When you first enable version updates, you may have many dependencies that are outdated and some may be many versions behind the latest version. {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} checks for outdated dependencies as soon as it's enabled. You may see new pull requests for version updates within minutes of adding the configuration file, depending on the number of manifest files for which you configure updates.

To keep pull requests manageable and easy to review, {% data variables.product.prodname_dependabot %} raises a maximum of five pull requests to start bringing dependencies up to the latest version. If you merge some of these first pull requests before the next scheduled update, then further pull requests are opened up to a maximum of five (you can change this limit).