What is Bitbucket and what is it for? Find out now

When working on the development of software or web programs, it’s useful to have the help of some management, organization and communication tools.

That's when Bitbucket presents itself as an ideal option to improve workflows, especially in cases where there are many pending projects.

If you work as a developer, you will know perfectly well how important it is that the whole team is aware of what is being done and of steps to be taken.

So, if you are looking to work in a more organized way, you should know more details about Bitbucket.

But don't worry, we will explain what it is, what it is for, what its advantages are, among other things.

What is Bitbucket?

It’s a code hosting tool based on Git gitand it’s designed to improve collaboration in software development teams.

This makes it a great option for more than two people to work together on a development project and for both to have the same level of version control.

Since they can host their code repositories there, they will have everything in one place.

Moreover, it's not just a program that works as a hosting option, but it also has a whole set of internal tools that allow for code changes, continuous deployment and even in-depth issue tracking.

That’s why Bitbucket is considered a program that will allow developers to automate several processes of their work and improve the efficiency of the final result.

As if this were not enough, it also has integration with project management tools with agile methodologies such as Jira or Trello, which will allow you to have a better organization of the time available and of all pending projects.

What is Bitbucket for?

Bitbucket is presented as a tool of enormous help for any work team. When thinking about what it is for, the truth is that its diverse internal work options offer you the opportunity to accomplish a great variety of tasks.

To give you a more complete idea of all Bitbucket's functions, we will explain in what kind of situations it could help you:

1. Better version control

The first feature to highlight about Bitbucket is that it offers a high level of control over the code versions you work with.

Each of the changes that any of the developers make to the code can be reviewed and reused if necessary.

It should be noted that if you need to create branches to correct errors or add new functions, you will be able to make all these edits without having to change the code base of the entire project.

2. Enabling a high level of collaboration

Everyone on the team will have access to the Bitbucket platform and will be able to collaborate with each other without any problems.

As long as they are added to the platform, people will be able to work towards completing all the pending tasks of the project. They will even have the right to approve pull requests or closely review what other developers are doing.

3. Having a good issue tracker

It’s normal that, when working on the development of a code for any type of program, problems and errors arise in the project, but it’s nothing that cannot be solved.

Of course, it’s good to have a close follow-up of the problems to be aware of which corrections have already been made in order not to repeat them. In addition, it will also help to learn better by trial and error, which tends to work best when developing code.

4. Enables continuous integration

As mentioned above, you should know that when working with Bitbucket you will have several extra tools that will be integrated and that will be of great help to automate various processes.

Likewise, they are extra programs that will allow you to keep a better control of what has been done and what still needs to be done.

Benefits of using Bitbucket for code development

When you start working with a program such as Bitbucket, you will be able to enjoy a large number of undeniable benefits that will be of enormous help.

Thanks to all the features and options that compose it, Bitbucket is an incredible tool that will become your ideal option to improve your software development work.

If you still have doubts about whether or not to use Bitbucket, first you need to know about all its advantages:

1. It has scalable performance

Whether you are working with small projects, large projects or those that need to grow as you go, Bitbucket will be able to support everything you have to work with.

Outstanding features such as its bandwidth, computing power and level of connectivity allow for scalable performance.

It’s thanks to this that you can be sure that you will not receive failures from the platform at any time, even if several users are working simultaneously.

2. The entire team can use it equally

The possibility of working on the development of the code as a team is one of the most outstanding aspects when using this tool and it’s also one of the most positive advantages of all.

As soon as team members are designated, everyone can access the work remotely, each from his or her own computer.

This is ideal for situations where everyone has to work online. It will also help when someone is unable to log in for some reason, another member of the team can do so and replace him or her in his or her work.

3. It uses the smart mirror concept

Another important benefit to highlight is the fact that it works under the concept of the intelligent mirror. This is a work methodology in which it’s possible to merge the tasks of all team members.

Therefore, it’s possible to configure copies that are hosted within the remote repositories. This would allow a complete synchronization of all project information.

In addition, it’s also a great help to save time and organize efficiently. If only one developer was in charge, everything would take much longer.

4. It has a high level of security and privacy for the projects

If you have worked in software development before, you will know very well how important it is to keep all project data secure.

That’s why, if you are looking for a platform that is secure, where all the data of your work is kept protected, then Bitbucket is an ideal choice for you.

This platform works with various security methodologies that allow you to keep the progress of your project completely private.

Keep in mind that only users who have access to the project will be able to enter it to edit it and work on it, so you will have full control when it comes to managing who is part of your work team.

If you think this is not enough, bear in mind that access to the work platform is based on a list of IP permissions. This will allow you to restrict access to a member who is fired, so that he/she does not re-enter the project within Bitbucket.

Along the same line of ideas, it should be noted that the platform also has data encryption, security key and secure login through FIDO U2F.

5. It has a file auto-correction option

As far as job automation is concerned, it’s worth mentioning that Bitbucket has a file auto-correction tool that will also be of great help to you.

This is something that works by means of an intelligent duplication that will take care of detecting and recovering errors without having to interrupt the operations being carried out.

In addition, it’s a function that remains consistent, since the same Bitbucket program will make sure that it repeats itself every three minutes. Therefore, it’s something that is constantly running.

6. It’s hosted in the cloud

The fact that all the project data is hosted in the cloud is what will allow all team members to work remotely without the need to be in the same physical space.

However, it’s also an advantage in terms of security, since the repository hosting will always be much more protected if it’s in the cloud.

7. It has great flexibility in permissions

The main member of the team that created the project within Bitbucket will have full control of permissions on the platform. Fortunately, these permissions are very flexible and easy to use.

It’s thanks to this that you will be able to choose who can access and who cannot. You will also be able to determine what kind of access each user will have in order to establish who will be in charge of each repository.

Undoubtedly, this is a very positive advantage, since you will be able to have a better control, not only of the access to Bitbucket, but also of the tasks that each of the members of the team has to perform.

How to start using Bitbucket?

Surely by now you are much more interested in starting to work with Bitbucket for your code development and it's understandable that you are wondering how to work with Bitbucket.

Luckily, the interface of this program is very simple and intuitive to use. It’s divided by a series of specific sections that will give you access to all kinds of tools.

Now, if you are going to start from scratch, the first thing you should do is create a Bitbucket account and add your code as a repository within the platform.

When you do this, the platform will ask you to fill out a form with data about the code such as the owner's name, repository name, type of project, among some extra data.

Once this is done, you will have to configure your local account so that you can activate access to the code so that you can work on it no matter where you are.

The next step will be to verify the people who will be part of the work team in order to make the appropriate configurations within the platform so that each one has the corresponding access to the project.

After this, it’s all a matter of getting organized with your work team to establish the order of the tasks that remain to be accomplished.

That way, you will be able to start working with Bitbucket to closely monitor what everyone does, correct errors, make changes, review all the code versions, recover what is necessary, among others.

In short, you will be ready to do everything you need to make your project move forward as you have established.

In addition, once you are done with the code you had pending, you can go back to Bitbucket to work on a different one, all you have to do is create a new project within its platform.

As you can see now that you know more about Bitbucket, it’s a very helpful tool for improving collaboration between software development teams.

Its advantages are undeniable and once you start working with it you will notice the differences in terms of work efficiency.

So, if you didn't know about it yet, we invite you to give it a try so that you have a complete tool full of options. 

After you try Bitbucket, leave us a comment with your opinion about it.