bitbucket api get commits to branch

3 min read 03-10-2024

When working with repositories on Bitbucket, it's common to need to retrieve commits made to a specific branch. The Bitbucket API makes it easy to access this information programmatically. This article will guide you through the process of using the Bitbucket API to get commits from a specific branch, while providing context and examples to enhance your understanding.

Understanding the Bitbucket API

The Bitbucket API is a RESTful service that allows developers to programmatically interact with Bitbucket repositories. Whether you need to manage repositories, access commit history, or manipulate user permissions, the API is designed to cater to a variety of tasks.

How to Retrieve Commits from a Branch

To retrieve commits from a specific branch, you will use the Bitbucket API endpoint dedicated to commits. The endpoint you'll be interested in is:

GET /repositories/{workspace}/{repo_slug}/commits/{branch}

Step-by-Step Guide

Authentication: Before you can make requests to the Bitbucket API, you need to authenticate. Bitbucket supports various authentication methods, including OAuth and Basic Authentication. For simplicity, let's assume you're using Basic Authentication.
Construct the API Request: Replace {workspace}, {repo_slug}, and {branch} with your specific values:
- {workspace}: The Bitbucket workspace ID.
- {repo_slug}: The repository identifier.
- {branch}: The name of the branch you want to query.
An example API request URL might look like:
```
https://api.bitbucket.org/2.0/repositories/myworkspace/myrepo/commits/mybranch
```
Making the Request: You can use tools like curl, Postman, or any programming language that supports HTTP requests to make your API call. Here's an example using curl:
```
curl -u username:app_password "https://api.bitbucket.org/2.0/repositories/myworkspace/myrepo/commits/mybranch"
```
In this command:
- username is your Bitbucket username.
- app_password is a Bitbucket app password you've generated.

Understanding the Response: If the request is successful, you'll receive a JSON response containing the commits made to the specified branch. Each commit object typically includes:

hash: The commit identifier.
author: Information about the author of the commit.
date: The date the commit was made.
message: The commit message.

Here’s a snippet of what the response may look like:

{
    "pagelen": 10,
    "values": [
        {
            "type": "commit",
            "hash": "abc123",
            "date": "2023-10-01T12:34:56+00:00",
            "message": "Fixed bug in feature X",
            "author": {
                "user": {
                    "username": "user123",
                    "display_name": "User One"
                }
            }
        }
        // more commits...
    ],
    "next": null
}

Example: Using Python to Fetch Commits

Here’s how you could implement this in Python using the requests library:

import requests
from requests.auth import HTTPBasicAuth

# Replace with your details
workspace = 'myworkspace'
repo_slug = 'myrepo'
branch = 'mybranch'
username = 'your_username'
app_password = 'your_app_password'

url = f"https://api.bitbucket.org/2.0/repositories/{workspace}/{repo_slug}/commits/{branch}"

response = requests.get(url, auth=HTTPBasicAuth(username, app_password))

if response.status_code == 200:
    commits = response.json().get('values', [])
    for commit in commits:
        print(f"Commit: {commit['hash']}, Author: {commit['author']['user']['display_name']}, Date: {commit['date']}, Message: {commit['message']}")
else:
    print(f"Failed to retrieve commits: {response.status_code} - {response.text}")

Additional Considerations

Pagination: If there are many commits, the API may paginate results. You can check the next field in the response to continue fetching commits.
Rate Limiting: Keep an eye on API rate limits to avoid unnecessary issues.
Error Handling: Ensure to implement proper error handling for cases where the branch does not exist or other issues arise.

Conclusion

Retrieving commits from a specific branch in a Bitbucket repository using the API can streamline your workflow and improve automation in your development process. By utilizing the methods outlined in this article, you can easily access commit history and enhance your tools and integrations.

For more information, refer to the official Bitbucket API documentation.

Attribution

This article referenced answers and insights from developers on Stack Overflow. Notably, the question on using the Bitbucket API to get commits to a branch and various examples provided insights into practical implementations. We appreciate the community's contributions!

By following this guide, you should be equipped with the knowledge to effectively use the Bitbucket API for retrieving commits from specific branches, leveraging this powerful feature to enhance your development projects.