diff --git a/docs/usage/configuration-options.md b/docs/usage/configuration-options.md
index bf68640bbe1b23..82755b0b179fa3 100644
--- a/docs/usage/configuration-options.md
+++ b/docs/usage/configuration-options.md
@@ -2545,6 +2545,8 @@ Instead you should do `> 13 months`.
 Use this field if you want to limit a `packageRule` to certain `depType` values.
 Invalid if used outside of a `packageRule`.
 
+For more details on supported syntax see Renovate's [string pattern matching documentation](./string-pattern-matching.md).
+
 ### excludeDepNames
 
 ### excludeDepPatterns
@@ -2647,6 +2649,8 @@ The categories can be found in the [manager documentation](modules/manager/index
 }
 ```
 
+For more details on supported syntax see Renovate's [string pattern matching documentation](./string-pattern-matching.md).
+
 ### matchRepositories
 
 Use this field to restrict rules to a particular repository. e.g.
@@ -2694,6 +2698,8 @@ This field also supports Regular Expressions if they begin and end with `/`. e.g
 }
 ```
 
+For more details on supported syntax see Renovate's [string pattern matching documentation](./string-pattern-matching.md).
+
 ### matchManagers
 
 Use this field to restrict rules to a particular package manager. e.g.
@@ -2712,6 +2718,8 @@ Use this field to restrict rules to a particular package manager. e.g.
 
 For the full list of available managers, see the [Supported Managers](modules/manager/index.md#supported-managers) documentation.
 
+For more details on supported syntax see Renovate's [string pattern matching documentation](./string-pattern-matching.md).
+
 ### matchMessage
 
 For log level remapping, use this field to match against the particular log messages.
@@ -2733,6 +2741,8 @@ Use this field to restrict rules to a particular datasource. e.g.
 }
 ```
 
+For more details on supported syntax see Renovate's [string pattern matching documentation](./string-pattern-matching.md).
+
 ### matchCurrentValue
 
 This option is matched against the `currentValue` field of a dependency.
@@ -2867,6 +2877,8 @@ The following example matches any file in directories starting with `app/`:
 
 It is recommended that you avoid using "negative" globs, like `**/!(package.json)`, because such patterns might still return true if they match against the lock file name (e.g. `package-lock.json`).
 
+For more details on supported syntax see Renovate's [string pattern matching documentation](./string-pattern-matching.md).
+
 ### matchDepNames
 
 This field behaves the same as `matchPackageNames` except it matches against `depName` instead of `packageName`.
@@ -3029,6 +3041,8 @@ Here's an example of where you use this to group together all packages from the
 }
 ```
 
+For more details on supported syntax see Renovate's [string pattern matching documentation](./string-pattern-matching.md).
+
 ### matchUpdateTypes
 
 Use `matchUpdateTypes` to match rules against types of updates.
@@ -3045,6 +3059,8 @@ For example to apply a special label to `major` updates:
 }
 ```
 
+For more details on supported syntax see Renovate's [string pattern matching documentation](./string-pattern-matching.md).
+
 <!-- prettier-ignore -->
 !!! warning
     Packages that follow SemVer are allowed to make breaking changes in _any_ `0.x` version, even `patch` and `minor`.
diff --git a/docs/usage/string-pattern-matching.md b/docs/usage/string-pattern-matching.md
index 02cbc6e3856f7d..c22001a58a4817 100644
--- a/docs/usage/string-pattern-matching.md
+++ b/docs/usage/string-pattern-matching.md
@@ -5,12 +5,7 @@ Renovate string matching syntax for some configuration options allows you, as us
 - [`minimatch`](https://github.com/isaacs/minimatch) glob patterns, including exact strings matches
 - regular expression (regex) patterns
 
-The following fields support this pattern matching:
-
-- `allowedEnv`
-- `allowedHeaders`
-- `autodiscoverProjects`
-- `matchRepositories`
+In cases where there are potentially multiple _inputs_, e.g. managers can have multiple categories, then the matcher will return `true` if _any_ of them match.
 
 ## Special case: Match everything
 
@@ -111,6 +106,10 @@ For example, the pattern `["/^abc/", "!/^abcd/", "!/abce/"]`:
 If you find yourself in a situation where you need to positive-match a string which starts with `!`, then you need to do so using a regular expression pattern.
 For example, `["/^!abc$/"]` will positively match against the string `"!abc"`.
 
+One limitation of negative matching is when there may be multiple inputs to match against.
+For example, a manager may have multiple categories, such as `java` and `docker`.
+If you have a rule such as `"matchCategories": ["!docker"]` then this will return `true` because the `java` category satisfies this rule.
+
 ## Usage in Renovate configuration options
 
 Renovate has evolved its approach to string pattern matching over time, but this means that existing configurations may have a mix of approaches and not be entirely consistent with each other.
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/base-branches.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/base-branches.ts
index 8e8cb2eb911941..71bf07b36408f3 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/base-branches.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/base-branches.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import is from '@sindresorhus/is';
 import type { PackageRule, PackageRuleInputConfig } from '../../config/types';
-import { getRegexPredicate } from '../string-match';
+import { matchRegexOrGlobList } from '../string-match';
 import { Matcher } from './base';
 
 export class BaseBranchesMatcher extends Matcher {
@@ -16,12 +16,6 @@ export class BaseBranchesMatcher extends Matcher {
       return false;
     }
 
-    return matchBaseBranches.some((matchBaseBranch): boolean => {
-      const isAllowedPred = getRegexPredicate(matchBaseBranch);
-      if (isAllowedPred) {
-        return isAllowedPred(baseBranch);
-      }
-      return matchBaseBranch === baseBranch;
-    });
+    return matchRegexOrGlobList(baseBranch, matchBaseBranches);
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/categories.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/categories.ts
index 0a5e47ae304580..b26a8e2ac80391 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/categories.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/categories.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import is from '@sindresorhus/is';
 import type { PackageRule, PackageRuleInputConfig } from '../../config/types';
+import { anyMatchRegexOrGlobList } from '../string-match';
 import { Matcher } from './base';
 
 export class CategoriesMatcher extends Matcher {
@@ -15,6 +16,6 @@ export class CategoriesMatcher extends Matcher {
       return false;
     }
 
-    return matchCategories.some((value) => categories.includes(value));
+    return anyMatchRegexOrGlobList(categories, matchCategories);
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/datasources.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/datasources.ts
index 3e6b5bef446e51..5fbfeca59481d6 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/datasources.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/datasources.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import is from '@sindresorhus/is';
 import type { PackageRule, PackageRuleInputConfig } from '../../config/types';
+import { matchRegexOrGlobList } from '../string-match';
 import { Matcher } from './base';
 
 export class DatasourcesMatcher extends Matcher {
@@ -13,6 +14,6 @@ export class DatasourcesMatcher extends Matcher {
     if (is.undefined(datasource)) {
       return false;
     }
-    return matchDatasources.includes(datasource);
+    return matchRegexOrGlobList(datasource, matchDatasources);
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/dep-types.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/dep-types.ts
index 73a6087c96f8c2..434e81523dbefd 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/dep-types.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/dep-types.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import is from '@sindresorhus/is';
 import type { PackageRule, PackageRuleInputConfig } from '../../config/types';
+import { anyMatchRegexOrGlobList, matchRegexOrGlobList } from '../string-match';
 import { Matcher } from './base';
 
 export class DepTypesMatcher extends Matcher {
@@ -11,9 +12,14 @@ export class DepTypesMatcher extends Matcher {
       return null;
     }
 
-    const result =
-      (is.string(depType) && matchDepTypes.includes(depType)) ||
-      depTypes?.some((dt) => matchDepTypes.includes(dt));
-    return result ?? false;
+    if (depType) {
+      return matchRegexOrGlobList(depType, matchDepTypes);
+    }
+
+    if (depTypes) {
+      return anyMatchRegexOrGlobList(depTypes, matchDepTypes);
+    }
+
+    return false;
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/files.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/files.ts
index 48b69c999181de..73151dbb07af80 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/files.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/files.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import is from '@sindresorhus/is';
 import type { PackageRule, PackageRuleInputConfig } from '../../config/types';
-import { minimatch } from '../minimatch';
+import { anyMatchRegexOrGlobList, matchRegexOrGlobList } from '../string-match';
 import { Matcher } from './base';
 
 export class FileNamesMatcher extends Matcher {
@@ -15,13 +15,14 @@ export class FileNamesMatcher extends Matcher {
       return false;
     }
 
-    return matchFileNames.some(
-      (matchFileName) =>
-        minimatch(matchFileName, { dot: true }).match(packageFile) ||
-        (is.array(lockFiles) &&
-          lockFiles.some((lockFile) =>
-            minimatch(matchFileName, { dot: true }).match(lockFile),
-          )),
-    );
+    if (matchRegexOrGlobList(packageFile, matchFileNames)) {
+      return true;
+    }
+
+    if (is.array(lockFiles)) {
+      return anyMatchRegexOrGlobList(lockFiles, matchFileNames);
+    }
+
+    return false;
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/index.spec.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/index.spec.ts
index 997941a7174863..9f911c3541fd9e 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/index.spec.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ describe('util/package-rules/index', () => {
   it('applies', () => {
     const config: PackageRuleInputConfig = {
       packageName: 'a',
+      updateType: 'minor',
       isBump: true,
       currentValue: '1.0.0',
       packageRules: [
@@ -314,6 +315,23 @@ describe('util/package-rules/index', () => {
     expect(res.x).toBe(1);
   });
 
+  it('returns false if no depTypes', () => {
+    const config: TestConfig = {
+      packageRules: [
+        {
+          matchDepTypes: ['test'],
+          matchPackageNames: ['a'],
+          x: 1,
+        },
+      ],
+    };
+    const input = { ...config, packageName: 'a' };
+    delete input.depType;
+    delete input.depTypes;
+    const res = applyPackageRules(input);
+    expect(res).toEqual(input);
+  });
+
   it('filters managers with matching manager', () => {
     const config: TestConfig = {
       packageRules: [
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/managers.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/managers.ts
index 98c28ce198eeaf..487bcf3b0b0bcd 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/managers.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/managers.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import is from '@sindresorhus/is';
 import type { PackageRule, PackageRuleInputConfig } from '../../config/types';
 import { isCustomManager } from '../../modules/manager/custom';
+import { matchRegexOrGlobList } from '../string-match';
 import { Matcher } from './base';
 
 export class ManagersMatcher extends Matcher {
@@ -15,8 +16,8 @@ export class ManagersMatcher extends Matcher {
       return false;
     }
     if (isCustomManager(manager)) {
-      return matchManagers.includes(`custom.${manager}`);
+      return matchRegexOrGlobList(`custom.${manager}`, matchManagers);
     }
-    return matchManagers.includes(manager);
+    return matchRegexOrGlobList(manager, matchManagers);
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/package-patterns.spec.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/package-patterns.spec.ts
index 2d0cc223c98a47..b1933a8b793078 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/package-patterns.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/package-patterns.spec.ts
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ describe('util/package-rules/package-patterns', () => {
     });
 
     it('should fall back to matching depName', () => {
-      const result = packageNameMatcher.matches(
+      const result = packagePatternsMatcher.matches(
         {
           depName: 'abc',
           packageName: 'def',
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/sourceurls.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/sourceurls.ts
index 0f1e311435490d..d1d9910a0f7911 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/sourceurls.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/sourceurls.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import is from '@sindresorhus/is';
 import type { PackageRule, PackageRuleInputConfig } from '../../config/types';
+import { matchRegexOrGlobList } from '../string-match';
 import { Matcher } from './base';
 
 export class SourceUrlsMatcher extends Matcher {
@@ -10,13 +11,10 @@ export class SourceUrlsMatcher extends Matcher {
     if (is.undefined(matchSourceUrls)) {
       return null;
     }
-    if (is.undefined(sourceUrl)) {
+    if (!sourceUrl) {
       return false;
     }
 
-    const upperCaseSourceUrl = sourceUrl?.toUpperCase();
-    return matchSourceUrls.some(
-      (url) => upperCaseSourceUrl === url.toUpperCase(),
-    );
+    return matchRegexOrGlobList(sourceUrl, matchSourceUrls);
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/util/package-rules/update-types.ts b/lib/util/package-rules/update-types.ts
index 85c5f3f750ea07..c54b26588ce9ee 100644
--- a/lib/util/package-rules/update-types.ts
+++ b/lib/util/package-rules/update-types.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import is from '@sindresorhus/is';
 import type { PackageRule, PackageRuleInputConfig } from '../../config/types';
+import { anyMatchRegexOrGlobList } from '../string-match';
 import { Matcher } from './base';
 
 export class UpdateTypesMatcher extends Matcher {
@@ -10,9 +11,13 @@ export class UpdateTypesMatcher extends Matcher {
     if (is.undefined(matchUpdateTypes)) {
       return null;
     }
-    return (
-      (is.truthy(updateType) && matchUpdateTypes.includes(updateType)) ||
-      (is.truthy(isBump) && matchUpdateTypes.includes('bump'))
-    );
+    if (!updateType) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    const toMatch = [updateType];
+    if (isBump) {
+      toMatch.push('bump');
+    }
+    return anyMatchRegexOrGlobList(toMatch, matchUpdateTypes);
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/util/string-match.spec.ts b/lib/util/string-match.spec.ts
index e76d200d7b03f5..626da73e184ee1 100644
--- a/lib/util/string-match.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/util/string-match.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import {
+  anyMatchRegexOrGlobList,
   getRegexPredicate,
   matchRegexOrGlob,
   matchRegexOrGlobList,
@@ -59,6 +60,28 @@ describe('util/string-match', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe('anyMatchRegexOrGlobList()', () => {
+    it('returns false if empty patterns', () => {
+      expect(anyMatchRegexOrGlobList(['test'], [])).toBeFalse();
+    });
+
+    it('returns false if empty inputs', () => {
+      expect(anyMatchRegexOrGlobList([], ['/test2/'])).toBeFalse();
+    });
+
+    it('returns true if both empty', () => {
+      expect(anyMatchRegexOrGlobList([], [])).toBeFalse();
+    });
+
+    it('returns true if any match with positive', () => {
+      expect(anyMatchRegexOrGlobList(['a', 'b'], ['b'])).toBeTrue();
+    });
+
+    it('returns true if any match with negative', () => {
+      expect(anyMatchRegexOrGlobList(['a', 'b'], ['!b'])).toBeTrue();
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('getRegexPredicate()', () => {
     it('allows valid regex pattern', () => {
       expect(getRegexPredicate('/hello/')).not.toBeNull();
diff --git a/lib/util/string-match.ts b/lib/util/string-match.ts
index 80cbc6dc05d7bd..bb64c327515c86 100644
--- a/lib/util/string-match.ts
+++ b/lib/util/string-match.ts
@@ -59,6 +59,13 @@ export function matchRegexOrGlobList(
   return true;
 }
 
+export function anyMatchRegexOrGlobList(
+  inputs: string[],
+  patterns: string[],
+): boolean {
+  return inputs.some((input) => matchRegexOrGlobList(input, patterns));
+}
+
 export const UUIDRegex = regEx(
   /^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[1-5][0-9a-f]{3}-[89ab][0-9a-f]{3}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/i,
 );