Grant read-only access to single repository in private workspace

[David Savoie]

I want to grant a read-only access to a potential outside developer to a single Bitbucket repository located in a private workspace.

Can someone provide step by step instructions as to where I should add the user, send the invite by email, etc.?

I'm confused by the many layers of users and accesses.

Thank you in advance!

[Phil C · Accepted solution]

Hi David,

Welcome to the community!

There are several methods to accomplish this. The easiest approach is to invite the external developer to a specific repository with read-only access.

Follow these steps:
1. Find the repository you want the developer to access
2. Go to the repository settings
3. Click on Repository permissions
4. Choose Add users or groups in the top right corner
5. Input the external developer's email address
6. Set the permission to Read

This will allow the external developer to access the repository with read-only rights.

- Phil

[David Savoie]

Thank you for your help. Unfortunately, I cannot invite by email from the **Repository permissions** interface. I think it's because the repository is in a private workspace, hence my question.

I know I could add the person as a member of the workspace, then grant readonly access to the repository, but since it's an external member, I'd rather keep the other projects hidden.

Is there any other way to add the person to the respository **without first adding the person to the private workspace**?

[Phil C]

Hi David,

As you alluded to, you'll need to add the external developer as a member of your workspace first. 

1. Create a new group (e.g., External Developers).
2. Add the person to this group 
   • At this point users in this group does not have access to any repositories. 
3. Find the repository you want the developer to access.
4. Go to the Repository settings and add grant read access to the group.

To verify the access for this group:

1. Go to the workspace settings.
2. Click on User groups.
3. Find and select the group you created.
4. Click on the Projects & Repositories tab

Later on, if you have additional external developers to include, you can simply add them to this group, and they will automatically inherit the same permissions and access to the repositories.

Cheers,

Phil 

[David Savoie]

Thank you very much for your help. I was able to create a group in the users directory, then assign the read-only permission for that group on the respository in Bitbucket.

I was not able to verify the access for the group as you suggested. In the repository settings, I cannot find a User groups menu, only Product access, User directory (which shows only users without any detail) and Workspace permissions.

I must admit, I still find it very confusing to distinguish between user directory, product accesses, user groups, workspace permissions, repository permissions, etc. I'm still learning, thanks to your assistance!