`renovatebot/github-action@v40` failed to resolve on Gitea Actions
with `reference not found` when act_runner attempted the go-git
clone. Whether the issue is a missing major-rolling tag upstream or
a go-git tag-fetch quirk, the wrapper action is the wrong layer to
fight: it just shells out to the same `renovate/renovate` image we
can run ourselves.
Switch to a direct `docker run renovate/renovate:40` invocation:
- decouples from third-party action-tag resolution;
- pins the Renovate runtime version explicitly (reproducible);
- one fewer indirection to debug.
The job container already has access to the host Docker daemon
(per ci-runners.compose.yml mounting /var/run/docker.sock), so the
sibling `docker run` works out of the box. Renovate clones the
target repo itself using the API token, so no `actions/checkout`
or host bind-mount is needed.
## Summary
Wire up Renovate to keep dependencies fresh without manual triage.
- **Workflow** — `.gitea/workflows/renovate.yml`: cron daily at 03:00 UTC + `workflow_dispatch`, runs on the existing self-hosted runners. Picked 03:00 specifically so Monday's tick sits inside Renovate's default `lockFileMaintenance.schedule` ("before 4am Monday") and triggers the weekly lockfile refresh in passing.
- **Config** — `renovate.json`: `config:recommended` baseline + groupings (Angular, Nx, NestJS, Prisma, Vitest, TypeScript tooling, ESLint, SWC, Tailwind), Conventional-Commits commit messages, OSV.dev as vulnerability source, dependency dashboard issue.
- **Docs** — new §5 in `docs/development.md` covering the bot onboarding (manual, one-shot), how to trigger Renovate manually, how to review its PRs. The placeholder roadmap entry is dropped from §8.
No ADR — Renovate is operational tooling, not an architectural decision (and on Gitea it's the only viable bot anyway, no real alternative to capture).
## Manual setup required after merge
The workflow is wired but inert until the bot is onboarded once on Gitea:
1. Create a non-admin Gitea user `apf-portal-bot`.
2. Add the bot as a **Write** collaborator on this repo.
3. Sign in as the bot, generate a PAT (scopes: read/write `repository`, read/write `issue`, read `user`).
4. Add the PAT as the repo secret `RENOVATE_TOKEN` (Settings → Actions → Secrets).
Detailed steps in [`docs/development.md`](docs/development.md) → "Dependency updates (Renovate)".
## Test plan
- [ ] After bot onboarding, trigger the workflow manually (Repo → Actions → Renovate → Run workflow).
- [ ] First run creates the "Renovate Dependency Dashboard" issue and a batch of grouped PRs (Angular, Nx, …).
- [ ] Each generated PR has CI green (`check`, `scan`, `commits`, `perf`, `a11y`).
- [ ] Commit subject matches `chore(deps): …` / `fix(deps): …` so the `commits` gate doesn't reject.
---------
Co-authored-by: Julien Gautier <julien.gautier@apf.asso.fr>
Reviewed-on: #11
Julien Gautier
julien