We often get asked, “what can Workzone for Bitbucket Cloud provide that Bitbucket Cloud .codeowners doesn’t?”. This page is here to help outline the important feature benefits of each of the two solutions, highlight any overlap and ultimately showcase why hundreds of world-class enterprises prefer to use Workzone over .codeowners and other tools.
| Feature | Workzone Cloud | Bitbucket Cloud CodeOwners |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration UX | WebUI, REST API, and JSON for flexible configuration. Unified configuration UI for reviewers, digital signatures, all merge-checks and auto-merge. | Uses .bitbucket/codeowners file with DSL (domain-specific language). |
| Configuration Scopes | Supports Workspace, Project, and Repository levels. | Limited to Repository level only. It’s a configuration file in the repository. |
| Configuration Permissions | Scoped permissions: Workspace, Project, and Repository Admins can configure settings. | Everyone can edit the .bitbucket/codeowners file, which can lead to inconsistent rules. |
| Reviewers | Supported, with explicit required approval quota. | Supported, NO approval quotas. |
| Reviewer Groups | Supported, with explicit required approval quota. | Supported, NO approval quotas. |
| File/Path Reviewers | Users and groups, with explicit required approval quota | Users and groups, NO approval quotas. |
| Mandatory Reviewers and Groups | Enforces mandatory reviewers or group members, automatically re-adding them to PRs if removed. | Not available (N/A). |
| File/Path Mandatory Reviewers and Groups | Enforces mandatory users, group members with file/path-based approval quotas. | Not available (N/A). |
| Add Reviewers and groups condition | Add reviewers and groups only after successful build. Skip build related iterations. | Not available (N/A). |
| Merge Check – Reviewer Approval Quota | Enforced approval quotas for reviewer, and file/path reviewers, | Not available (N/A). |
| Merge Check – Group Approval Quota | Enforced approval quotas for general groups, and file/path groups for granular control. | Not available (N/A). |
| Merge Trigger | Auto-merge after merge checks pass, triggered on approvals, and successful build results. | Limited to triggering merges after build results only. |
| Compliance | Enforced digital signature approvals for regulatory compliance. | Not available (N/A). |
| Try Workzone Cloud for free |
Why Choose Workzone Cloud over .bitbucket/codeowners? #
While Bitbucket’s default .codeowners functionality provides basic support for managing code ownership and reviewers, Workzone elevates the process with powerful features and automation designed for modern, enterprise-grade workflows. Here’s why Workzone is the superior choice:
1. Granular Control and Flexibility #
With Workzone, you can configure rules at workspace, project, and repository levels, ensuring consistency across your organization. The ability to enforce mandatory reviewers, manage approval quotas, and rule based pull request workflow automation caters for enterprise teams.
2. Enhanced Reviewer Management #
Workzone allows you to configure reviewers and map required approval quotas at granular file/path level. Workzone re-adds reviewers should they get removed from the pull request, enforcing configured pull request review rules. Adding reviewers only after a preliminary build has passed is a huge time-saver, only pull requests that have a successful build need to be reviewed and build-related review – iterations can be skipped.
3. Streamlined Merge Process #
Advanced merge checks and auto-merge capabilities streamline the development workflow. Whether you’re managing large teams or adhering to strict compliance standards, Workzone ensures that only code meeting all conditions gets merged—automatically.
4. Regulatory Compliance #
Workzone’s mandatory enforced digital signature approvals provide the necessary compliance controls for industries with strict regulatory requirements, such as healthcare, pharma, finance, and government. This ensures that every approval is traceable and auditable for peace of mind during audits.
5. Improved Security and Governance #
Unlike .bitbucket/codeowners, which can be edited by anyone, Workzone limits configuration access to designated administrators at various levels. This minimizes the risk of accidental or unauthorized changes.
Real-Life Impact #
Use Case: Scaling Development Teams #
Imagine managing a large team of developers working on different parts of a monolithic repository. With .bitbucket/codeowners, maintaining consistent review and merge rules can quickly become chaotic, especially as teams grow. Workzone solves this by:
- Allowing detailed file/path-based reviewer assignments.
- Enforcing mandatory approvals to maintain quality.
- Automating merges once all conditions are met, saving time and reducing errors.
Use Case: Compliance in Regulated Industries #
For companies in industries like healthcare or finance, regulatory compliance is critical. Workzone’s digital signature approvals and repository hooks ensure that every code change is approved and tracked with the highest standards, meeting ISO 27001 and FDA CFR Part 11 requirements.