renovate-rebase-when-unconfigured

Renovate configuration does not explicitly set rebaseWhen locally.

What it detects

The repository has a Renovate configuration file, but it does not include a local rebaseWhen setting. The rule also checks inside packageRules for automerge and rebaseWhen.

Skipped cases

• When automerge is true at the top level or inside any packageRules entry.
• When the config extends a host-style preset such as github>, gitlab>, npm>, or gitea> — these reference external repositories and may already configure rebaseWhen.

Not skipped

• Built-in Renovate presets (for example config:recommended) and all of their downstream presets do not set rebaseWhen. The only built-in preset that sets it is the explicit opt-in :rebaseStalePrs.
• local> presets are checked because they live in the same repository and are visible here.

Why it matters

The default Renovate rebaseWhen value is "auto", which rebases PRs aggressively on every upstream change. In CI-heavy repositories this causes redundant CI runs: every rebase triggers the full workflow suite, consuming runner minutes and delaying other jobs. Explicitly setting it to "conflicted" or "never" prevents unnecessary rebases and keeps CI noise low.

Suggested action

Add an explicit rebaseWhen field to the Renovate configuration:

{
  "rebaseWhen": "conflicted"
}

Common choices for CI-conscious setups:

• "conflicted" — rebase only when the PR has merge conflicts. Good balance: Renovate stays quiet unless the PR is actually broken.
• "never" — never rebase automatically; rely on manual rebase. Lowest CI noise, but PRs may become stale.
• "behind-base-branch" — rebase only when the PR is strictly behind the base branch. More aggressive than "conflicted" but still avoids every-upstream-change rebases.

Choose the value that matches your team’s tolerance for stale PRs versus CI noise. Avoid leaving the default "auto" in repositories where CI minutes matter.

Measurement

Monitor CI run frequency for Renovate PRs in the weeks before and after adding the setting. You should see fewer redundant CI runs for rebased dependency updates.