s native features. For merging, closing, or reopening pull requests, we recommend using GitHub’s built-in UI, the GitHub CLI, and/or the REST API endpoints for pull requests.