How to Sync Translation Files with Bitbucket

Many development teams rely on Bitbucket for source control — especially those already in the Atlassian ecosystem with Jira and Confluence. If your translation files live in a Bitbucket repository, the typical workflow for editing them involves cloning, finding the right file, making changes in a text editor, committing, and pushing. That's a lot of overhead for a simple translation update.

Glot's Bitbucket integration removes this friction entirely. Connect your Bitbucket account, browse your repositories and branches, open any locale file in a visual editor, and push changes back — directly to the branch or via a pull request. Everything happens in the browser.

Connecting Your Bitbucket Account

The connection uses Bitbucket's OAuth 2.0 flow. You authorize Glot to access your repositories — your password is never shared, and the resulting access token is encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM.

1. Go to Integrations and click Connect on the Bitbucket card.
2. You'll be redirected to Bitbucket to authorize Glot. Approve the request.
3. Once redirected back, your Bitbucket account is connected. You'll see your username and avatar on the integration card.

You can disconnect at any time from the same page. Disconnecting deletes the stored token immediately.

Importing Translation Files from Bitbucket

Once connected, the Import from Cloud button in the editor toolbar includes Bitbucket as an option. Clicking it opens a repository browser:

1. Search and select a repository — All repositories you have access to are listed. Use the search bar to filter by name.
2. Switch branches — The default branch (usually main or master) is pre-selected, but you can switch to any branch from the dropdown.
3. Navigate the file tree — Browse directories to find your locale files. JSON, YAML, ARB, and CSV files are highlighted and importable.
4. Click to import — The file is loaded into the editor. Its Bitbucket origin (workspace, repo, branch, path) is tracked, so you can push changes back later.

Pushing Changes Back to Bitbucket

After editing, the Push to Bitbucket button appears in the toolbar. Clicking it opens the commit dialog with two options:

Direct Commit

Write a commit message and push directly to the branch you imported from. This is the fastest option for small fixes — a typo correction, an added translation key, or updating a value.

New Branch + Pull Request

For production branches, the safer workflow is to create a new branch and open a pull request:

1. Toggle to New Branch + PR mode in the commit dialog.
2. Glot generates a branch name (e.g. glot/update-1710720000000) which you can customize.
3. Write your commit message and PR title. Optionally include a description.
4. Click Push — Glot creates the branch, commits the file, and opens a pull request on Bitbucket. A link to the PR appears in the success message.

This means a translator, content manager, or product owner can propose translation changes through Bitbucket's pull request review flow — without ever using Git commands.

Bitbucket vs. GitHub vs. GitLab

Glot now supports all three major Git hosting platforms. The integration pattern is consistent across all providers:

• GitHub — Repositories identified by owner/repo. Uses pull requests.
• GitLab — Projects identified by project ID. Uses merge requests.
• Bitbucket — Repositories identified by workspace/repo slug. Uses pull requests.
• Same editor, same formats — The import and editing experience is identical regardless of which provider the file came from.

You can connect all three simultaneously and switch between them from the same import dropdown in the editor.

Who Benefits?

• Atlassian teams — Organizations using Bitbucket alongside Jira and Confluence now have a seamless way to manage translation files without leaving their existing toolchain.
• Translators without Git access — Non-technical team members can browse, edit, and submit translation changes through the browser. Pull request review ensures quality control.
• Multi-platform teams — If your organization uses multiple Git hosts, you can connect GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket simultaneously and switch between them effortlessly.
• Open-source maintainers — Accept translation contributions without onboarding contributors to your Git workflow.

Security

All cloud connections use OAuth 2.0 — Glot never sees your Bitbucket password. Access tokens are encrypted with AES-256-GCM before storage and decrypted only when making API calls on your behalf. You can revoke access at any time from both Glot's integration page and Bitbucket's app authorization settings.

Get Started

Connect your Bitbucket account from the Integrations page, then open the editor and click Import from Cloud to browse your repositories. Edit, translate, and push — all from one place.

Translation management shouldn't require command-line proficiency. With Bitbucket integration, Glot brings the full edit-commit-PR cycle into the browser, making it accessible to your entire team — whether they use GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket.