Jira
If your organization uses Jira, you can migrate your issues from Jira to GitLab. If you want to continue to use Jira, you can integrate Jira with GitLab instead.
Jira integrations
GitLab offers two types of Jira integrations. You can use one or both integrations depending on the capabilities you need.
Jira issue integration
You can use the Jira issue integration developed by GitLab with Jira Cloud, Jira Data Center, or Jira Server. With this integration, you can:
- View and search Jira issues directly in GitLab.
- Refer to Jira issues by ID in GitLab commits and merge requests.
- Create Jira issues for vulnerabilities.
Jira development panel
You can use the Jira development panel to view GitLab activity for an issue including related branches, commits, and merge requests. To configure the Jira development panel:
- For Jira Cloud, use the GitLab for Jira Cloud app developed and maintained by GitLab.
- For Jira Data Center or Jira Server, use the Jira DVCS connector developed and maintained by Atlassian.
Jira integration capabilities
This table shows the capabilities available with the Jira issue integration and the Jira development panel:
| Capability | Jira issue integration | Jira development panel |
|---|---|---|
| Mention a Jira issue ID in a GitLab commit or merge request, and a link to the Jira issue is created | Yes | No |
| Mention a Jira issue ID in GitLab, and the Jira issue shows the GitLab issue or merge request | Yes, a Jira comment with the GitLab issue or merge request title links to GitLab. The first mention is also added to the Jira issue under Web links | Yes, in the issue’s development panel |
| Mention a Jira issue ID in a GitLab commit message, and the Jira issue shows the commit message | Yes, the entire commit message is displayed in the Jira issue as a comment and under Web links. Each message links back to the commit in GitLab | Yes, in the issue’s development panel and optionally with a custom comment on the Jira issue by using Jira Smart Commits |
| Mention a Jira issue ID in a GitLab branch name, and the Jira issue shows the branch name | No | Yes, in the issue’s development panel |
| Add time tracking to a Jira issue | No | Yes, time can be specified by using Jira Smart Commits |
| Use a Git commit or merge request to transition or close a Jira issue | Yes, only a single transition type. Typically configured to close the issue by setting it to Done | Yes, transition to any state by using Jira Smart Commits |
| View a list of Jira issues | Yes | No |
| Create a Jira issue for a vulnerability | Yes | No |
| Create a GitLab branch from a Jira issue | No | Yes, in the issue’s development panel |
| Sync GitLab deployments to Jira issues | No | Yes, in the issue’s development panel. Mention a Jira issue ID in a GitLab merge request, branch name, or any of the last 5,000 commits made to the branch after the last successful deployment to the environment |
Privacy considerations
All Jira integrations share data with Jira to make it visible outside of GitLab. If you integrate a private GitLab project with Jira, the private data is shared with users who have access to your Jira project.
The Jira issue integration posts GitLab data in the form of comments in Jira issues. The GitLab for Jira Cloud app and Jira DVCS connector share this data through the Jira development panel. This method provides more fine-grained access control because access can be restricted to certain user groups or roles.