How does Dependabot handle private package registries/dependencies?

By default, Dependabot can only see and update dependencies from public registries (npmjs.org, PyPI, Maven Central, and so on). For dependencies hosted on a private, authenticated registry (a company's internal package feed, a private npm scope), Dependabot needs explicit registries configuration providing the registry's URL and credentials so it can actually reach and query that private source.

flowchart LR
    A[dependabot.yml declares private registry + credential secret] --> B[Dependabot authenticates to private registry]
    B --> C[Checks for updates just like a public registry]

Without this configuration, Dependabot simply can't see or propose updates for privately-hosted dependencies at all — it's not that it handles them poorly, it's that it has no visibility into them whatsoever until explicitly told where to look and given the credentials to authenticate.

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