Last updated Feb 12, 2024

Integrating with Bitbucket Cloud

Options for integrating with Bitbucket Cloud

You have three main options for integrating with Bitbucket Cloud:

  1. Call the REST API using REST command line tools, such as curl to automate operations in Bitbucket Cloud not otherwise available through the user interface.
  2. Develop an Atlassian Connect app that integrates in the Bitbucket Cloud UI to add contextual information or functions (this page).
  3. Develop a Pipe for Bitbucket Pipelines that can integrate with an external system to deploy code, scan your code, call other services or implement other functionality.

What is Atlassian Connect?

You can use the Atlassian Connect for Bitbucket Cloud to build apps which can connect with the Bitbucket UI and your own application set. An app could be an integration with another existing service, new features for the Atlassian application, or even a new product that runs within the Atlassian application.

What is an Atlassian Connect app?

Simply understood, Atlassian Connect apps are web applications. Atlassian Connect apps operate remotely over HTTP and can be written with any programming language and web framework.

Fundamentally, Atlassian Connect apps have three major capabilities:

  1. Insert content in certain defined places in the Atlassian application's UI.
  2. Make calls to the Atlassian application's REST API.
  3. Listen and respond to WebHooks fired by the Atlassian application.

What does an Atlassian Connect app do?

How does Atlassian Connect work?

To an end user, your app should appear as a fully integrated part of the Atlassian application. Once your app is registered with the application, features are delivered from the UI and workflows of the host application. This deep level of integration is part of what makes Atlassian Connect apps so powerful.

Architecture

Most Atlassian Connect apps are implemented as multi-tenanted services. This means that a single Atlassian Connect app will support multiple subscribing Atlassian applications.

Security

Security is critical in a distributed component model such as Atlassian Connect. Atlassian Connect relies on HTTPS and JWT authentication to secure communication between your app, the Atlassian product, and the user.

Your apps actions are constrained by well-defined permissions. Your app can only perform activities it declares in its descriptor. These permissions are granted by Atlassian application administrators when they install your app. Examples of permissions include creating repositories, making commits (write permission), creating issues, and approving pull requests. These permissions help ensure the security and stability of cloud instances.

Read our security overview for more details.

Design

Since Atlassian Connect apps can insert content directly into the Atlassian host application, it is critical that apps are visually compatible with the Atlassian application's design. To help developers, Atlassian's design team has created detailed design guidelines and a library of reusable front-end UI components.

Let's get started

If you made it this far, you're ready to write your first Atlassian Connect app. See the Getting started guide to get set up and build your first app.

Rate this page: