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require-bitbucket-pipelines-clone-depth

Require a clone.depth setting in Bitbucket Pipelines.

Targeted pattern scope​

This rule reads bitbucket-pipelines.yml and checks whether a depth: key exists under the clone: section.

What this rule reports​

This rule reports when bitbucket-pipelines.yml exists but does not contain a clone.depth setting.

Why this rule exists​

By default, Bitbucket Pipelines performs a full clone of the entire repository history on every pipeline run. For repositories with long histories this can take significant time and bandwidth, adding unnecessary overhead to every build. Setting clone.depth to a shallow depth (e.g. 1) limits the clone to only the commits needed for the current run, reducing checkout time noticeably. For the rare cases where full history is needed, the depth can be set explicitly to a higher value.

❌ Incorrect​

# bitbucket-pipelines.yml — no clone depth configured
pipelines:
  default:
    - step:
        script:
          - npm test

✅ Correct​

# bitbucket-pipelines.yml
clone:
  depth: 1

pipelines:
  default:
    - step:
        script:
          - npm test

ESLint flat config example​

import repoPlugin from "eslint-plugin-repo";

export default [
  repoPlugin.configs.bitbucket,
  {
    plugins: { "repo-compliance": repoPlugin },
    rules: {
      "repo-compliance/require-bitbucket-pipelines-clone-depth": "warn",
    },
  },
];

When not to use it​

Disable this rule if your pipeline scripts require full git history (e.g. for changelog generation with git log, version bumping tools, or merge-base comparisons) and you intentionally need a full clone.

Rule catalog ID: R059

Further reading​