Software development teams need robust tools to manage their codebases and streamline collaboration. Bitbucket provides a flexible platform for teams to host and manage Git repositories, integrate with other Atlassian products like Jira and Trello, and build continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. In this post, we’ll explore how Bitbucket can help your team work better together to build higher quality software.
Overview of Bitbucket
Bitbucket Cloud is a hosted Git code repository service built for agile software teams. It goes beyond just Git hosting by integrating with Jira and Trello to connect software projects from initial planning through deployment.
With Bitbucket, your entire team can collaborate on code using pull requests, automated testing, and built-in continuous integration tools. It brings all contributors together, from developers to designers, giving you a single source of truth for your project.
Key features of Bitbucket include:
- Git repository hosting with fine-grained access controls
- Powerful code search across repos
- Integrated Jira issue tracking
- Trello integration for agile project management
- Built-in continuous integration/delivery with Bitbucket Pipelines
- Unlimited private repositories and collaborators
- Secure cloud hosting by Atlassian
Bitbucket integrates with Atlassian’s suite of development tools like Jira Software, Confluence, and Bamboo. This allows you to create a streamlined end-to-end development workflow within Bitbucket by connecting tasks, documentation, builds, and more.
Bitbucket Options: Cloud vs Server vs Data Center
Bitbucket is available in three deployment options:
Bitbucket Cloud is hosted on Atlassian’s cloud. It includes built-in continuous integration/delivery through Bitbucket Pipelines. Bitbucket Cloud is ideal for teams that want a fully-managed Git hosting solution.
Bitbucket Server is an on-premises version installed in your own environment. It has tight integration with Atlassian’s Bamboo CI/CD server. Bitbucket Server works well for teams with advanced compliance or data residency needs.
Bitbucket Data Center adds clustering, high availability, and enhanced performance scaling to Bitbucket Server. It provides Enterprise-grade capabilities for large development teams. The table below summarizes the key differences:
| Feature | Bitbucket Cloud | Bitbucket Server | Bitbucket Data Center |
|---|---|---|---|
| Git repository hosting | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Jira issue tracking integration | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Built-in CI/CD | Bitbucket Pipelines | Bamboo* | Bamboo* |
| Clustering | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| IP whitelisting | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Marketplace integrations | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Priority support | With Atlassian Access* | With Atlassian Access* | ✅ |
As you can see, Bitbucket Data Center provides the most robust enterprise-scale capabilities for large development teams. Bitbucket Cloud offers maximum convenience through hosted management. And Bitbucket Server balances self-management with tight internal toolchain integration.
Key Bitbucket Concepts
Before we dive into Bitbucket’s features, let’s define some key terms and concepts:
Branch – An independent line of development. Branches let you have multiple working contexts within a repository.
Fork – A server-side copy of a repository for each developer. Forks allow decentralized collaboration.
HEAD – Pointer to the current commit. Checkouts update HEAD to switch contexts. Main – Default development branch created in new repositories.
Pipelines – Bitbucket’s integrated CI/CD automation service.
Pipes – Reusable snippets that extend Pipeline capabilities.
Project – Container for grouping repositories. Useful for organizing teams and work.
Pull request – Allows discussion/review of proposed code changes before merging.
Working tree – Local files repository containing HEAD contents plus unsaved changes.
Now let’s explore some of Bitbucket’s key features and benefits for development teams.
Secure Git Repository Hosting
Bitbucket provides unlimited private Git repositories for your source code. You get fine-grained access controls, allowing you to grant read/write permissions at the repository or even branch level.
Repository security is backed by HTTPS encryption and two-factor authentication for your account. IP whitelisting and forced SSH key usage provide added protection for Bitbucket Server and Data Center.
With Bitbucket, you don’t need to manage your own Git servers. And your precious source code remains fully protected from prying eyes.
Integrated Issue Tracking with Jira
Bitbucket integrates tightly with Atlassian’s industry-leading Jira issue tracker. You can associate commits, branches, and pull requests with Jira tickets. This connects your code to the associated bugs, tasks, and user stories.
Jira integration provides end-to-end traceability from specification through development. Bitbucket even lets you transition Jira issues automatically when pull requests are merged.
Bringing Jira into Bitbucket streamlines development workflow. Your team saves time switching between systems and gets better visibility into progress.
Agile Project Management with Trello
For teams that manage projects using Trello boards and cards, Bitbucket also provides seamless integration here. You can link branches, commits, and pull requests to cards in Trello.
This allows your software team to visualize development activity on the project board in real-time. As code changes are introduced through Bitbucket, the attached Trello cards automatically update with statuses and notifications.
Integrating Bitbucket and Trello improves agility by aligning your board workflow with source changes. Your team can work more efficiently with greater transparency between code repositories and project boards.
Built-In CI/CD Pipelines
Bitbucket includes a highly flexible continuous integration and delivery service called Pipelines. It allows you to automate building, testing, and deployment of your code.
Pipelines monitors your repositories and runs jobs on a cluster of Atlassian-managed build servers. Jobs can run builds, execute test suites, perform syntax checking, deploy to your environments, and more.
Build configurations are defined through a simple YAML file checked into your repo. This allows you to retrigger pipelines on every commit just by pushing changes. You get fast feedback on changes along with automated testing.
For more complex workflows, Bitbucket Pipes provide reusable scripted actions that can be inserted into your pipelines. Whether you need to deploy containers, publish packages, or run infrastructure scripts, there’s a readily available Pipe to integrate the task.
With Pipelines, you can set up a complete CI/CD workflow managed directly through your Bitbucket account. Automating these processes helps developers deliver higher quality code quickly and securely.
Code Search, Pull Requests, and More
Some other useful Bitbucket features include:
- Smart code search – quickly find files and code snippets across your repositories.
- Pull requests – review and discuss code changes before merging into the main branch.
- Code insights – visualize your repository contributors, history, and statistics.
- Snippets – easily share and discuss small bits of code.
- Wikis – attach living documentation directly to your repositories.
Together these capabilities transform Bitbucket into a full-featured, collaborative development environment for your team.
How Atlas Bench Can Help
Switching to Bitbucket can streamline your development workflow and unlock your team’s productivity. But integrating a new toolchain into your environment takes work. Atlas Bench’s Bitbucket migration experts can help accelerate your adoption. Some of the services we offer include:
- Requirements analysis based on your team’s needs
- Designing a customized Bitbucket process and workflow
- Migrating your existing repositories into Bitbucket
- Integrating Bitbucket with your other systems like Jira and Jenkins
- Custom scripting to extend Bitbucket’s capabilities
- Training your developers on best practices with Bitbucket
With deep Bitbucket expertise and experience migrating teams of all sizes, Atlas Bench can ensure your adoption is smooth, successful, and tailored for how your team works. We handle the challenging aspects so your developers can focus on building code, not battling new tools.
Start Improving Your Workflow with Bitbucket
Bitbucket gives your software team a state-of-the-art platform for modern DevOps. Take advantage of Git repository management, integrated CI/CD, and collaboration features purpose-built for agile development teams.
If you’re ready to streamline your workflow, enhance collaboration, automate deliveries, and unlock your team’s potential with Bitbucket, reach out to the experts at AtlasBench. We’re here to provide consulting, migration, integration, and training services that maximize your ROI on Bitbucket.
The future of software development is teamwork. Bitbucket provides the tools to make that teamwork shine. Bring your development process into the future and set your team up for happier, more productive work.