Jira Boards do not load, not accessible by any user and screen gets blank

Summary

Jira Boards do not load. Users cannot access any boards, screen gets blank:

Environment

Jira Server / Data Center

Diagnosis

• Check if there is anything in the Announcement banner (via the page ⚙ > System > Announcement banner)

  • If there is any content, try to delete it and check if the issue still occurs

  • If the issue goes way, then Root Cause 1 is relevant

• Schedule some maintenance window and enter plugin safe mode

  • If the issue goes away while in plugin safe mode, then Root Cause 2 is relevant

• Check if there is any agent/client added in Jira startup scripts

  • For example, check the file <JIRA_INSTALL_FOLDER>/bin/setenv.sh to see if there is any agent added, similar to this:

    1 CATALINA_OPTS="-javaagent:/home/jira/appd/AppServerAgent-1.8-21.11.1.33280/ver21.11.1.33280/javaagent.jar -Datlassian.org.osgi.framework.bootdelegation=META-INF.services.*,com.yourkit,com.singularity.*,com.jprofiler,com.jprofiler.*,org.apache.xerces,org.apache.xerces.*

  • If you see any agent, try to remove it from Jira's startup scripts, and restart the Jira application

  • If the issue goes away while in plugin safe mode, then Root Cause 3 is relevant

Cause

Root Cause 1 - Invalid script in the Announcement banner

One possible root cause of the problem is the fact that the Announcement banner contains some invalid script(s).

For example, certain tags might be un-closed, which in turns cause most of Jira not to be rendered. An open HTML comment (i.e, <!–) can also cause this problem.

It might also affect the Administration panel, so the Administrator cannot fix the problem via Jira UI, so not only the Boards, but another pages might also get affected as outlined in: JIRA pages go hidden or blank after adding an Announcement Banner

Root Cause 2 - Issue with a 3rd party add-on

3rd party add-ons installed in the Jira application via the page ⚙ > Manage Apps > Manage Apps can also potentially cause this issue, since they might execute some Javascript script which are interfering with the loading of the board.

Root Cause 3 - Issue with an agent/client added in Jira startup scripts

You can find more information about this root cause in the KB article Jira Project, Issues, Board View cannot be loaded post upgrade due to some 3rd party agent.

Solution

Solution for Root Cause 1

If the Administrator can access the Administration panel:

• Go to Administration > System > Announcement Banner > remove or fix the content in the announcement field > Set Banner

If the Administrator can NOT access the Administration panel:

• Please see Remove the Jira server announcement banner through the database for steps to remove the banner via the database

Solution for Root Cause 2

We recommend following the steps below:

• First, identify the problematic 3rd party add-ons by disabling each add-on 1 by 1 via the page⚙ > Manage Apps > Manage Appsuntil the issue stops happening

  • Once the issue stops happening, then it means that the last add-on that was disabled was the one causing the issue

  • After you identified the problematic add-on, make sure to re-enable all the add-ons

• Try to upgrade the problematic add-on that you identified and check if the problem is resolved

• If the issue is still not resolved, then we recommend:

  • Disabling the add-on for the time being (so that the Project Sidebar can be loaded)

  • Reaching out to the add-on support team after finding their listing and the link to their support portal on the Atlassian Marketplace

Solution for Root Cause 3

Please refer to the solution section of the KB article Jira Project, Issues, Board View cannot be loaded post upgrade due to some 3rd party agent.