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On a schedule

Get Slack alerts for risky dependencies

Each day Slack lists new security alerts for packages and GitHub Actions used in your repositories, most severe first.

Runs
On a schedule
Apps
GitHub, Slack
AI
Optional
Access
Dependabot alerts read, contents read; chat:write

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: every morning, check Dependabot alerts across our GitHub repos and post any new high or critical ones to #security, with the package, repo and fix version.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

A web agency maintains thirty client repositories. Dependabot raises security alerts in each one, but nobody watches thirty alert tabs, so a critical vulnerability in a popular package can sit unnoticed for weeks.

Collecting new alerts from every repository into one Slack message each morning makes them impossible to miss. The team sees the most severe first and knows exactly which repository and version to update.

What you get out of it

  • One place for every repository

    Alerts from all repositories arrive in a single message. Nobody needs to check each repository's security tab.

  • Most severe first

    Critical and high alerts lead the list. The team fixes what matters most before the rest.

  • Each alert is reported once

    Alerts already posted are remembered, so the message only contains news. The channel stays readable.

  • The fix is in the message

    Each line shows the package, the affected repository and the version that fixes it. Acting on it is a quick update, not research.

How it works

What happens, step by step

  1. Every morning, ClickRuntime reads open Dependabot security alerts from your GitHub organisation.

  2. It keeps alerts at the severity you choose and skips any it has already posted.

  3. If you turn on AI, it adds a plain explanation of the most serious ones.

  4. New alerts are posted to your #security Slack channel, most severe first, with the repository and fixed version.

Before it runs live

  • Connect GitHub
  • Connect Slack, then invite the app to the channel (type /invite @ClickRuntime there)

What you get

RunsOn a schedule
Get Slack alerts for risky dependenciestoday, 9:00Succeeded
Slack · #security1 new dependency alerts [critical] axios in storefront: Server-side request forgery (fixed in 1.7.4)

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.
  • Your own rules

    Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.

  • Any number of apps

    One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.

  • AI where it helps

    Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.

  • On a schedule or on each event

    Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

  • Run it at a different time, more or less often, or only on weekdays
  • Change what the AI looks for, or how it writes the result
  • Add another app, for example also send it to Google Sheets
  • Combine it with other GitHub and Slack steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.
dependency_and_supply_chain_risk_alerts.pyexample
from clickruntime import on_trigger, credentials, http, notify, state, ai

def gh(method, path, **kw):
    resp = http.request(method, f"https://api.github.com{path}", headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {credentials.connection('github', 'work')}", "Accept": "application/vnd.github+json"}, **kw)
    return resp.raise_for_status() or (resp.json() if resp.content else None)

ORG, LEVELS = "acme", ("critical", "high")
ORDER = {"critical": 0, "high": 1, "medium": 2, "low": 3}

@on_trigger
def run(event):
    alerts = gh("GET", f"/orgs/{ORG}/dependabot/alerts", params={"state": "open", "severity": ",".join(LEVELS), "per_page": 100})
    seen = set(state.get("seen") or [])
    new = sorted((a for a in alerts if a["html_url"] not in seen), key=lambda a: ORDER[a["security_advisory"]["severity"]])
    if not new:
        return {"new": 0}
    lines = [f"[{a['security_advisory']['severity']}] {a['dependency']['package']['name']} in {a['repository']['name']}: "
             f"{a['security_advisory']['summary']} (fixed in {(a['security_vulnerability'].get('first_patched_version') or {}).get('identifier', 'no fix yet')})"
             for a in new]
    text = f"{len(new)} new dependency alerts\n" + "\n".join(lines)
    try:
        text += "\n\n" + ai.generate("\n".join(lines[:5]), system="In two plain sentences, explain the biggest risk here.", max_output_tokens=120).text
    except (ai.AINotIncluded, ai.AILimitReached):
        pass
    notify.slack(text, channel="#security")
    state.set("seen", sorted(seen | {a["html_url"] for a in new}))
    return {"new": len(new)}

FAQ

Common questions

Do I need Dependabot turned on?
Yes. Turn on Dependabot alerts in each repository or for the whole organisation. This automation reads those alerts and does not scan code itself.
Can it include medium and low alerts?
Yes. Choose the lowest severity you want to hear about. Many teams post high and critical daily and review the rest weekly.
What does AI add?
With AI turned on, a short note explains in plain words what the vulnerability allows. It is optional; the alert list works without it.
What permissions does it need?
Dependabot alerts read, contents read; chat:write. Nothing else in your accounts is used.
Does it need AI?
No, but you can ask for an AI step (for example a summary). It then uses ClickRuntime's built-in AI allowance.
How many runs does it use?
One run each time it runs (on a schedule). Checks that find nothing to do and stop right away aren't counted.
Can I change how it works?
Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

Set up “Get Slack alerts for risky dependencies” from your assistant

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