inupcomparison · verified 2026-07-09
inup vs Renovate
Renovate is an always-on dependency bot — hosted by Mend or self-hosted — that watches your repository and opens pull requests as updates land. inup is a local, interactive CLI you run when you want to upgrade. They aren't really competitors so much as two different moments in the same workflow, so this comparison is about which moment you're in.
| Feature | inup | Renovate |
|---|---|---|
| One tool for npm, yarn, pnpm & bun | ||
| Monorepos & workspaces | ||
| Actively maintained (2026) | ||
| Cooldown / publish-age delay | ||
| Per-package upgrade rules | ||
| Runs locally — no bot or hosted service | ||
| Interactive per-package choice before writing | ||
| Automated PRs on a schedule | ||
| Auto-merge & grouping presets | ||
| Updates non-JS ecosystems (Docker, CI, …) |
Where inup is stronger
- Local and interactive. You drive the upgrade — pick packages, read the changelog (
i), run the vulnerability audit (s), and see it all before a single line is written. Renovate decides, then asks you to review a PR after the fact. - No bot, no service, no repo access. inup runs on your machine with zero infrastructure. There's nothing to install into the repo, no app to authorize, and no third-party service that sees your code.
- Automation is still there when you want it. inup ships a GitHub Action that maintains one rolling upgrade PR on a schedule — a lightweight middle ground if you like some automation but don't want to adopt and configure a full bot.
Where Renovate is stronger — use it if you need these
- Set-and-forget automation. Auto-merge, grouping presets, and a scheduled cadence keep dependencies fresh with no human in the loop.
- Policy at scale.
packageRulesencode fine-grained per-package and per-group policy across an org, with shareable config presets. - Breadth. 90+ package managers and many non-JS ecosystems (Docker, GitHub Actions, Terraform, and more) — well beyond inup's npm/yarn/pnpm/bun scope.
Honest verdict: for hands-off, always-on team maintenance across many ecosystems, Renovate is purpose-built and wins. For hands-on upgrades you review locally — with audit and changelogs in front of you — inup wins. If you want a little automation without running a bot, inup's rolling-PR Action sits neatly in between.
Try it in any project: npx inup
Frequently asked questions
Is inup an alternative to Renovate?
They solve different halves of the same problem. Renovate is an always-on bot (hosted by Mend or self-hosted) that continuously opens upgrade pull requests. inup is a local, interactive CLI you run yourself to review and apply upgrades — with an optional GitHub Action that maintains one rolling PR if you want lightweight automation without adopting a bot.
Does inup need repo permissions or a hosted service like Renovate?
No. inup runs entirely on your machine — nothing is installed into your repository and no third-party service sees your code. Renovate needs the Mend app (or a self-hosted Renovate service) with write access to your repo. inup’s optional Action runs inside your own GitHub Actions, not a third party.
When should I choose Renovate over inup?
When you want fully automated, always-on maintenance for a team: auto-merge, grouping presets, packageRules policy, a dependency dashboard, and coverage across 90+ package managers and non-JS ecosystems. inup is the better fit when you want to drive upgrades yourself — locally, interactively, with a vulnerability audit and changelogs in front of you before anything is written.
Sources: Renovate documentation, inup source. Verified 2026-07-09. Also see inup vs Dependabot and inup vs npm-check-updates.