Bitbucket Data Center and Server 8.9 release notes
12 April 2023
Introducing Bitbucket Data Center and Server 8.9.
We're excited to announce that the Bitbucket Data Center 8.9 Long Term Support release is now available.
Bitbucket Data Center and Server 8.9 is a Long Term Support release
This means we’ll continue to backport critical security and product bug fixes to 8.9 throughout its standard 2-year support window. In addition, when architecturally possible, we’ll also backport all other security bug fixes.
This allows you to get the maximum value from our continuous product development without strictly keeping up with the frequent release cadence.
Long Term Support releases are designed specifically for larger, more complex instances – ones that require significant planning and effort to upgrade. We understand that upgrades for such instances can be few and far between, and so every one of them needs to count. So, if you can manage only one feature release upgrade every year, make sure it is to the latest LTS release.
See the Atlassian Data Center and Server Bug Fix Policy and Security Bug Fix policies for more information.
Long Term Support release roundup
It's been about a year since Bitbucket Server and Data Center 7.21 was released as a Long Term Support release. In that time we've shipped a huge amount of value!
Here's the list of next-level enterprise features to support your critical needs.
Performance and scaling
- Bitbucket Mesh, is a distributed Git storage for the best performance and high availability of repositories. Although Bitbucket Mesh is optional, we recommend it for large Bitbucket DC instances under high load.
- Archive repositories to declutter unused repositories and let users know they’re no longer being maintained.
- Faster audit log for easier and more powerful performance.
- Authorization and permissions performance improvements for instances with large number of permissions, users, and groups.
Security and compliance
- Secret scanning to notify you of accidentally exposed secrets.
- Stricter controls on SSH keys.
- Redesigned pages for SSH keys and access keys. We also highlight unsafe SSH keys.
- Stricter controls on repository settings.
- Updated VPAT documents for accessibility improvements.
- Connect to cloud products with secure application tunnels.
Developer and admin experience
- Create repository permission to decrease the load on your project admins.
- Default tasks for pull requests to create consistent processes and improve developer productivity.
- Redesigned permissions pages to easily manage user permissions and meet your compliance needs.
- New format for Diff View.
Apps and integrations
- Automate at scale with project-level webhooks.
- Two new build states, UNKNOWN and CANCELLED, for your CI/CD integration.
- View deployment and build information in Jira Cloud.
Monitoring, insights, and troubleshooting
- Diagnose and troubleshoot Bitbucket on the fly with the Java Flight Recorder.
- Monitor application performance and keep your instance running like clockwork.
- REST APIs to troubleshoot mirrors.
All in all, we've resolved over 121 issues since 7.21. For an overview of all the changes, check out the Long Term Support Release Change Log .
So what can you expect from Bitbucket 8.9? We're devoted to raising the already high bar we’ve set for quality, stability, and performance. We’ve focused on thorough testing and hardening of Bitbucket’s existing features to let you focus on planning your upgrade. Whether you choose a Long Term Support release or a standard feature release, always remember to grab the most recent bug fix version to make sure your Bitbucket instance is the best it can be.
Also available now
Bitbucket Mesh changes and improvements
DATA CENTER
If you’re upgrading from a version below 8.0, note that the upgrade process hasn't changed. Provisioning Bitbucket Mesh nodes is optional for the upgrade; however, we recommend Mesh for large and busy Bitbucket instance for faster Git processing and high availability.
Mesh 2.0 is now ready to work with large Bitbucket instances under highest load. Here’s the list of things we’ve added since Mesh 1.0:
- Support for large and busy repositories.
- Ability to add and remove Mesh nodes seamlessly. Mesh will move and rebalance data into appropriate nodes.
- Built-in support for disaster recovery.
- Ability to provision Mesh nodes on Kubernetes infrastructure through our supported Helm charts.
Focus on important discussions with resolvable comments
SERVER DATA CENTER
When a pull request has lots of comments it becomes hard to navigate and focus on really important discussions. You can now resolve comment threads to communicate to the rest of the pull request participants that the issue has been addressed, the decision has been made, and no further discussion is needed.
If many comments on the pull request are still open and you want to focus on the code diff, you can quickly declutter your view by collapsing comment threads. Learn how to resolve comments
Other changes and improvements
Support for HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)
We’ve added support for HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) policy mechanism. HSTS helps reduce the chances of users accidentally connecting to Bitbucket over non-secure HTTP connections and prevents man-in-the-middle attacks.
By default, HSTS is disabled in your Bitbucket instance. To enable it, add server.hsts.enabled=true to the bitbucket.properties configuration file, and then restart Bitbucket. You can also add this property before you upgrade to 8.9. The HSTS policy will be enabled when Bitbucket restarts after upgrading to 8.9+.
Accessibility fixes for low-vision and keyboard-only users
Continuing our accessibility journey, we've resolved 8 issues related to screen reader support and keyboard navigation that will enable users to perform essential tasks within Bitbucket.
Check out the full list of fixed issues
Before you upgrade to 8.9
SERVER DATA CENTER
H2 database migration requirement
In Bitbucket 8.8 and Mesh 1.5, we’ve upgraded the H2 database driver from version 1.4.200 to version 2.1.214. The upgrade has boosted data security.
If you’re upgrading from a version lower than Bitbucket 8.8 or Mesh 1.5, you’ll need to migrate the data manually to the upgraded Bitbucket or Mesh instance if:
- you’re using a mirror
- you’re using Bitbucket Server with a H2 database
- you’ve set up Bitbucket Mesh
Updates to supported platforms
Bitbucket 8.9 now includes support for running:
- Git 2.40
Get ready to upgrade
Before upgrading from an earlier version, check out our upgrade guide and upgrade matrix. Remember to renew your active software maintenance license too.
As part of our new pull request experience from version 7.0 and higher, we have created a collection of new features for you to check out on one page, Enhancements to your code review workflow.
Change log
Resolved issues in Bitbucket Server 8.9.1
Released 17 May 2023
Resolved issues in Bitbucket Server 8.9.0
Released 12 April 2023