diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index 3780f10..4660747 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ updates:
       - dependency-name: "*"
         update-types:
           - "version-update:semver-major"
-    # One PR per week for minor and patch updates. Majors still arrive
-    # one at a time so a breaking change is reviewed on its own.
+    # Group minor and patch updates into one weekly PR.
+    # Major Python updates remain ignored by the existing policy.
     groups:
       python:
         patterns: ["*"]
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml b/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
index 163ebbf..b536776 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 name: Dependabot auto-merge
 
-# Queues auto-merge on Dependabot PRs. It approves nothing: the PR still needs
-# a maintainer approval of the current head and every required check, and
-# GitHub merges it only once both are satisfied.
+# Queues auto-merge on classified minor/patch Dependabot PRs; approves nothing.
+# A maintainer must still approve the current head and every required check must
+# pass. GitHub merges only once the existing branch requirements are satisfied.
 on:
   pull_request:
-    types: [opened, reopened]
+    types: [opened, reopened, synchronize]
     branches: [main]
 
 permissions:
@@ -19,8 +19,25 @@ jobs:
       contents: write
       pull-requests: write
     steps:
+      - name: Read verified Dependabot metadata
+        id: metadata
+        uses: dependabot/fetch-metadata@25dd0e34f4fe68f24cc83900b1fe3fe149efef98 # v3.1.0
+        with:
+          github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Enable auto-merge
-        run: gh pr merge --auto --squash "$PR_URL"
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          # Check every dependency in a group; unknown types stay manual too.
+          if ! jq -e 'type == "array" and length > 0 and all(.[];
+            .updateType == "version-update:semver-minor" or
+            .updateType == "version-update:semver-patch")' \
+            <<< "$UPDATED_DEPENDENCIES" > /dev/null; then
+            echo "Leaving major or unclassified updates for manual handling."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          gh pr merge --auto --squash --match-head-commit "$PR_HEAD_SHA" "$PR_URL"
         env:
+          UPDATED_DEPENDENCIES: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.updated-dependencies-json }}
+          PR_HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
           PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_dependabot_auto_merge.py b/tests/unit/test_dependabot_auto_merge.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ad8ed2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_dependabot_auto_merge.py
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+"""Exercise the workflow's real shell gate without contacting GitHub."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+import yaml
+
+WORKFLOW = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2] / ".github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("metadata", "allowed"),
+    [
+        ([{"updateType": "version-update:semver-patch"}], True),
+        ([{"updateType": "version-update:semver-minor"}], True),
+        ([{"updateType": "version-update:semver-major"}], False),
+        (
+            [
+                {"updateType": "version-update:semver-minor"},
+                {"updateType": "version-update:semver-patch"},
+            ],
+            True,
+        ),
+        (
+            [
+                {"updateType": "version-update:semver-patch"},
+                {"updateType": "version-update:semver-major"},
+            ],
+            False,
+        ),
+        ([{"updateType": "version-update:semver-patch"}, {}], False),
+        ([{"updateType": None}], False),
+        ([{"updateType": "unknown"}], False),
+        ([{"updateType": "version-update:semver-patch"}, "unknown"], False),
+        ([], False),
+        ({"updateType": "version-update:semver-patch"}, False),
+        (None, False),
+        ("not metadata", False),
+    ],
+)
+def test_only_fully_classified_minor_patch_groups_queue(
+    tmp_path: Path, metadata: object, allowed: bool
+) -> None:
+    _run_gate(tmp_path, json.dumps(metadata), allowed)
+
+
+def test_malformed_metadata_never_queues(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    _run_gate(tmp_path, "{invalid", False)
+
+
+def _run_gate(tmp_path: Path, metadata: str, allowed: bool) -> None:
+    if sys.platform != "linux":
+        pytest.skip("Bash/jq execution matches the workflow's Ubuntu runner")
+    workflow = yaml.safe_load(WORKFLOW.read_text())
+    step = workflow["jobs"]["enable"]["steps"][-1]
+    gh = tmp_path / "gh"
+    output = tmp_path / "gh-args"
+    gh.write_text('#!/bin/sh\nprintf "%s\\n" "$@" > "$AUDIT_GH_ARGS"\n')
+    gh.chmod(0o755)
+    head = "a" * 40
+    url = "https://github.com/example/repo/pull/1"
+    env = {
+        **os.environ,
+        "PATH": str(tmp_path) + os.pathsep + os.environ["PATH"],
+        "AUDIT_GH_ARGS": str(output),
+        "UPDATED_DEPENDENCIES": metadata,
+        "PR_HEAD_SHA": head,
+        "PR_URL": url,
+        "GH_TOKEN": "unused-local-test-token",
+    }
+    subprocess.run(
+        ["bash", "--noprofile", "--norc", "-e", "-o", "pipefail", "-c", step["run"]],
+        env=env,
+        check=True,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        timeout=10,
+    )
+    assert output.exists() is allowed
+    if allowed:
+        assert output.read_text().splitlines() == [
+            "pr",
+            "merge",
+            "--auto",
+            "--squash",
+            "--match-head-commit",
+            head,
+            url,
+        ]
+
+
+def test_workflow_keeps_event_and_permission_boundaries() -> None:
+    # BaseLoader retains YAML's literal "on" key instead of YAML 1.1's boolean.
+    workflow = yaml.load(WORKFLOW.read_text(), Loader=yaml.BaseLoader)
+    assert set(workflow["on"]) == {"pull_request"}
+    assert set(workflow["on"]["pull_request"]["types"]) == {
+        "opened",
+        "reopened",
+        "synchronize",
+    }
+    job = workflow["jobs"]["enable"]
+    assert "user.login == 'dependabot[bot]'" in job["if"]
+    assert "head.repo.full_name == github.repository" in job["if"]
+    assert job["permissions"] == {"contents": "write", "pull-requests": "write"}
+    metadata = job["steps"][0]
+    action, revision = metadata["uses"].split("@")
+    assert action == "dependabot/fetch-metadata"
+    assert len(revision) == 40 and all(c in "0123456789abcdef" for c in revision)
+    assert "skip-verification" not in metadata.get("with", {})
+    assert "skip-commit-verification" not in metadata.get("with", {})
+    assert all("checkout@" not in step.get("uses", "") for step in job["steps"])