Switch to depends-on/depends-on-action for PR dependencies

[tpantelis]

Replace unmaintained dependent-issues with depends-on-action

The old action (z0al/dependent-issues) is archived and will stop working when GitHub removes Node.js 20 support on September 16, 2026.

The new action (depends-on/depends-on-action) is actively maintained - it currently uses Node.js 20 but there's an open PR to upgrade..

Differences with dependent-issues:

• Syntax change: Use "Depends-On: [E2E] Use weave as default cni for all k8s and kind versions.  #123" instead of "depends on [E2E] Use weave as default cni for all k8s and kind versions.  #123"
• Issues no longer supported (PRs only)
• Removed schedule trigger (not applicable with new action)

Fixes: #2836

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Chores
  • Updated internal pull-request dependency workflow: now runs only on pull request events, uses reduced permissions, and streamlines dependency checks.
  • Improved detection of dependent and unmerged pull requests to provide more accurate dependency status.

[submariner-bot]

🤖 Created branch: z_pr4063/tpantelis/switch-to-depends-on-action
🚀 Full E2E won't run until the "ready-to-test" label is applied. I will add it automatically once the PR has 2 approvals, or you can add it manually.

[github-actions]

This PR/issue depends on:

• [E2E] Use weave as default cni for all k8s and kind versions.  #123
  By Dependent Issues (🤖). Happy coding!

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: d1fb6038-4a20-4c46-8f30-c687a88e1fc9

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 046bb11 and 9ebd2b7.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• .github/workflows/dependent-issues.yml

🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes (1)

• .github/workflows/dependent-issues.yml

---

Walkthrough

This PR narrows the workflow trigger to pull_request_target events, reduces job permissions to pull-requests: write, and replaces the archived z0al/dependent-issues action with depends-on/depends-on-action@0.16.0 using token-based configuration and enabled unmerged-PR checks.

Changes

PR dependency check workflow migration

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Migrate dependency check to new action with updated triggers .github/workflows/dependent-issues.yml	Event triggers narrowed to PR-only (pull_request_target) with specific PR event types and permissions limited to pull-requests: write. The dependency-check step replaces the archived z0al/dependent-issues action with depends-on/depends-on-action@0.16.0, configured via with.token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} and check-unmerged-pr: true.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~20 minutes

Suggested labels

dependencies, ready-to-test, github_actions

Suggested reviewers

• mkolesnik
• Oats87
• skitt
• sridhargaddam
• vthapar
• yboaron

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately and concisely describes the main change: switching from z0al/dependent-issues to depends-on/depends-on-action for managing PR dependencies.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The PR addresses issue #2836 by replacing the archived z0al/dependent-issues action with depends-on/depends-on-action, which is actively maintained and resolves the archived action dependency issue.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes in the workflow file are directly related to switching the dependency-checking action and are within the scope of issue #2836; no unrelated modifications detected.
Actionable Comments Resolved	✅ Passed	No unresolved actionable comments found; all PR objectives addressed and workflow successfully migrated from z0al/dependent-issues to depends-on/depends-on-action with commit SHA pinning.

_{✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.}

---

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[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 1

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents

Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
In @.github/workflows/dependent-issues.yml:
- Around line 21-24: Replace the mutable tag reference
depends-on/depends-on-action@0.16.0 with the action pinned to the commit SHA by
updating the uses value to
depends-on/depends-on-action@e7915c70317af4efc4e6c4a4eb1e9260e215270c so the
workflow is pinned to an immutable commit; locate the uses entry for
depends-on/depends-on-action in the workflow and swap the tag for the provided
SHA.

🪄 Autofix (Beta)

Fix all unresolved CodeRabbit comments on this PR:

• Push a commit to this branch (recommended)
• Create a new PR with the fixes

---

ℹ️ Review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: d0345df4-d96c-4cb9-84ca-4c6c484e6063

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between e0f3c85 and 046bb11.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• .github/workflows/dependent-issues.yml

[submariner-bot]

🤖 Closed branches: [z_pr4063/tpantelis/switch-to-depends-on-action]