How to delete a Bitbucket Pull Request (Step-by-step instructions)

A pull request is a feature in Bitbucket that allows developers to propose changes to a codebase. However, sometimes a pull request may no longer be needed or may have been submitted in error. In such cases, you may want to delete the pull request. 

We have listed three ways to delete a Bitbucket pull request and explain each method's authorization levels and requirements:

• Using the Bitbucket web interface
• Using the Bitbucket API
• Using Git

Let's find out which method works best for you.

Method 1: Using Bitbucket web interface

The first and easiest way to delete a pull request in Bitbucket is to use the web interface. Here are the steps involved:

1. Log in to Bitbucket and navigate to the repository that contains the pull request you want to delete.

2. Click on the "Pull Requests" tab to see a list of all the open pull requests for the repository.

3. Find the pull request you want to delete and click on it to open it.

4. Once the pull request is open, you should see a button on the top right-hand side that says "Decline." Click on this button.

5. A confirmation window will appear, asking you to confirm that you want to decline the pull request. Click on "Decline pull request" to confirm.

6. The pull request will be deleted.  You won't see it in your list of pull requests anymore.

It is necessary for you to have at least "write" access to the repository to use this method. This means that you must be a member of a group or have been given explicit permission to modify the repository by the repository owner or an administrator.

Learn how to create a Bitbucket PR ➡️

Method 2: Using Bitbucket API

The Bitbucket API allows developers to interact with Bitbucket programmatically. This method can be useful if you need to automate the process of deleting pull requests. Here are the steps involved:

1. First, you will need to generate a personal access token with the "Pull Requests: Write" permission. Go to your account settings to do this, clicking on "Access Management," and then clicking on "Personal access tokens."
2. Create a new personal access token with the "Pull Requests: Write" permission.
3. Copy the access token to your clipboard, as you will need it in the next step.
4. Open a command prompt or terminal window and use the following command to delete the pull request:

curl -X DELETE -H "Authorization: Bearer <your_access_token>" https://api.bitbucket.org/2.0/repositories/<workspace>/<repo_slug>/pullrequests/<pull_request_id>

Replace <your_access_token> with the access token you generated in step 2, <workspace> with the name of your Bitbucket workspace, <repo_slug> with the slug of the repository where the pull request is located, and <pull_request_id> with the ID of the pull request you want to delete. You can find the ID of the pull request in the URL of the pull request page.

5. Press enter to run the command. The pull request will be deleted, and you should see a JSON response indicating the operation was successful.

To use this method, you must have a personal access token that has the "Pull Requests: Write" permission.

Method 3: Using Git

The third method to delete a pull request in Bitbucket is by using Git. Here are the steps involved:

1. Open a command prompt or terminal window and navigate to the local repository that corresponds to the pull request you want to delete.
2. Use the following command to list all the branches in your repository:

git branch -a

3. Find the branch associated with the pull request that you want to delete. Note down the name of this branch.
4. Use the command below to delete the branch associated with the pull request. Replace <branch_name> with the name of the branch that you noted down in step 3. This command will delete the branch and, as a result, the associated pull request.

git push origin --delete <branch_name>

5. Once the branch is deleted, the pull request will no longer be visible in Bitbucket.

To use this method, you must have “write” access to the repository and the ability to push changes to the remote repository. This means that you must be a member of a group or have been given explicit permission to modify the repository by the repository owner or an administrator.

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