Bamboo 4.2 : How do I manually set the version of new Subversion workspaces

You can manually set the version of any new Subversion workspaces created by Bamboo on checkout. Bamboo automatically upgrades any source code it checks out, to be compatible with a particular version of Subversion. If you use an older Subversion client to access the code checked out by Bamboo, you will need to force any new Subversion workspaces to be created with the SVN version that you wish to retain. Otherwise, if you then use an older Subversion client to access this code, any Bamboo builds on that code may fail.

If you want to prevent Bamboo from automatically upgrading any source code checked out, you will need to run Bamboo with the following system property:

-Dbamboo.svn.wc.format=X.X

where X.X is the SVN version that you want to retain for your code. Valid values for this parameter are 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6.

To change this parameter for your Bamboo instance:

  • Add the parameter with a '-D' prefix and appropriate value, in your command line when starting Bamboo. e.g. -Dbamboo.svn.wc.format=1.5, or

(warning) Please note, setting this parameter will only affect any Subversion workspaces created after the parameter has been set. It will not change the version of any Subversion workspaces that have already been created. And the parameter needs to be set on the Bamboo server in case of an local build and remote agent in case of a remote agent build.


For example, setting this parameter to 1.5 tells Bamboo to;

  • check out code to version 1.5 if no working copy exists, and
  • not to automatically upgrade any already checked out code of an existing working copy to be compatible with Subversion 1.6.