Managing apps
An app is an installable component that supplements or enhances the functionality of Bitbucket Server in some way. For example, the Custom Navigation Plugin enables you to configure custom navigation tabs specific to a repository. Other apps are available for adding graphs to Bitbucket Server, importing SVN source control projects into Bitbucket Server, and accessing Atlassian support from Bitbucket Server.
Bitbucket Server comes with many pre-installed apps (called system apps). You can install more apps, either by acquiring the app from the Atlassian Marketplace or by uploading it from your file system. This means that you can install apps you have developed yourself. For information about developing your own apps for Bitbucket Server, see Bitbucket Server Developer Documentation.
On this page
About the Universal Plugin Manager (UPM)
You administer apps for Bitbucket Server using the Universal Plugin Manager (UPM). The UPM is itself an app that exposes app administration pages in the Bitbucket Server Administration Console. UPM works across Atlassian applications, providing a consistent interface for administering apps in Bitbucket Server, Crucible, Confluence, Fisheye, Jira applications, and Bamboo.
UPM comes pre-installed in recent versions of all Atlassian applications, so you do not normally need to install it yourself. However, like other apps, the UPM software is subject to regular software updates. Before administering apps in Bitbucket Server, therefore, you should verify your version of the UPM and update it if needed.
Administering apps in Bitbucket Server
You can update UPM, or any app, from the UPM's own app administration pages. Additionally, you can perform these tasks from the UPM administration pages:
- Install or remove apps
- Configure app settings
- Discover and install new apps from the Atlassian Marketplace
- Enable or disable apps and their component modules
It shows only those plugins that are supported in your version of the product, so that you do not install incompatible plugins.
If the app request feature is enabled in your Atlassian application, non-administrative users can also discover apps on the Atlassian Marketplace. Instead of installing the apps, however, these users have the option of requesting the apps from you, the administrator of the Atlassian application.
For more information on administering the app request feature or performing other common app administration tasks, see the Universal Plugin Manager documentation. For an end-user's view of requesting apps in Bitbucket Server, see Requesting apps.
Apps for Bitbucket Data Center
Installing, and managing, apps for Bitbucket Data Center is done in the same way as for Bitbucket Server, as described above. The only requirement is that the app is Data Center-compatible – see Bitbucket Data Center Apps for compatibility information.
You can install an app from any cluster node. The app is stored on the shared file system for the Bitbucket Data Center, and made available to all nodes in the cluster.