The Renovate alternative that fixes what it breaks.
Renovate is a rule engine: it bumps versions and opens MRs. vemlor puts an agent behind the same loop, so when the bump breaks your pipeline, the bot fixes that too, before you ever look at it. Run it as a replacement, or on top of your existing Renovate setup.
opened by renovate Renovate vemlor @vemlor comments on any MR Comparison reflects publicly available information and is intended as a starting point; verify details against each vendor's current docs.
When Renovate fits
Renovate is free, mature, and excellent at what it does. If your updates rarely break and version bumps are all you need, keep it. There's nothing to fix.
When teams add vemlor
The update MRs pile up red. Majors need code changes, not just version bumps. Keep Renovate opening them and let vemlor fix the red ones, plus the rest of the boring work: flakes, lint, migrations. Not only dependencies.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to replace Renovate?
No. Most teams run both: Renovate keeps opening the version bumps it is great at, and vemlor sits on top, picking up the MRs that break CI and fixing them until the pipeline is green. If you prefer one bot, vemlor can open the update MRs itself too.
What happens when an update breaks CI?
That is where vemlor comes in. Renovate opens the MR; if the pipeline fails, the triage is on you. vemlor watches the pipeline, including on MRs Renovate opened, diagnoses the failure, and iterates on the branch until CI is green, then hands you a reviewable MR.
Does vemlor only do dependency updates?
No. Dependency updates are one task type. The same loop handles failing pipelines, flaky tests, lint and type errors, codemod migrations. Anything you can describe in a @vemlor comment on an MR.
Can I self-host it like Renovate?
Yes. vemlor ships as a single Helm chart and runs on your own cluster, including against self-managed GitLab CE/EE. Agent runs execute as ephemeral pods in your VPC, billed against your existing Claude Max or Codex subscription.
Keep Renovate. Add the agent.
One Helm chart, one OAuth handshake, your Claude or Codex sub. No procurement gate for the trial. The first MR opens today.