# Pull request bot

**Source:** https://promtable.com/glossary/pull-request-bot

> A pull request bot is an automated agent that opens, reviews, or modifies PRs — Dependabot, Renovate, CodeRabbit, Mergify, Sweep are 2026 examples spanning dependency updates, AI review, and autonomous fixes.

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A pull request bot is an automated agent that opens, reviews, or modifies PRs — Dependabot, Renovate, CodeRabbit, Mergify, Sweep are 2026 examples spanning dependency updates, AI review, and autonomous fixes.

PR bots span three categories: (1) dependency updaters (Dependabot, Renovate) that open PRs for outdated packages with auto-merge for green CI, (2) AI reviewers (CodeRabbit, Greptile, Copilot Review) that comment inline on opened PRs, (3) autonomous coding agents (Sweep, Devin, OpenHands, Mergify Stack) that pick up issues and open PRs with the fix. Production patterns: dependency bots are universal; AI review is becoming standard; autonomous fix bots are still maturing — they work on small bug fixes, struggle on architectural changes. Trust calibration matters: which bots get auto-merge, which require human review, which need protected branches.

## When to use

- Dependency updates — auto-merge if green.
- First-pass review — gate human review behind it.

## Common mistakes

- Granting autonomous fix bots write access to main — should always open PRs against a branch.
- Auto-merging without CI — defeats the safety net.

## Related terms

- [ai-code-review](https://promtable.com/glossary/ai-code-review)
- [background-agent](https://promtable.com/glossary/background-agent)
- [approval-workflow](https://promtable.com/glossary/approval-workflow)

*Last updated: 2026-06-01*
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Original page: https://promtable.com/glossary/pull-request-bot
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