diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index 8c89b28..21d66b0 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -1,23 +1,35 @@
+# Dependabot: security + version updates with a 7-day cooldown, grouped to cut churn.
+# Patch/minor are auto-merged by .github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml; majors are
+# left for a human (and the holistic security bot surfaces majors/no-fix advisories with
+# remediation guidance). Security updates (advisory-driven) also honor the cooldown/groups.
 version: 2
 updates:
-  # Keep package.json dependencies patched. Combined with GitHub's
-  # Dependabot security updates (enabled in repo Settings > Security),
-  # this opens PRs for both routine version bumps and CVE fixes.
   - package-ecosystem: "npm"
     directory: "/"
     schedule:
-      interval: "weekly"
+      interval: "daily"
+    cooldown:
+      default-days: 7
     open-pull-requests-limit: 10
+    labels:
+      - "dependencies"
+    commit-message:
+      prefix: "chore(deps)"
     groups:
-      # Batch low-risk dev tooling updates into a single PR to cut noise.
-      dev-dependencies:
-        dependency-type: "development"
-        update-types:
-          - "minor"
-          - "patch"
+      npm-minor-patch:
+        update-types: ["minor", "patch"]
 
-  # Keep the GitHub Actions used by these workflows up to date.
   - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
     directory: "/"
     schedule:
-      interval: "weekly"
+      interval: "daily"
+    cooldown:
+      default-days: 7
+    open-pull-requests-limit: 10
+    labels:
+      - "dependencies"
+    commit-message:
+      prefix: "chore(actions)"
+    groups:
+      actions-minor-patch:
+        update-types: ["minor", "patch"]
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml b/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2a9747a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+name: Dependabot auto-merge
+
+# Auto-merge Dependabot's patch/minor updates once required checks pass; leave majors for
+# a human. Rule-based (semver) — the deeper, investigating merge judgment lives in the
+# separate holistic security bot.
+on: pull_request
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+  auto-merge:
+    if: ${{ github.actor == 'dependabot[bot]' }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Fetch Dependabot metadata
+        id: meta
+        uses: dependabot/fetch-metadata@v2
+
+      - name: Auto-merge patch/minor
+        if: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.update-type == 'version-update:semver-patch' || steps.meta.outputs.update-type == 'version-update:semver-minor' }}
+        env:
+          PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: gh pr merge --auto --squash "$PR_URL"
+
+      - name: Leave majors for a human
+        if: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.update-type == 'version-update:semver-major' }}
+        env:
+          PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: gh pr comment "$PR_URL" --body "🚧 Major update — not auto-merged (policy: auto-merge patch/minor only). Leaving for human review."