Docs/Getting Started
Quick start

Getting Started

Go from zero to your first automated dependency PR in under 5 minutes. No configuration files. No CLI tools. Just GitHub.

Prerequisites

  • A GitHub account

    Personal accounts and organization accounts are both supported. RepoWarden uses GitHub OAuth for authentication.

  • At least one repository

    The repository must use a supported runtime and package manager. See the full list on the supported runtimes page.

  • No configuration files needed

    RepoWarden auto-detects your runtime, package manager, and test framework from your repository files. There is nothing to configure.

1

Sign up with GitHub

Head to repowarden.dev and click Get started with GitHub. This opens the standard GitHub OAuth flow. RepoWarden requests read access to your profile and email -- nothing more at this stage.

After authorizing, you will be redirected to your RepoWarden dashboard. A personal team is automatically created for you, which is where your repos and billing will live.

2

Install the RepoWarden GitHub App

From your dashboard, click Add repos. You will be prompted to install the RepoWarden GitHub App. You can install it on:

  • Your personal account -- for personal projects and side repos
  • An organization -- for team repos and shared billing (requires admin access to the org)

Permissions requested

  • Repository contents -- read and write (to read your code and push PR branches)
  • Pull requests -- read and write (to open and update PRs)
  • Issues -- read (to read PR comments for commands)
  • Checks -- read (to monitor CI status on PRs)

RepoWarden never stores your source code. It reads files on demand during scans and discards them immediately after.

You can choose to grant access to all repositories or select specific ones. We recommend starting with a single repo to see how it works, then expanding later.

3

Enable your repositories

After installing the GitHub App, your dashboard will display all repositories the app has access to. Toggle on the repos you want RepoWarden to monitor.

When you enable a repo, RepoWarden automatically detects:

  • The runtime and package manager (npm, pnpm, Yarn, pip, Cargo)
  • The test framework and runner (Jest, Vitest, pytest, etc.)
  • The CI configuration (GitHub Actions, etc.)
  • Frameworks in use (React, Next.js, Express, Django, etc.)

The number of repos you can enable depends on your plan. The free plan includes 1 repo. See pricing for details.

4

Your first scan

RepoWarden runs scans on a weekly schedule (or daily on Pro and Business plans). You can also trigger a scan immediately from the repo detail page by clicking Scan now.

During a scan, RepoWarden will:

  1. Read your dependency files (package.json, Cargo.toml, requirements.txt, etc.)
  2. Check each dependency against its registry for newer versions
  3. Run a security audit to identify known vulnerabilities (CVEs)
  4. Perform supply chain safety checks on each package
  5. Open a pull request with the updates, including a summary, risk assessment, and changelog links

If your CI is configured, the PR will trigger your existing test suite. RepoWarden watches for CI results and can automatically fix failing tests using AI.

What happens next

Automatic scans

Scans run automatically on your configured schedule. You do not need to do anything. When outdated dependencies or security issues are found, RepoWarden opens a PR on your repo.

PR commands

Comment on any RepoWarden PR with commands like @repowarden fix-tests to fix CI failures, or @repowarden rebase to update the branch.

Chat assistant

Use the AI chat on any repo page to ask questions about your codebase, request refactors, or plan migrations. The assistant proposes tasks that become PRs.

Teams

Working with a team? Create an organization team to share repos, manage member roles, and centralize billing. See the teams documentation.

Next steps

Ready to get started?

Free for 1 repo. No credit card required. Set up in under 5 minutes.