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Import and export issue workflows

For security reasons, only site admins can export workflows from Jira.

Export a company-managed workflow as a workflow

If you wish to share your Jira Workflow with another instance of Jira or upload it to the Atlassian Marketplace, you first need to download it. Follow this procedure.

To export a workflow for use on your Jira Server instance:

  1. Select > Issues.

  2. Click Workflows.

  3. Find the relevant workflow and click View.

  4. Click Export > As Workflow.

  5. Select Next.

  6. Read the special instructions, then select Export.

  7. Save the file to your local machine.

Upload your workflow to the Atlassian Marketplace

To share your workflow with other Jira users, upload it to the Atlassian Marketplace.

  1. Create an account on Atlassian Marketplace.

  2. Log in to the Atlassian Marketplace and choose Manage apps.

  3. Click Create new app.

  4. Choose My app is not directly installable.

  5. Ensure 'App Type' is listed as 'Not a Plugin.'

  6. You will need to host the workflow on your own servers, and add information about where the workflow export can be accessed in the Binary URL textbox. This should be the location you specified in step 7 of the prior instruction set.

  7. When you fill out the submission form, be sure to note the following:

    1. The Summary field contains the information that will be displayed to users searching the Marketplace. 

    2. The Category for your workflow must be Workflow Bundles. Choosing Workflow Bundles ensures other Jira users will have visibility to your workflow.

    3. The App Key must be unique. This is something that uniquely identifies your application; it will become the application URL.

You don't have to complete the form in one session. You can save your form and come back to it later. Once you accept the Atlassian Marketplace Vendor Agreement, the system submits your app for review by Atlassian's Developer Relations team.

Import a company-managed workflow from the Atlassian Marketplace

Other Jira users across the world have created a breadth of workflows they find useful in their company-managed Jira projects. You can import these workflows to try them out on your Jira site.

In Jira Cloud, you can't import workflows from anywhere other than the Atlassian Marketplace.

To import a workflow from the Atlassian Marketplace:

  1. Select > Issues.

  2. Click Workflows Import from Marketplace. You'll see available workflows, ordered by the number of downloads.

  3. Find the workflow you want and click Select.

  4. You can keep using the default workflow name or choose a new name and click Next.

  5. Map the steps of the imported workflow to your existing workflow statuses or create new statuses. When you're finished, click Next.

  6. Review the summary of the import details and click Import.

Export a company-managed workflow to a server instance as XML

You can export any of your Jira company-managed workflows to use in your Jira Server or Data Center instances.

To export a workflow for use on your Jira Server instance:

  1. Select > Issues.

  2. Click Workflows.

  3. Find the relevant workflow and click View.

  4. Click Export > As XML.

  5. Save the file to your local machine.

After exporting your workflow to XML, you can follow our Server documentation to import the workflow self-hosted Jira products. Learn more about importing an XML workflow into a Jira Server instance.

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