GitLab for Jira Cloud app

With the GitLab for Jira Cloud app, you can connect GitLab and Jira Cloud to sync development information in real time. You can view this information in the Jira development panel.

You can use the GitLab for Jira Cloud app to link top-level groups or subgroups. It’s not possible to directly link projects or personal namespaces.

To set up the GitLab for Jira Cloud app:

If you use Jira Data Center or Jira Server, use the Jira DVCS connector developed and maintained by Atlassian.

GitLab data synced to Jira

After you link a group, the following GitLab data is synced to Jira for all projects in that group when you mention a Jira issue ID:

  • Existing project data (before you linked the group):
    • The last 400 merge requests
    • The last 400 branches and the last commit to each of those branches (GitLab 15.11 and later)
  • New project data (after you linked the group):
    • Merge requests
    • Branches
    • Commits
    • Builds
    • Deployments
    • Feature flags

Install the GitLab for Jira Cloud app

Prerequisites:

  • You must have site administrator access to the Jira instance.
  • Your network must allow inbound and outbound connections between GitLab and Jira.

To install the GitLab for Jira Cloud app:

  1. In Jira, on the top bar, select Apps > Explore more apps and search for GitLab for Jira Cloud.
  2. Select GitLab for Jira Cloud, then select Get it now.

Alternatively, get the app directly from the Atlassian Marketplace.

You can now configure the GitLab for Jira Cloud app.

For an overview, see Configure the GitLab for Jira Cloud app from the Atlassian Marketplace.

Configure the GitLab for Jira Cloud app

Add namespace renamed to Link groups in GitLab 16.1.

Prerequisites:

  • You must have at least the Maintainer role for the GitLab group.
  • You must have site administrator access to the Jira instance.

You can sync data from GitLab to Jira by linking the GitLab for Jira Cloud app to one or more GitLab groups. To configure the GitLab for Jira Cloud app:

  1. In Jira, on the top bar, select Apps > Manage your apps.
  2. Expand GitLab for Jira.
  3. Select Get started.
  4. Optional. Select Change GitLab version to set the GitLab instance to use with Jira.
    • Select GitLab.com (SaaS) or GitLab (self-managed), then select Save.
    • For GitLab (self-managed), you must enter your GitLab instance URL.
  5. Select Sign into GitLab.
  6. For a list of groups you can link to, select Link groups.
  7. To link to a group, select Link.

After you link to a GitLab group, data is synced to Jira for all projects in that group. The initial data sync happens in batches of 20 projects per minute. For groups with many projects, the data sync for some projects is delayed.

Update the GitLab for Jira Cloud app

Most updates to the app are automatic. For more information, see the Atlassian documentation.

If the app requires additional permissions, you must manually approve the update in Jira.

Set up OAuth authentication for self-managed instances

The GitLab for Jira Cloud app is switching to OAuth authentication. To enable OAuth authentication, you must create an OAuth application on the GitLab instance.

You must enable OAuth authentication to:

To create an OAuth application:

  1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to.
  2. Select Admin Area.
  3. On the left sidebar, select Applications.
  4. Select New application.
  5. In Redirect URI:
    • If you’re installing the app from the official marketplace listing, enter https://gitlab.com/-/jira_connect/oauth_callbacks.
    • If you’re installing the app manually, enter <instance_url>/-/jira_connect/oauth_callbacks and replace <instance_url> with the URL of your instance.
  6. Clear the Trusted and Confidential checkboxes.
  7. In Scopes, select the api checkbox only.
  8. Select Save application.
  9. Copy the Application ID value.
  10. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
  11. Expand GitLab for Jira App.
  12. Paste the Application ID value into Jira Connect Application ID.
  13. Select Save changes.

Connect the GitLab for Jira Cloud app for self-managed instances

Introduced in GitLab 15.7.

You can link self-managed instances after installing the GitLab for Jira Cloud app from the marketplace. Jira apps can only link to one URL per marketplace listing. The official listing links to GitLab.com.

note
With this method, GitLab.com serves as a proxy for Jira traffic from your instance.

If your instance doesn’t meet the prerequisites or you don’t want to use the official marketplace listing, you can install the app manually.

With this method, it’s not possible to create branches from Jira Cloud for self-managed instances. For more information, see issue 391432. To create branches from Jira Cloud, install the app manually.

Prerequisites

  • The instance must be publicly available.
  • The instance must be on GitLab version 15.7 or later.
  • You must set up OAuth authentication.
  • Your network must allow inbound and outbound connections between GitLab and Jira. For self-managed instances that are behind a firewall and cannot be directly accessed from the internet:

Set up your instance

Prerequisites

To set up your self-managed instance for the GitLab for Jira Cloud app in GitLab 15.7 and later:

  1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to.
  2. Select Admin Area.
  3. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
  4. Expand GitLab for Jira App.
  5. In Jira Connect Proxy URL, enter https://gitlab.com.
  6. Select Save changes.

Prerequisites

To link your self-managed instance to the GitLab for Jira Cloud app:

  1. Install the GitLab for Jira Cloud app.
  2. Select GitLab (self-managed).
  3. Enter your GitLab instance URL.
  4. Select Save.

Install the GitLab for Jira Cloud app manually

If your GitLab instance is self-managed and you don’t want to use the official marketplace listing, you can install the app manually.

Each Jira Cloud application must be installed from a single location. Jira fetches a manifest file from the location you provide. The manifest file describes the application to the system. To support self-managed GitLab instances with Jira Cloud, you can do one of the following:

Prerequisites

Install the application in development mode

Prerequisites

To configure your Jira instance so you can install applications from outside the Marketplace:

  1. Sign in to your Jira instance as an administrator.
  2. Place your Jira instance into development mode.
  3. Sign in to your GitLab application as a user with administrator access.
  4. Install the GitLab application from your Jira instance as described in the Atlassian developer guide:
    1. In your Jira instance, go to Apps > Manage Apps and select Upload app:
    2. For App descriptor URL, provide the full URL to your manifest file based on your instance configuration. By default, your manifest file is located at /-/jira_connect/app_descriptor.json. For example, if your GitLab self-managed instance domain is app.pet-store.cloud, your manifest file is located at https://app.pet-store.cloud/-/jira_connect/app_descriptor.json.
    3. Select Upload. Jira fetches the content of your app_descriptor file and installs it.
    4. To configure the integration, select Get started.
  5. Disable development mode on your Jira instance.

The GitLab for Jira Cloud app now displays under Manage apps. You can also select Get started to open the configuration page rendered from your GitLab instance.

note
If a GitLab update makes changes to the application descriptor, you must uninstall, then reinstall the application.

Create a Marketplace listing

Prerequisites

If you don’t want to use development mode on your Jira instance, you can create your own Marketplace listing. This way, your application can be installed from the Atlassian Marketplace.

To create a Marketplace listing:

  1. Register as a Marketplace vendor.
  2. List your application with the application descriptor URL.
    • Your manifest file is located at: https://your.domain/your-path/-/jira_connect/app_descriptor.json
    • You should list your application as private because public applications can be viewed and installed by any user.
  3. Generate test license tokens for your application.
note
This method uses automated updates the same way as our GitLab.com Marketplace listing.

For more information about creating a Marketplace listing, see the Atlassian documentation.

Configure your GitLab instance to serve as a proxy for the GitLab for Jira Cloud app

A GitLab instance can serve as a proxy for other GitLab instances through the GitLab for Jira Cloud app. You might want to use a proxy if you’re managing multiple GitLab instances but only want to manually install the GitLab for Jira Cloud app once.

To configure your GitLab instance to serve as a proxy:

  1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to.
  2. Select Admin Area.
  3. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
  4. Expand GitLab for Jira App.
  5. Select Enable public key storage.
  6. Select Save changes.
  7. Install the GitLab for Jira Cloud app manually.

Other GitLab instances that use the proxy must configure the Jira Connect Proxy URL and the OAuth application Redirect URI settings to point to the proxy instance.

Security considerations

The GitLab for Jira Cloud app connects GitLab and Jira. Data must be shared between the two applications, and access must be granted in both directions.

Access to GitLab through OAuth

GitLab does not share an access token with Jira. However, users must authenticate through OAuth to configure the app.

An access token is retrieved through a PKCE OAuth flow and stored only on the client side. The app frontend that initializes the OAuth flow is a JavaScript application that’s loaded from GitLab through an iframe on Jira.

The OAuth application must have the api scope, which grants complete read and write access to the API. This access includes all groups and projects, the container registry, and the package registry. However, the GitLab for Jira Cloud app only uses this access to:

  • Display groups to link.
  • Link groups.

Access through OAuth is only needed for the time a user configures the GitLab for Jira Cloud app. For more information, see Access token expiration.

Access to Jira through access token

Jira shares an access token with GitLab to authenticate and authorize data pushes to Jira. As part of the app installation process, Jira sends a handshake request to GitLab containing the access token. The handshake is signed with an asymmetric JWT, and the access token is stored encrypted with AES256-GCM on GitLab.

Troubleshooting

Browser displays a sign-in message when already signed in

You might get the following message prompting you to sign in to GitLab.com when you’re already signed in:

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

The GitLab for Jira Cloud app uses an iframe to add groups on the settings page. Some browsers block cross-site cookies, which can lead to this issue.

To resolve this issue, set up OAuth authentication.

Manual installation fails

You might get an error if you have installed the GitLab for Jira Cloud app from the official marketplace listing and replaced it with manual installation:

The app "gitlab-jira-connect-gitlab.com" could not be installed as a local app as it has previously been installed from Atlassian Marketplace

To resolve this issue, disable the Jira Connect Proxy URL setting.

  • In GitLab 15.7:

    1. Open a Rails console.
    2. Execute ApplicationSetting.current_without_cache.update(jira_connect_proxy_url: nil).

  • In GitLab 15.8 and later:

    1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to.
    2. Select Admin Area.
    3. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
    4. Expand GitLab for Jira App.
    5. Clear the Jira Connect Proxy URL text box.
    6. Select Save changes.

Data sync fails with Invalid JWT error

If the GitLab for Jira Cloud app continuously fails to sync data, it may be due to an outdated secret token. Atlassian can send new secret tokens that must be processed and stored by GitLab. If GitLab fails to store the token or misses the new token request, an Invalid JWT error occurs.

To resolve this issue on GitLab self-managed, follow one of the solutions below, depending on your app installation method.

  • If you installed the app from the official marketplace listing:

    1. Open the GitLab for Jira Cloud app on Jira.
    2. Select Change GitLab version.
    3. Select GitLab.com (SaaS).
    4. Select Change GitLab version again.
    5. Select GitLab (self-managed).
    6. Enter your GitLab instance URL.
    7. Select Save.

  • If you installed the GitLab for Jira Cloud app manually:

    • In GitLab 14.9 and later:
      • Contact the Jira Software Cloud support and ask to trigger a new installed lifecycle event for the GitLab for Jira Cloud app in your group.
    • In all GitLab versions:
      • Re-install the GitLab for Jira Cloud app. This method might remove all synced data from the Jira development panel.

Failed to update the GitLab instance for self-managed instances

When you set up the GitLab for Jira Cloud app, you might get a Failed to update the GitLab instance error after you enter your self-managed instance URL.

To resolve this issue, ensure all prerequisites for your installation method have been met:

If you’re using GitLab 15.8 and earlier and have previously enabled both the jira_connect_oauth_self_managed and the jira_connect_oauth feature flags, you must disable the jira_connect_oauth_self_managed flag due to a known issue. To check for these flags:

  1. Open a Rails console.

  2. Execute the following code:

    # Check if both feature flags are enabled.
# If the flags are enabled, these commands return `true`.
Feature.enabled?(:jira_connect_oauth)
Feature.enabled?(:jira_connect_oauth_self_managed)

# If both flags are enabled, disable the `jira_connect_oauth_self_managed` flag.
Feature.disable(:jira_connect_oauth_self_managed)

After you connect the GitLab for Jira Cloud app for self-managed instances, you might get one of these errors:

Failed to load Jira Connect Application ID. Please try again.

Failed to link group. Please try again.

When you check the browser console, you might see the following message:

Cross-Origin Request Blocked: The Same Origin Policy disallows reading the remote resource at https://gitlab.example.com/-/jira_connect/oauth_application_id. (Reason: CORS header 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' missing). Status code: 403.

A 403 status code is returned if:

  • The user information cannot be fetched from Jira.
  • The authenticated Jira user does not have site administrator access.

To resolve this issue, ensure the authenticated user is a Jira site administrator and try again.