OKR update fails with feature association error when referenced feature does not exist in Jira Align
Summary
Users are unable to update or close OKRs due to an error indicating that it is associated with a Feature, but the mentioned feature isn't present in Jira Align.
Diagnosis
The error message states that the Feature is missing, but it is still associated with the OKR.
The issue arose after the new OKR Hub was made mandatory, removing access to the legacy view.
The Feature ID xxx isn't found in the Azure DevOps (ADO) recycle bin, suggesting it mayn't have been deleted properly.
Feature ID xxx was added to the OKR in the audit logs, and the API confirms that the association still exists; however, Feature isn’t present in Jira Align, the API, or ADO.
While testing this, if the Feature is set to the "removed" state in ADO, it will either move it to the recycle bin or hard-delete it, depending on the connector's configuration. In either case, the OKR was deleted without issue afterwards.
System Outputs
GET API for Feature xxx results in error: "Cannot get feature with id xxx."
GET API for OKR xxo shows associated Feature IDs: [ 1, xxx, 2, 3, 4 ]Cause
This issue is caused by an orphaned Feature reference on the OKR. The missing Feature may no longer exist in Jira Align, the API, or ADO, but its ID can remain attached to the Objective record. It is hard to tell which action was taken to make this Feature disappear, as it is not present even on the ADO side, which would indicate it was deleted there, cascading the change to Jira Align. Updating featureIds through the API removes the stale association and restores normal OKR editing.
Solution
Use the Objective PATCH API to remove the stale Feature association from the affected OKR.
Confirm the issue. Review the error shown when editing or closing the OKR, then verify that the missing Feature ID is still listed on the Objective through the API. In affected cases, the Objective response still contains the missing Feature ID in
featureIds, while a GET request for that Feature returns an error such as Cannot get feature with id xxx.Identify the valid Feature IDs to keep. From the Objective response, note the full list of associated Feature IDs and remove the invalid ID from the set. For example, if the Objective shows [1, xxx, 2, 3, 4], prepare to keep only [1, 2, 3, 4].
Send a PATCH request to the Objective endpoint. Use the endpoint https://{JiraAalign_instance}.jiraalign.com/rest/align/api/2/objectives/{objective_id}
[{
"op": "replace",
"path": "/featureIds",
"value": [1, 2, 3, 4]
}]Save and retest the OKR. After the PATCH request succeeds, reopen the OKR and try the original action again. The OKR should now save, update, or close successfully because the broken Feature association has been removed.
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