What Is Atlassian Compass? Features & Comparison

Atlassian Compass is a developer experience platform launched by Atlassian, a company renowned for tools like Jira and Confluence. Introduced in beta in 2022 and made generally available in October 2023, Compass aims to address the growing complexity of modern software development, particularly in distributed architectures. Its primary purpose is to provide engineering teams with a centralized hub to catalog software components, track their health, and improve collaboration across teams.

The tool emerged from Atlassian’s internal need to manage its own sprawling microservices environment. As engineering teams shifted to cloud-based systems and microservices, the cognitive load on developers increased, prompting Atlassian to create a solution that could tame "software sprawl." Today, Compass serves as a single source of truth, helping teams understand what’s been built, who owns it, and how it’s performing—all in one place.

But what exactly does it offer? Let’s explore its key features and how it fits into the broader landscape of developer tools.

Core Features of Atlassian Compass

Atlassian Compass comes equipped with several features designed to streamline the developer experience. At its heart is the unified software component catalog, which acts as a centralized repository for tracking services, libraries, and dependencies. This catalog reduces the time developers spend searching for information by consolidating critical data—like ownership details and documentation—into a single interface.

Another standout feature is its health scorecards and DORA metrics. These tools allow teams to monitor the operational health of their software components using predefined metrics like deployment frequency, lead time for changes, and mean time to restore (MTTR). Scorecards help identify friction points, ensuring services remain reliable and performant.

Compass also offers software templates to standardize the creation of new services. These templates embed best practices, CI/CD configurations, and cloud provisioning guidelines, making it easier for developers to spin up components quickly and consistently.

Finally, its extensibility is a key selling point. Built on public APIs and integrated with Atlassian’s Forge platform, Compass connects with popular tools like GitHub, Bitbucket, and AWS. This flexibility allows teams to customize their experience, though the range of integrations remains somewhat limited compared to other platforms.

How Atlassian Compass Enhances Developer Experience

The promise of Atlassian Compass lies in its ability to reduce cognitive load and boost productivity. By providing a clear view of a team’s software architecture, it minimizes context switching—a common productivity killer for developers juggling multiple tools and systems. For example, when an incident occurs, Compass’s dependency maps and ownership details help teams quickly pinpoint the issue and the right people to resolve it.

Collaboration is another area where Compass shines. It bridges the gap between development and operations by linking components to the teams responsible for them. This visibility fosters a healthier engineering culture, especially in large organizations where siloed teams can slow down delivery.

Additionally, Compass’s focus on DevOps best practices—like automated health checks and standardized templates—helps teams maintain operational readiness. For organizations already invested in the Atlassian ecosystem, this seamless integration with tools like Jira and Confluence can be a significant advantage.

Limitations of Atlassian Compass

While Atlassian Compass offers a solid foundation, it’s not without its shortcomings.

For starters, its integration ecosystem is relatively narrow. Although it connects with over 20 tools, including GitHub and New Relic, it lacks the breadth of extensibility found in more robust internal developer portals. Teams relying on a diverse toolchain may find Compass’s offerings insufficient for their needs.

Another limitation is its developer self-service capabilities. Compass excels at cataloging and monitoring but falls short in supporting day-to-day operations beyond scaffolding new services. For instance, it doesn’t provide advanced automation for workflows like deployments or infrastructure management, which are critical for scaling engineering teams.

Lastly, Compass’s identity provider data integration is limited. Assigning ownership to components can be a manual and complex process, especially for organizations with dynamic team structures. This can hinder its effectiveness as a comprehensive solution for large-scale developer experience challenges.

Comparing Atlassian Compass to Internal Developer Portals

When evaluating what Atlassian Compass is, it’s worth comparing it to the broader category of internal developer portals (IDPs). IDPs are designed to centralize tools, resources, and workflows, empowering developers with self-service capabilities while maintaining governance for platform engineers. Compass fits this mold to an extent, but its scope is narrower than some alternatives.

For example, while Compass provides a component catalog and basic metrics, other IDPs offer deeper integrations with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code tools, and security testing frameworks. These platforms often enable developers to manage the full software delivery lifecycle—from code to cloud—within a single interface. Compass, by contrast, focuses more on visibility and health tracking than end-to-end automation.

Additionally, some IDPs provide richer self-service options, such as on-demand cloud development environments or automated resource provisioning. Compass’s reliance on templates and manual configuration can feel restrictive for teams needing more flexibility. 

While it’s a strong starting point, particularly for Atlassian users, it may not fully meet the needs of organizations seeking a more holistic developer platform.

Who Should Use Atlassian Compass?

Atlassian Compass is best suited for specific use cases. Teams already embedded in the Atlassian ecosystem—using Jira, Confluence, or Bitbucket—will find it a natural extension of their workflow. Its plug-and-play integration with these tools makes it an appealing choice for organizations looking to enhance developer experience without overhauling their existing stack.

Small to mid-sized engineering teams managing distributed architectures can also benefit. Compass’s simplicity and focus on cataloging and health monitoring make it a lightweight option for taming software sprawl without the complexity of a full-fledged IDP.

However, larger enterprises with complex, multi-tool environments might find Compass lacking. Teams needing advanced automation, broader integrations, or comprehensive self-service capabilities may need to look beyond Compass to meet their scalability and productivity goals.

The Future of Atlassian Compass in Developer Tools

As software development continues to evolve, tools like Atlassian Compass will play a critical role in shaping the developer experience. Its emphasis on reducing cognitive load and fostering collaboration aligns with industry trends toward platform engineering and DevOps maturity. Atlassian’s ongoing investment in Compass—such as expanding integrations and refining its feature set—suggests it could grow into a more competitive player.

That said, the developer tools landscape is crowded, with solutions ranging from open-source options like Backstage to commercial IDPs offering end-to-end capabilities. Compass’s future success will depend on its ability to balance simplicity with the depth required to support modern engineering teams. For now, it serves as a solid, if somewhat limited, entry point into the world of developer experience platforms.

In Summary

Atlassian Compass is a developer experience platform designed to bring order to distributed software architectures through a unified component catalog, health scorecards, and software templates. It excels at reducing cognitive load, enhancing collaboration, and integrating with Atlassian’s ecosystem, making it a great fit for teams already using Jira or Bitbucket. However, its limited integrations, modest self-service capabilities, and lack of advanced automation mean it falls short of the comprehensive functionality offered by some internal developer portals.

For organizations seeking a lightweight solution to manage software sprawl, Compass is a strong contender. But for those needing a more robust, end-to-end platform, alternatives like Harness Internal Developer Portal (IDP) might be worth exploring. Harness IDP, for instance, also provides a unified component catalog, health scorecards, and software templates, but goes beyond this to offer advanced workflows to automate and orchestrate developer day-1 and day-2 tasks, high customizability of the data model and UI, self-serve infrastructure provisioning and configuration, and access to 100’s of plugins, and policy-as-code governance—features that empower developers and platform engineers alike. Whether you choose Compass or a more expansive IDP, the key is aligning the tool with your team’s specific needs and growth ambitions.

FAQ

What is Atlassian Compass used for?

Atlassian Compass is used to manage distributed software architectures by providing a centralized catalog of components, tracking their health with scorecards, and standardizing service creation with templates. It aims to improve developer experience and collaboration.

How does Atlassian Compass compare to other developer portals?

Compared to other internal developer portals, Atlassian Compass offers strong cataloging and health monitoring but lacks extensive integrations and advanced self-service features. Broader IDPs often provide more automation and lifecycle management capabilities.

Is Atlassian Compass free?

Atlassian Compass offers a free tier for small teams, with premium plans unlocking advanced features like enhanced scorecards and integrations. Pricing depends on team size and requirements—check Atlassian’s official site for details.

Who benefits most from using Atlassian Compass?

Teams using Atlassian tools (like Jira) and small to mid-sized engineering groups managing microservices benefit most from Compass. Larger enterprises with complex needs might require a more feature-rich platform.

Can Atlassian Compass integrate with non-Atlassian tools?

Yes, Compass integrates with tools like GitHub, AWS, and New Relic via public APIs and Forge. However, its integration ecosystem is narrower than some competing developer portals.