Bitbucket CLI (bkt)

bkt is a unified CLI for Bitbucket Data Center and Bitbucket Cloud. It mirrors gh ergonomics and provides structured JSON/YAML output for automation.

Dependency Check

Before executing any bkt command, verify the CLI is installed:

bkt --version

If the command fails or bkt is not found, install it using one of these methods:

Only proceed with bkt commands after confirming installation succeeds.

Authentication

# Data Center (opens browser for PAT creation)
bkt auth login https://bitbucket.example.com --web

# Data Center (direct)
bkt auth login https://bitbucket.example.com --username alice --token <PAT>

# Bitbucket Cloud
bkt auth login https://bitbucket.org --kind cloud --web

# Check auth status
bkt auth status

Bitbucket Cloud Token Requirements:

• Create an “API token with scopes” (not a general API token)
• Select Bitbucket as the application
• Required scope: Account: Read (read:user:bitbucket)
• Additional scopes as needed: Repositories, Pull requests, Issues

Contexts

Contexts store host, project/workspace, and default repo settings:

# Create context for Data Center
bkt context create dc-prod --host bitbucket.example.com --project ABC --set-active

# Create context for Cloud
bkt context create cloud-team --host bitbucket.org --workspace myteam --set-active

# List and switch contexts
bkt context list
bkt context use cloud-team

Quick Command Reference

Repository Operations

bkt repo list --limit 20
bkt repo list --workspace myteam          # Cloud workspace override
bkt repo view platform-api
bkt repo create data-pipeline --description "Data ingestion" --project DATA
bkt repo browse --project DATA --repo platform-api
bkt repo clone platform-api --ssh

Pull Request Workflows

# List and view
bkt pr list --state OPEN --limit 10
bkt pr list --mine                        # PRs you authored
bkt pr view 42
bkt pr view 42 --web                      # Open in browser

# Create and edit
bkt pr create --title "feat: cache" --source feature/cache --target main --reviewer alice
bkt pr edit 123 --title "New title" --body "Updated description"

# Review and merge
bkt pr approve 42
bkt pr comment 42 --text "LGTM"
bkt pr merge 42 --message "merge: feature/cache"
bkt pr merge 42 --strategy fast-forward

# CI/build status
bkt pr checks 42                          # Show build status
bkt pr checks 42 --wait                   # Wait for builds to complete
bkt pr checks 42 --wait --timeout 5m      # With timeout
bkt pr checks 42 --fail-fast              # Exit on first failure

# Checkout locally
bkt pr checkout 42                        # Fetches to pr/42 branch

Branch Management

bkt branch list
bkt branch list --filter "feature/*"
bkt branch create release/1.9 --from main
bkt branch delete feature/old-stuff
bkt branch set-default main               # DC only
bkt branch protect add main --type fast-forward-only  # DC only

Issue Tracking (Bitbucket Cloud Only)

bkt issue list --state open --kind bug
bkt issue view 42 --comments
bkt issue create -t "Login broken" -k bug -p major
bkt issue edit 42 --assignee "{uuid}" --priority critical
bkt issue close 42
bkt issue reopen 42
bkt issue comment 42 -b "Fixed in v1.2.0"
bkt issue status                          # Your assigned/created issues

Issue kinds: bug, enhancement, proposal, task Priorities: trivial, minor, major, critical, blocker

Webhooks

bkt webhook list
bkt webhook create --name "CI" --url https://ci.example.com/hook --event repo:refs_changed
bkt webhook delete <id>
bkt webhook test <id>

Pipelines (Cloud)

bkt pipeline run --ref main --var ENV=staging
bkt pipeline list                         # Recent runs
bkt pipeline view <uuid>                  # Pipeline details
bkt pipeline logs <uuid>                  # Fetch logs
bkt status pipeline <uuid>                # Alt: status check

Permissions (DC)

bkt perms project list --project DATA
bkt perms project grant --project DATA --user alice --perm PROJECT_WRITE
bkt perms repo list --project DATA --repo platform-api
bkt perms repo grant --project DATA --repo api --user alice --perm REPO_WRITE

Raw API Access

For endpoints not yet wrapped:

bkt api /rest/api/1.0/projects --param limit=100 --json
bkt api /repositories --param workspace=myteam --field pagelen=50

Output Modes

All commands support structured output:

bkt pr list --json                        # JSON output
bkt pr list --yaml                        # YAML output
bkt pr list --json | jq '.pull_requests[0].title'

Global Options

• --json / --yaml — Structured output
• --context <name> — Use specific context
• --project <key> — Override project (DC)
• --workspace <name> — Override workspace (Cloud)
• --repo <slug> — Override repository

Environment Variables

• BKT_CONFIG_DIR — Config directory override
• BKT_ALLOW_INSECURE_STORE — Allow file-based credential storage
• BKT_KEYRING_TIMEOUT — Keyring operation timeout (for example 2m)

References

• Full command reference: See references/commands.md