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A Smarter, Faster GitHub Experience
In a continuous push to enhance platform performance and maintain relevance in its tools, GitHub has introduced a new default behavior for its dependency graph feature. This update is particularly impactful for developers managing public repositories, especially those that may have gone dormant over time. GitHub’s recent improvement revolves around making the dependency graph opt-in by default, shifting how developers engage with dependency tracking in both new and inactive repositories.
š GitHub’s Latest Change to Dependency Graph
GitHub has refined how its dependency graph feature operates. Last month, it introduced the option to disable this feature manually. Building on that, GitHub now sets the dependency graph to “off” by default for all newly created public repositories.
But thatās not allāGitHub is also taking proactive steps with inactive repositories. Specifically, if a repository hasnāt seen a commit in over three years, doesnāt use Dependabot, and isnāt linked to any published packages, GitHub will automatically:
Disable the dependency graph
Delete the previously stored graph data
The goal here is to streamline
However, developers can still keep the dependency graph active by:
Pushing new commits
Enabling Dependabot manually
These adjustments help ensure that GitHub continues to serve high-quality data for active and maintained codebases, rather than holding outdated dependency data for long-abandoned projects.
To provide feedback or seek further clarity, GitHub invites developers to join the Community discussion forums.
š” What Undercode Say:
Focus on Relevance and Efficiency
From a development and DevOps standpoint, GitHubās decision to default the dependency graph to “off” aligns with a larger industry trend: reducing overhead and increasing the relevance of automated tools. At Undercode, we see this change as a proactive measure toward resource optimization and intelligent feature management.
Practical Implications for Developers
Many repositories on GitHub are abandoned or serve only as historical archives. Keeping the dependency graph active for these can unnecessarily consume storage, slow performance, and clutter dashboards with stale data. Disabling this feature by default removes that friction. For active developers, re-enabling the graph is just a click awayāespecially if they rely on tools like Dependabot for automated security updates.
Dependency Tracking in CI/CD Pipelines
Dependency graphs are especially valuable in modern CI/CD workflows. However, when integrated carelessly or left running on old projects, they can produce noise and false positives. Turning them off for inactive repos ensures that DevSecOps pipelines are not bogged down by legacy alerts or security vulnerabilities from forgotten codebases.
Impact on Open Source Collaboration
For maintainers of open-source libraries, the graph remains a critical tool. But new projects often undergo rapid restructuring, and early dependency data may be irrelevant. By opting out by default, GitHub empowers developers to turn it on only when needed, streamlining the early development process.
Encouraging Clean Code Practices
By linking the dependency graphās activation to recent commits or active dependency management via Dependabot, GitHub is essentially rewarding good maintenance habits. This aligns with Undercodeās principles: clean, updated, and actively managed code should be the standardānot the exception.
ā Fact Checker Results
GitHub has confirmed the default setting change for new public repos.
Inactive repos will lose stored graph data unless they show signs of activity.
Dependabot remains a trigger to keep graphs active.
š® Prediction
As dependency data becomes more dynamic and security concerns grow, we predict GitHub will integrate deeper AI-driven tools into dependency graph analysis. Future updates may allow developers to customize what gets tracked and set automatic triggers to re-enable graphs when thresholds are metāturning GitHub into an even smarter, self-optimizing development platform.
References:
Reported By: github.blog
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