diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index 4e88c49c..afdd2951 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -15,6 +15,11 @@
 #   - /Labs/Potemkin/app (Potemkin experimental app)
 #   - /Labs/Potemkin/moral_reasoner (Potemkin moral reasoner)
 #
+# Grouping policy:
+#   - patch and minor updates are grouped into a single PR per directory
+#     (auto-merged by the dependabot-auto-merge workflow)
+#   - major updates remain as individual PRs and require manual review
+#
 version: 2
 updates:
   # Cyrano main package
@@ -27,6 +32,11 @@ updates:
     labels:
       - "dependencies"
       - "cyrano"
+    groups:
+      non-breaking-deps:
+        update-types:
+          - "patch"
+          - "minor"
 
   # Cyrano auth-server
   - package-ecosystem: "npm"
@@ -39,6 +49,11 @@ updates:
       - "dependencies"
       - "cyrano"
       - "auth-server"
+    groups:
+      non-breaking-deps:
+        update-types:
+          - "patch"
+          - "minor"
 
   # LexFiat app
   - package-ecosystem: "npm"
@@ -50,6 +65,11 @@ updates:
     labels:
       - "dependencies"
       - "lexfiat"
+    groups:
+      non-breaking-deps:
+        update-types:
+          - "patch"
+          - "minor"
 
   # Arkiver app
   - package-ecosystem: "npm"
@@ -61,6 +81,11 @@ updates:
     labels:
       - "dependencies"
       - "arkiver"
+    groups:
+      non-breaking-deps:
+        update-types:
+          - "patch"
+          - "minor"
 
   # Arkiver frontend
   - package-ecosystem: "npm"
@@ -72,6 +97,11 @@ updates:
     labels:
       - "dependencies"
       - "arkiver"
+    groups:
+      non-breaking-deps:
+        update-types:
+          - "patch"
+          - "minor"
 
   # Labs - Potemkin app
   - package-ecosystem: "npm"
@@ -84,6 +114,11 @@ updates:
       - "dependencies"
       - "labs"
       - "potemkin"
+    groups:
+      non-breaking-deps:
+        update-types:
+          - "patch"
+          - "minor"
 
   # Labs - Potemkin moral_reasoner
   - package-ecosystem: "npm"
@@ -96,3 +131,8 @@ updates:
       - "dependencies"
       - "labs"
       - "potemkin"
+    groups:
+      non-breaking-deps:
+        update-types:
+          - "patch"
+          - "minor"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml b/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
index 812bee93..922bbe76 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ name: Dependabot Auto-Merge
 
 on:
   pull_request:
-    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened]
+    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened, ready_for_review]
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
@@ -19,28 +19,79 @@ jobs:
         with:
           github-token: "${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}"
 
-      - name: Auto-approve PR
-        run: gh pr review --approve "$PR_URL"
+      - name: Check for breaking changes
+        id: breaking
+        env:
+          UPDATE_TYPE: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.update-type }}
+          PR_TITLE: ${{ github.event.pull_request.title }}
+          PR_BODY: ${{ github.event.pull_request.body }}
+        run: |
+          IS_BREAKING="false"
+          REASON=""
+
+          # Major version bump is always treated as a potential breaking change
+          if [[ "$UPDATE_TYPE" == "version-update:semver-major" ]]; then
+            IS_BREAKING="true"
+            REASON="major version bump"
+          fi
+
+          # Check PR title and body for breaking change keywords
+          if echo "$PR_TITLE $PR_BODY" | grep -qiE "breaking[[:space:]_-]?changes?|BREAKING[[:space:]_-]?CHANGE:?|incompatible change|breaking update"; then
+            IS_BREAKING="true"
+            if [[ -n "$REASON" ]]; then
+              REASON="${REASON}, breaking change keyword detected in PR text"
+            else
+              REASON="breaking change keyword detected in PR text"
+            fi
+          fi
+
+          echo "is_breaking=${IS_BREAKING}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "reason=${REASON}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "update_type=${UPDATE_TYPE}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Auto-approve non-breaking update
+        if: steps.breaking.outputs.is_breaking == 'false'
+        run: |
+          gh pr review --approve "$PR_URL" \
+            --body "✅ Auto-approved: non-breaking \`${{ steps.breaking.outputs.update_type }}\` dependency update."
         env:
           PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
-      - name: Enable auto-merge for patch and minor updates
-        if: |
-          steps.metadata.outputs.update-type == 'version-update:semver-patch' ||
-          steps.metadata.outputs.update-type == 'version-update:semver-minor'
-        run: gh pr merge --auto --squash "$PR_URL"
+      - name: Merge non-breaking update immediately
+        if: steps.breaking.outputs.is_breaking == 'false'
+        run: gh pr merge --squash --admin "$PR_URL"
         env:
           PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
-      - name: Auto-merge security patches (any severity)
-        if: steps.metadata.outputs.package-ecosystem != ''
+      - name: Notify maintainer of blocked breaking-change PR
+        if: steps.breaking.outputs.is_breaking == 'true'
+        env:
+          PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          BLOCK_REASON: ${{ steps.breaking.outputs.reason }}
         run: |
-          if [[ "${{ steps.metadata.outputs.severity }}" != "" ]]; then
-            echo "Security patch detected - enabling auto-merge"
-            gh pr merge --auto --squash "$PR_URL"
-          fi
+          cat <<'COMMENT_EOF' > /tmp/block-comment.md
+          ⚠️ **Auto-merge blocked** — potential breaking change detected.
+
+          **Reason:** BLOCK_REASON_PLACEHOLDER
+
+          This PR requires manual review and approval before merging. Please:
+          1. Review the upstream changelog for breaking changes
+          2. Update any affected code in the repository to accommodate the new version
+          3. Merge manually once compatibility is verified
+
+          ---
+          *Automated check by the Dependabot Auto-Merge workflow.*
+          COMMENT_EOF
+          sed -i "s|BLOCK_REASON_PLACEHOLDER|${BLOCK_REASON}|g" /tmp/block-comment.md
+          gh pr comment "$PR_URL" --body-file /tmp/block-comment.md
+
+      - name: Label breaking-change PR for manual review
+        if: steps.breaking.outputs.is_breaking == 'true'
+        run: gh pr edit "$PR_URL" --add-label "breaking-change"
         env:
           PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        continue-on-error: true