New Dependabot Access to private repos does not work with Maven/Gradle registry

[hfhbd]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Product Feedback

Body

How do you enable https://github.blog/changelog/2026-06-23-automatic-dependabot-access-to-github-hosted-registries/ for the maven/gradle registry that does not support non-repository packages? https://docs.github.com/en/packages/learn-github-packages/about-permissions-for-github-packages#permissions-for-repository-scoped-packages

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[Farhan71140]

The new automatic Dependabot access feature currently works only with repository‑scoped packages. Maven/Gradle registries don’t yet support non‑repository scoped packages, which is why you’re hitting this limitation.

To enable Dependabot with Maven/Gradle in private repos:

1. Make sure your package is repository‑scoped (linked to the same repo where Dependabot runs).
2. Configure your registry in pom.xml or build.gradle using the GitHub Packages URL with the repository scope:
   • Maven:
     
     github
     https://maven.pkg.github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY
     
   • Gradle:
     maven {
     url = uri("https://maven.pkg.github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY")
     }
3. Ensure Dependabot has read access to the repo hosting the package.
4. If your package is organization‑scoped (not tied to a single repo), Dependabot cannot yet authenticate automatically. In that case, you’ll need to continue using a personal access token (PAT) until GitHub expands support.

In short: repository‑scoped packages work with automatic Dependabot access, but org‑wide Maven/Gradle registries still require a PAT for now.

[hfhbd]

That's for the AI summary I didn't ask for. I am aware of that but GitHub should support it or make it clear in the announcement.