Bitbucket CLI (bkt)

Use bkt for Bitbucket Cloud and Data Center operations. Prefer structured --json, --yaml, --jq, or --template output for automation.

Start with the requested operation

Run bkt --version only when installation or compatibility is uncertain. Run bkt auth status when the command needs authentication or the active platform and context are unknown. Do not make setup a prerequisite for an already configured read-only request.

Cloud and Data Center have different feature sets. Determine the platform from the active context or ask when it cannot be inferred. Do not suggest a Cloud-only command for Data Center, or the reverse.

Read setup and common workflows when installing, authenticating, creating a context, or learning the main command patterns. For config-free CI or containers, read headless authentication.

Route to the command reference

Read only the reference for the requested command group:

• pull requests, repositories, branches, commits, or statuses
• Cloud issues, pipelines, or variables
• Data Center administration, projects, or permissions
• authentication, contexts, webhooks, extensions, MCP, skills, or raw API

Mutation and credential boundaries

• Listing, viewing, status, and checks are read-only. Create, edit, approve, merge, delete, rerun, or permission changes modify Bitbucket; perform them only when the user requested that change.
• Never place tokens, OAuth secrets, or passwords in commands that could enter logs or committed files. Use the CLI's supported credential flow or environment variables described in the auth references.
• Official release binaries embed the Cloud browser-OAuth consumer credentials. Do not remove that behavior as generic hardening. Source and Nix builds may require BKT_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID and BKT_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET.
• Before a merge or other consequential write, inspect the exact target, repository, and current checks. Report the resulting URL or identifier.

References

• admin — Administrative operations for Bitbucket (DC)
• auth — Manage Bitbucket authentication credentials
• branch — Inspect and manage branches
• commit — Work with commits
• context — Manage Bitbucket CLI contexts
• extension — Manage bkt CLI extensions
• issue — Work with Bitbucket Cloud issues (Cloud)
• mcp — Model Context Protocol server for agents
• perms — Manage Bitbucket permissions (DC)
• pipeline — Run and inspect Bitbucket Cloud pipelines (Cloud)
• pr — Manage pull requests
• project — Work with Bitbucket projects (DC)
• repo — Work with Bitbucket repositories
• skill — Install and manage agent skills
• status — Inspect commit and pull request statuses
• variable — Manage pipeline variables (Cloud)
• webhook — Manage Bitbucket webhooks
• other — api