Better Commit Policy for Jira Server

Verify the changes committed to Git, Bitbucket, GitHub, GitLab, Subversion & Mercurial against configurable rules

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Better Commit Policy for Jira - Introduction in 7 minutes

How does it work?

Better Commit Policy validates the changes committed to your Version Control System repositories against the commit policy, a set of configurable rules.

If the rules are not satisfied, the commits are rejected. Rejected commits must be corrected to comply with the rules and then re-committed.

Why should I use commit policies?

By enforcing rules on the commits, tags, branches, you ensure:

validated links between commits and Jira issues
traceable commit history
faster code reviews
continuous audit-readiness
... and more efficient development processes!

← Learn more by watching the intro video in the left.

Stay in control of every source code change

Rules can check every commit detail:

changed files
commit message
commit author
affected branches
affected tags

Each rule:

can be limited to specific branches
can be limited to specific directories
can combine multiple conditions with AND/OR operators
can display resolution hints for developers when their commit is rejected

Supported Version Control Systems

Built for everything from centralized VCS to cloud-native distributed VCS.

Git
Git (client-side) (must-have for Git users!)
Bitbucket Server (via a free Bitbucket app)
Bitbucket Data Center (via a free Bitbucket app)
Bitbucket Cloud
GitHub
GitHub Enterprise
GitLab.com
GitLab Self-Managed
Subversion
Mercurial
Perforce
TFS (Team Foundation Server)
ClearCase

... plus any other VCS or environment via the REST API and custom hook scripts!

Ready for the Enterprise

Unlike free alternatives, Better Commit Policy is:

Well-documented
Commercially supported
Scalable (for enterprise-scale teams using Jira and Bitbucket)
Secure (SOC 2 Type II, vulnerability scanner, bug bounty program)
Future-ready for all Jira deployment types (Cloud, Data Center, Server)

Learn more about fast local Git commit verification (in 3 minutes)

Commit verification will not slow you down!

Fixing a wrong commit created hours ago is painful and costly. That's true.

Better Commit Policy works eagerly: it verifies commits before those are created. By preventing the creation of wrong commits, there is no need to fix anything later!

Better Commit Policy is the only commit checker app for Jira with this feature. Other apps verify commits only when those are sent to the server. And that's way too late!

Watch the video in the right and read how does local verification work? →

Works with your current tools

Your team members can use any standard-compliant VCS client (command-line, GUI tools, IDE integrations) on any Operating System.

Zero learning curve

After a couple of rejections, clean and precise commits become the new normal.

Flow of DevOps chain reaction triggered by a commit

Atlassian Open DevOps experience on Jira Server

Make Jira your DevOps backbone with the help of Better DevOps Automation, a companion app for Better Commit Policy.

Automate development workflows

Free up developers from repetitive and error-prone manual tasks.

Use Commit Created, Branch Created, Tag Created triggers or @commands (entered in commits messages) to automatically notify on, build, deploy, deliver or scan your code!

Enforce well-formatted and traceable commit messages

Ensure every commit is traceable, properly formatted, and linked to the right Jira issue.

Commit message must match a pattern
- commit messages must start with a Jira issue key
- commit messages must be 10+ characters long
Commit message must contain issue keys from a JQL query
- commits must be linked to one or more valid Jira issues
- commits must be associated with exactly one story in the current sprint

Validate the branches your developers create

Enforce your branches are standardized and follow your naming conventions.

Branch name must match a pattern
- branch names must follow naming conventions (example: must start with feature/, bugfix/ or hotfix/)
- bugfix type branch names must contain a test execution ID (example: "bugfix/1741-test-run")
Branch name must contain issue keys from a JQL query
- story type branch names must include a "Story" type issue from the currently running Scrum sprint (example: "story/CAL-123-shared-calendars")
- bugfix type branch names must include a "Bug" type issue assigned to the commit author (example: "bugfix/CAL-345-form-validation-crash")

Validate the tags your developers create

Enforce your tags are properly formatted and follow your naming conventions.

Tag name must match a pattern
- tag names must follow semantic versioning (SemVer) conventions (example: "7.1.0-beta")
- tag names must start with "release-" or "snapshot-"
Tag name must contain issue keys from a JQL query
- tags must be linked to a closed issue labelled with the "delivery"
- tags must be linked to a "ComponentVersion" type issue in the "CMDB" project

Protect your repository from unexpected files and changes

Keep your repo clean, and your codebase protected.

Changed paths (files) must match a pattern
- protected paths: lock the "/doc/legal" directory from modifications
- accept only image files in the "/static/images" directory
- reject *.tmp, *.cfg, *.obj, *.class, .* and other temporary or hidden files
Changed paths (files) must contain issue keys from a JQL query
- filenames in the "/patches" directory must include a "Bug" type issue (example: "/patches/CAL-123.patch")
- sub-directories in the "/test/data" directory must be linked to a "Test" type issue (example: "/test/data/CAL-456/japanese.json")

Restrict commits based on users, group membership and attributes

Only trusted commit authors can make changes.

Committer must have a valid Jira account
- only users with valid Jira accounts can commit changes
- only users in the "cal-developers" Jira group can commit changes
Committer attribute must match a pattern
- only the users "alice", "bob" or "cecil" can commit changes
- only users with an email address matching "*-ext@acmeinc.com" "can commit changes

Rigorous change control

Establish processes for compliance with ISO standards, IEC standards and industry regulations in:

defence
financial
avionics (success story)
automotive
medical
pharmaceutical
other safety-critical systems

Or, just make sure that every change to your code is introduced in a controlled and documented way!

End-to-end traceability

Accelerate requirements validation, compliance verification, impact analysis, coverage analysis and source code audits by bi-directionally linking Jira issues and source code changes:

requirements ⇔ code changes
epics ⇔ user stories ⇔ code changes
tasks / bugfixes ⇔ code changes
tests ⇔ code changes
change requests ⇔ sub-tasks ⇔ code changes
releases ⇔ issues ⇔ code changes

Faster code reviews & audits

Maintain development workflows for consistent repository, code & history.

By making small improvements (useful tips) in the way your team works, common questions like these will be automatically answered:

"Why was this changed?"
"Was it tested? In what environments?"
"Is this within the scope of the current release?"
"Who approved this merge?"
"Is there a programmatic test for this story?"

Why should I care about change control?

Integrated with the VCS tools you already use

Better Commit Policy for Jira extends all leading Version Control Systems and all VCS clients with commit verification features.

How does it help me work better?

Better Commit Policy success story (Aviation)

Helping the developer team comply with regulations and software requirements

"In the aviation industry, we need to be able to prove to authorities how exactly each aerospace system requirement is fulfilled and by what part of the source code. Better Commit Policy makes it easy to manage our Jira work items towards those requirements, proactively control what is committed to our source code repositories, and ultimately, to comply with regulations."

– Kalen Brown, Associate Electrical and Computer Engineer

Read the story →

Better Commit Policy success story (Medical)

How developers of safety-critical systems at Philips manage source code changes

"Before using commit policies, our developers’ behavior was like in the wild west. We couldn’t match source code changes with Jira issues, it was almost impossible to understand what work has really been done, we wasted time. The Better Commit Policy app helps us maintain a manageable development process by enforcing some configurable rules in a friendly, but strict way."

– Yakov Yukhnovetsky, DevOps Engineer