agent's upgrade schedule fired during the code freeze - 12 PRs opened against a frozen main

TL;DR

The bot's schedule does not know your release calendar. Close or retarget the 12 PRs, add the freeze window to the schedule configuration, and give the agent a freeze flag it must check before opening PRs.

Error

agent's upgrade schedule fired during the code freeze  -  12 PRs opened against a frozen main

Steps

1. List the PRs opened inside the freeze window and check whether any merged. Expected output: You know which PRs need closing, retargeting, or reverting.

2. Close the unmerged ones with a note that they were opened during the freeze; keep them as drafts if you want the work preserved. Expected output: The frozen branch has no pending upgrade PRs.

3. Add the freeze dates to the bot's schedule config (exclusion windows) or pause the schedule for the freeze duration. Expected output: The schedule skips the freeze window next time.

4. Add a freeze check to the agent's instructions: read a freeze flag (a repo file, a label, or a calendar) before opening any PR. Expected output: The agent refuses to open PRs while the flag is set.

5. After the freeze lifts, re-open the updates in the normal schedule. Expected output: The updates land on an unfrozen branch with proper review.

When to use

• Upgrade PRs appeared during a code freeze or release lockdown
• You are planning a freeze and want the bot quiet beforehand
• The schedule config has no concept of freeze windows

When not to use

• Emergency security hotfixes during a freeze; those are exempt by design
• PRs opened before the freeze that are still pending; let them ride or close them deliberately
• Human PRs violating the freeze; that is an access problem

Variant phrasings

renovate opened PRs during the release freeze

pause dependency updates during code freeze

upgrade schedule ignored the freeze window

Why it happens

Update bots run on cron schedules that are blind to release calendars. Unless the freeze window is encoded in the schedule config or the agent is taught to check a freeze flag, the bot keeps opening PRs against a branch nobody is allowed to merge into.

Edge cases

• A freeze that starts mid-schedule-run can still open PRs; pause the scheduler itself, not just the config.
• Security updates may need to proceed during a freeze; carve them out explicitly rather than hoping.
• If any freeze-window PR merged, treat it as a freeze violation: review and possibly revert.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_DzjBttRiyqBOSUosuE6Z8g