Jira issue integration

Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated

The Jira issue integration connects one or more GitLab projects to a Jira instance. You can host the Jira instance yourself or in Jira Cloud. The supported Jira versions are 6.x, 7.x, 8.x, and 9.x.

Configure the integration

History
  • Authentication with Jira personal access tokens introduced in GitLab 16.0.

Prerequisites:

You can enable the Jira issue integration by configuring your project settings in GitLab. You can also configure the integration at the group level and the instance level on self-managed GitLab.

To configure your project settings in GitLab:

  1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
  2. Select Settings > Integrations.
  3. Select Jira.
  4. Under Enable integration, select the Active checkbox.
  5. Provide connection details:
    • Web URL: Base URL for the Jira instance web interface you’re linking to this GitLab project (for example, https://jira.example.com).
    • Jira API URL: Base URL for the Jira instance API (for example, https://jira-api.example.com). If this URL is not set, the Web URL value is used by default. For Jira Cloud, leave Jira API URL blank.
    • Authentication method:
      • Basic:
        • Email or username:
          • For Jira Cloud, enter an email.
          • For Jira Data Center or Jira Server, enter a username.
        • API token or password:
          • For Jira Cloud, enter an API token.
          • For Jira Data Center or Jira Server, enter a password.
      • Jira personal access token (only available for Jira Data Center and Jira Server): Enter a personal access token.
  6. Provide trigger settings:
    • Select Commit, Merge request, or both as triggers. When you mention a Jira issue ID in GitLab, GitLab links to that issue.
    • To add a comment to the Jira issue that links back to GitLab, select the Enable comments checkbox.
    • To transition Jira issues automatically in GitLab, select the Enable Jira transitions checkbox.
  7. In the Jira issue matching section:
  8. Optional. In the Issues section:
    • To view Jira issues in GitLab:
      1. Select the Enable Jira issues checkbox.

        caution
        When you enable this setting, all users with access to your GitLab project can view all issues from the Jira project you’ve specified.
      2. Enter the Jira project key.

    • To create Jira issues for vulnerabilities:
      1. Select the Enable Jira issue creation from vulnerabilities checkbox.

        note
        You can enable this setting at the project and group levels only.
      2. Select the type of Jira issues to create.

        caution
        Before you select the issue type, you must enter the Jira project key and select Save changes.
  9. Optional. Select Test settings.
  10. Select Save changes.

Your GitLab project can now interact with all Jira projects on your instance.

View Jira issues

Tier: Premium, Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated
History
  • Ability to enable Jira issues at the group level introduced in GitLab 16.9.

Prerequisites:

  • Ensure the Jira issue integration is configured and the Enable Jira issues checkbox is selected.

To view issues from a single Jira project in a GitLab project:

  1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
  2. Select Plan > Jira issues.

By default, the issues are sorted by Created date. The most recently created issues appear at the top. You can filter issues and select an issue to view that issue in GitLab.

Issues are grouped into the following tabs based on their Jira status:

  • Open: issues with any Jira status other than Done.
  • Closed: issues with a Done Jira status.
  • All: issues with any Jira status.

Filter Jira issues

Tier: Premium, Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated

Prerequisites:

  • Ensure the Jira issue integration is configured and the Enable Jira issues checkbox is selected.

When you view Jira issues in GitLab, you can filter the issues by text in summaries and descriptions. You can also filter the issues by:

  • Label: specify one or more Jira issue labels in the labels[] parameter in the URL. When you specify multiple labels, only the issues that have all the specified labels appear (for example, /-/integrations/jira/issues?labels[]=backend&labels[]=feature&labels[]=QA).
  • Status: specify the Jira issue status in the status parameter in the URL (for example, /-/integrations/jira/issues?status=In Progress).
  • Reporter: specify the Jira display name of the author_username parameter in the URL (for example, /-/integrations/jira/issues?author_username=John Smith).
  • Assignee: specify the Jira display name of the assignee_username parameter in the URL (for example, /-/integrations/jira/issues?assignee_username=John Smith).

Create a Jira issue for a vulnerability

Tier: Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated

Prerequisites:

  • Ensure the Jira issue integration is configured and the Enable Jira issues and Enable Jira issue creation from vulnerabilities checkboxes are selected.
  • You must have a Jira user account with permission to create issues in the target project.

You can create a Jira issue from GitLab to track any action taken to resolve or mitigate a vulnerability. To create a Jira issue for a vulnerability:

  1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
  2. Select Secure > Vulnerability report.
  3. Select the vulnerability’s description.
  4. Select Create Jira issue.

The issue is created in the target Jira project with information from the vulnerability report.

To create a GitLab issue, see Create a GitLab issue for a vulnerability.

Create a Jira Cloud API token

To configure the Jira issue integration for Jira Cloud, you must have a Jira Cloud API token. To create a Jira Cloud API token:

  1. Sign in to Atlassian from an account with write access to Jira projects.

    The link opens the API tokens page. Alternatively, from your Atlassian profile, select Account Settings > Security > Create and manage API tokens.

  2. Select Create API token.
  3. On the dialog, enter a label for your token and select Create.

To copy the API token, select Copy.

Migrate from Jira Server to Jira Cloud

To migrate from Jira Server to Jira Cloud in GitLab and maintain your Jira integration:

  1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
  2. Select Settings > Integrations.
  3. Select Jira.
  4. In Web URL, enter the new Jira site URL (for example, https://myjirasite.atlassian.net).
  5. In Email or username, enter the email registered on your Jira profile.
  6. Create a Jira Cloud API token, and copy the token value.
  7. In API token or password, paste the API token value.
  8. Optional. Select Test settings.
  9. Select Save changes.

To update existing Jira issue references in GitLab to use the new Jira site URL, you must invalidate the Markdown cache.