diff --git a/.gitguardian.yaml b/.gitguardian.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a93332
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitguardian.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+version: 2
+verbose: true
+secret:
+  ignored-detectors:
+    - Generic Password
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3b0098
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+version: 2
+updates:
+- package-ecosystem: pip
+  directory: "/"
+  target-branch: "dev"
+  schedule:
+    interval: daily
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/auto-approve.yml b/.github/workflows/auto-approve.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce8bf70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/auto-approve.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+name: Auto approve
+
+on:
+  issue_comment:
+    types:
+      - created
+
+jobs:
+  auto-approve:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      pull-requests: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/github-script@v7
+        name: LGTM Auto Approve
+        if: github.actor_id == github.repository_owner_id && contains(github.event.comment.body, 'LGTM')
+        with:
+          script: |
+            github.rest.pulls.createReview({
+              owner: context.repo.owner,
+              repo: context.repo.repo,
+              pull_number: context.issue.number,
+              review_id: 1,
+              event: 'APPROVE',
+              body: '![lgtm](https://media2.giphy.com/media/NytMLKyiaIh6VH9SPm/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e47d9ttw0m7xov7ez4kh01r3x84hrwzycd46ucfo0v8&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)'
+            })
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.mergify.yml b/.mergify.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9dfdb6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.mergify.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+pull_request_rules:
+  - name: Automatic merge ⬇️ on self-approval ✔
+    conditions:
+      - author=niklasstoffers
+      - "#approved-reviews-by>=1"
+      - check-success=build
+      - check-success=test
+      - base=main
+    actions:
+      merge:
+        method: merge
+  - name: Automatic merge ⬇️ on approval ✔
+    conditions:
+      - "approved-reviews-by=[niklasstoffers]"
+      - check-success=build
+      - check-success=test
+      - base=main
+    actions:
+      merge:
+        method: merge
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6fc17df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+repos:
+  - repo: https://github.com/gitguardian/ggshield
+    rev: v1.22.0
+    hooks:
+      - id: ggshield
+        language_version: python3
+        stages: [commit]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 0f0f023..3374b1e 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 FROM python:3.12
 WORKDIR /app
 COPY ./src /app
-RUN pip install -r /app/requirements.txt
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r /app/requirements.txt
 ENTRYPOINT ["python", "main.py"]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4a615d5..f866fda 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     <br>
     <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/languages/top/niklasstoffers/gitlab-auto-approve?color=blueviolet" alt="top language">
     <img src="https://sloc.xyz/github/niklasstoffers/gitlab-auto-approve" alt="total lines">
+    <a href="https://www.codefactor.io/repository/github/niklasstoffers/hainzdiscord"><img src="https://www.codefactor.io/repository/github/niklasstoffers/hainzdiscord/badge" alt="code quality" /></a>
 </p>
 
 **Gitlab Auto Approve** is a [Gitlab](https://about.gitlab.com/) bot for automatically approving merge requests. It's built based on [FastAPI](https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/).
diff --git a/src/config.py b/src/config.py
index 8a802b9..489168c 100644
--- a/src/config.py
+++ b/src/config.py
@@ -44,6 +44,9 @@ def load_env(config: Config):
     config.approval.strict_match = environ.get('APPROVAL_STRICT_MATCH', config.approval.strict_match)
     config.approval.only_for_members = get_list_env('APPROVAL_ONLY_FOR_MEMBERS', config.approval.only_for_members)
     config.approval.message = environ.get('APPROVAL_MESSAGE', config.approval.message)
+    
+    if config.approval.message is not None and len(config.approval.message.strip()) == 0:
+        config.approval.message = None
 
 
 def load_config(filename: str = "config.yaml") -> Config: