/configure:argocd-automerge

Configure GitHub Actions workflow to automatically create and merge PRs from ArgoCD Image Updater branches.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use another approach when...
Setting up auto-merge for ArgoCD Image Updater branches	Configuring ArgoCD application definitions
Checking if image-updater-** branches have auto-merge	Managing general GitHub Actions workflows (/configure:workflows)
Creating the argocd-automerge.yml workflow from scratch	Setting up container builds (/configure:container)
Verifying PAT and permissions for auto-merge workflows	Configuring branch protection rules manually
Updating an existing ArgoCD auto-merge workflow	Configuring Kubernetes deployments (/configure:skaffold)

Context

• Workflows dir: !find . -maxdepth 1 -type d -name \'.github/workflows\'
• Existing automerge workflow: !find .github/workflows -maxdepth 1 \( -name '*argocd*automerge*' -o -name '*automerge*argocd*' \)
• Image updater branches: !git branch -r --list 'origin/image-updater-*'
• Auto-merge workflow: !find .github/workflows -maxdepth 1 -name 'argocd-automerge.yml'

Parameters

Parse from command arguments:

• --check-only: Report status without offering fixes
• --fix: Create or update workflow automatically

Execution

Execute this ArgoCD auto-merge workflow configuration:

Step 1: Detect existing workflow

1. Check for .github/workflows/ directory
2. Search for existing ArgoCD auto-merge workflow files
3. Check for image-updater-** branch pattern handling in any workflow

Step 2: Check compliance

Validate the workflow against these standards:

Check	Standard	Severity
Workflow exists	argocd-automerge.yml	FAIL if missing
checkout action	v4	WARN if older
Permissions	contents: write, pull-requests: write	FAIL if missing
Branch pattern	image-updater-**	WARN if different
Auto-merge	squash merge	INFO

Step 3: Report results

Print a status report:

ArgoCD Auto-merge Workflow Status
======================================
Workflow: .github/workflows/argocd-automerge.yml

Status:
  Workflow exists     [PASS|FAIL]
  checkout action     [version]         [PASS|WARN]
  Permissions         [explicit|missing] [PASS|FAIL]
  Branch pattern      [pattern]         [PASS|WARN]
  Auto-merge          [strategy]        [PASS|INFO]

Overall: [PASS|FAIL|WARN]

If --check-only, stop here.

Step 4: Configure workflow (if requested)

If --fix flag is set or user confirms, create or update .github/workflows/argocd-automerge.yml with the standard template:

name: Auto-merge ArgoCD Image Updater branches

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - 'image-updater-**'

permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: write

jobs:
  create-and-merge:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Create Pull Request
        id: create-pr
        env:
          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
        run: |
          PR_URL=$(gh pr create \
            --base main \
            --head "${{ github.ref_name }}" \
            --title "chore(deps): update container image" \
            --body "Automated image update by argocd-image-updater.

          Branch: \`${{ github.ref_name }}\`" \
            2>&1) || true

          # Check if PR already exists
          if echo "$PR_URL" | grep -q "already exists"; then
            PR_URL=$(gh pr view "${{ github.ref_name }}" --json url -q .url)
          fi

          echo "pr_url=$PR_URL" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
          echo "Created/found PR: $PR_URL"

      - name: Approve PR
        env:
          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.AUTO_MERGE_PAT || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
        run: gh pr review --approve "${{ github.ref_name }}"
        continue-on-error: true

      - name: Enable auto-merge
        env:
          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
        run: gh pr merge --auto --squash "${{ github.ref_name }}"

Configuration Notes

Self-Approval

GitHub prevents workflows from approving their own PRs with GITHUB_TOKEN. Options:

Approach	Setup	Notes
AUTO_MERGE_PAT	Create PAT with repo scope, add as secret	Recommended for full automation
Skip approval	Remove approve step	Requires manual approval or CODEOWNERS bypass
Bot account	Use separate bot user's PAT	Enterprise approach

Branch Protection

Ensure branch protection allows:

• Auto-merge when checks pass
• Bypass for the workflow (if using CODEOWNERS)

Customization

Setting	Default	Alternatives
Base branch	main	master, develop
Merge strategy	--squash	--merge, --rebase
PR title	chore(deps): update container image	Custom format

Agentic Optimizations

Context	Command
Quick status check	/configure:argocd-automerge --check-only
Auto-create workflow	/configure:argocd-automerge --fix
List image-updater branches	git branch -r --list 'origin/image-updater-*'
Verify workflow exists	find .github/workflows -name '*argocd*automerge*' 2>/dev/null

Flags

Flag	Description
--check-only	Report status without offering fixes
--fix	Create/update workflow automatically

See Also

• /configure:workflows - GitHub Actions CI/CD workflows
• /configure:container - Container infrastructure
• ci-workflows skill - Workflow patterns