What is Mend Renovate CLI?

Mend Renovate CLI (often called Renovate Bot) scans repositories for outdated dependencies and creates pull requests with updates. It supports over 90 package managers including npm, Maven, NuGet, pip, Go modules, Docker, and Terraform across platforms like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, Gitea, and Forgejo. The tool provides merge confidence scores, dependency dashboards, grouped updates, and monorepo support. It can be self-hosted via Docker (renovate/renovate or ghcr.io/renovatebot/renovate), npm package, GitHub Action, GitLab Runner, or Kubernetes. The open-source CLI is AGPL-3.0 licensed, while Mend also offers a closed-source Self-Hosted Community Edition and Enterprise Edition under a EULA with additional features like horizontal scaling and priority job queues.

Should you self-host Mend Renovate CLI?

Mend Renovate CLI scores 74/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #11 of 166 in Developer Tools. It has 22 935 GitHub stars.

It shipped 11 stable releases in the past year. The latest, 44.190.2, came out on 28 October 2026.

Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. An official Docker image is available. It is AGPL-3.0-licensed and written mostly in Typescript.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is openhands (87/100, 92 068 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See Mend Renovate CLI vs openhands side by side.

Features

90+ package managers
Automated dependency updates
Auto-merge
Configuration via renovate.json
Dependency DashboardNot available on Bitbucket, Bitbucket Server, Gerrit, SCM-Manager
Enterprise features (paid)Only in Mend Renovate Enterprise Edition (paid)
Flexible scheduling
Global admin configuration
Grouped updates
Merge confidence scores
Monorepo Support
Multi-Platform Support
Private registry support
Vulnerability alerts

How to install Mend Renovate CLI

Install Mend Renovate CLI with Docker

Environment variables

RENOVATE_TOKEN, RENOVATE_GITHUB_COM_TOKEN, RENOVATE_PLATFORM, RENOVATE_ENDPOINT, RENOVATE_CONFIG_FILE, LOG_LEVEL, RENOVATE_BASE_DIR, RENOVATE_REDIS_URL, etc.

docker run --rm -v "/path/to/your/config.js:/usr/src/app/config.js" renovate/renovate

Available as renovate/renovate on Docker Hub and ghcr.io/renovatebot/renovate on GHCR. Two flavors: default (slim) and -full image.

Install Mend Renovate CLI with Docker Compose

Environment variables

Same as Docker plus MEND_RNV_DATA_HANDLER_TYPE, PGDATABASE, PGUSER, PGPASSWORD, PGHOST, PGPORT for PostgreSQL

services: renovate: image: renovate/renovate environment: - RENOVATE_TOKEN=${RENOVATE_TOKEN} - RENOVATE_GITHUB_COM_TOKEN=${RENOVATE_GITHUB_COM_TOKEN} - RENOVATE_PLATFORM=github volumes: - ./config.js:/usr/src/app/config.js

For Mend Renovate EE, use ghcr.io/mend/renovate-ee-server and ghcr.io/mend/renovate-ee-worker with PostgreSQL and optionally Redis/MinIO

Install Mend Renovate CLI with Kubernetes

Kubernetes cluster; kubectl; secret with tokens

Environment variables

RENOVATE_TOKEN, RENOVATE_GITHUB_COM_TOKEN, RENOVATE_PLATFORM, RENOVATE_ENDPOINT, RENOVATE_GIT_AUTHOR, RENOVATE_AUTODISCOVER, RENOVATE_BASE_DIR, RENOVATE_CONFIG_FILE, LOG_LEVEL

apiVersion: batch/v1 kind: CronJob metadata: name: renovate spec: schedule: '@hourly' concurrencyPolicy: Forbid jobTemplate: spec: template: spec: containers: - name: renovate image: renovate/renovate:44.133.0 args: - user/repo env: - name: LOG_LEVEL value: debug envFrom: - secretRef: name: renovate-env restartPolicy: Never

Uses Kubernetes CronJob for scheduling; secrets for tokens

Install Mend Renovate CLI with NPM

Node.js; third-party tools for each package manager (npm, pip, gradle, etc.)

Environment variables

RENOVATE_TOKEN, RENOVATE_GITHUB_COM_TOKEN, RENOVATE_PLATFORM, RENOVATE_ENDPOINT, RENOVATE_CONFIG_FILE, LOG_LEVEL, RENOVATE_BASE_DIR, etc.

npm install -g renovate

Also install required package managers:

npm install -g yarn pnpm

Requires Node.js environment; third-party tools (Ruby, Python, Composer, etc.) must be installed separately

How to configure Mend Renovate CLI

ENV_PREFIXRENOVATE_Custom prefix for environment variables (default: RENOVATE_)
Custom prefix for environment variables (default: RENOVATE_)
LOG_LEVELinfoLog level (debug, info, warn, error)
Log level (debug, info, warn, error)
values: debug, info, warn, error
MEND_RNV_DATA_HANDLER_TYPESet to 'postgresql' to use PostgreSQL database (Mend Renovate EE)
Set to 'postgresql' to use PostgreSQL database (Mend Renovate EE)
values: postgresql
PGDATABASEPostgreSQL database name
PostgreSQL database name
PGHOSTPostgreSQL host
PostgreSQL host
PGPASSWORDPostgreSQL password
PostgreSQL password
PGPORT5432PostgreSQL port
PostgreSQL port
PGUSERPostgreSQL username
PostgreSQL username
RENOVATE_ADDITIONAL_CONFIG_FILEPath to additional configuration file with higher priority
Path to additional configuration file with higher priority
RENOVATE_AUTODISCOVERfalseEnable auto-discovery of repositories
Enable auto-discovery of repositories
values: true, false
RENOVATE_BASE_DIR/tmp/renovate/Base directory for Renovate files
Base directory for Renovate files
RENOVATE_CONFIGStringified JSON configuration
Stringified JSON configuration
RENOVATE_CONFIG_FILEconfig.jsPath to configuration file (config.js, config.ts, config.json, etc.)
Path to configuration file (config.js, config.ts, config.json, etc.)
RENOVATE_ENDPOINTAPI endpoint for self-hosted Git platforms (e.g., GitHub Enterprise, GitLab self-managed)
API endpoint for self-hosted Git platforms (e.g., GitHub Enterprise, GitLab self-managed)
RENOVATE_GIT_AUTHORGit author for commits (e.g., 'Renovate <bot@renovateapp.com>')
Git author for commits (e.g., 'Renovate <bot@renovateapp.com>')
RENOVATE_GITHUB_COM_TOKENGitHub.com token for fetching changelogs and increasing API rate limits
GitHub.com token for fetching changelogs and increasing API rate limits
RENOVATE_ONBOARDINGtrueEnable onboarding PR creation
Enable onboarding PR creation
values: true, false
RENOVATE_PASSWORDPassword for authentication (used with username for Bitbucket)
Password for authentication (used with username for Bitbucket)
RENOVATE_PLATFORMPlatform to run on (github, gitlab, bitbucket, azure, etc.)
Platform to run on (github, gitlab, bitbucket, azure, etc.)
values: github, gitlab, bitbucket, bitbucket-server, azure, gitea, forgejo, scm-manager, gerrit
RENOVATE_REDIS_PREFIXKey prefix for Redis cache entries
Key prefix for Redis cache entries
RENOVATE_REDIS_URLRedis URL for global caching (redis:// or rediss://)
Redis URL for global caching (redis:// or rediss://)
RENOVATE_REQUIRE_CONFIGrequiredRequire config file in repositories (required, optional, ignored)
Require config file in repositories (required, optional, ignored)
values: required, optional, ignored
RENOVATE_TOKENRepository authentication token (Personal Access Token)
Repository authentication token (Personal Access Token)
RENOVATE_USERNAMEUsername for authentication (required for Bitbucket username/password)
Username for authentication (required for Bitbucket username/password)

FAQ

What is the difference between Mend Renovate CLI, Community, and Enterprise?

CLI is free open-source with basic features. Community is free with job scheduling and API access. Enterprise is paid with advanced security, insights, granular control, and support.

How do I tell Renovate to ask for approval before creating a PR?

Use the Dependency Dashboard feature which allows approving updates before PR creation.

What core features are not supported on all platforms?

Dependency Dashboard is not available on Bitbucket, Bitbucket Server, Gerrit, SCM-Manager. The Mend Renovate App is not available on Azure, Bitbucket Server, Forgejo, Gitea, GitLab, SCM-Manager.

Which Renovate versions are officially supported?

Only the latest version is supported. Older versions only get fixes if the Mend Renovate App needs them or for critical bugs.

What is the default behavior?

Renovate looks for config files, processes all package files, uses separate branches/PRs per dependency and major version, pins devDependencies, updates lock files, and creates PRs immediately.