diff --git a/.scala-steward.conf b/.scala-steward.conf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fd3928446
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.scala-steward.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# don't rush to take updates, but don't fall indefinitely behind,
+# either. hopefully this is a reasonable compromise value?
+pullRequests.frequency = "14 days"
+
+updates.ignore = [
+  # as per discussion on sbt/zinc#1236, this is
+  # "if it ain't broke don't fix it" territory
+  { groupId = "com.google.protobuf" }
+]