Backfill GitHub data in Jira

Backfilling refers to the process of importing historical data from your GitHub organization into your software space. This way, you can view previous data alongside current work, and keep both sources in sync.

When you connect GitHub, Jira automatically imports six months of history. The following information is imported:

• All pull requests — the Jira work item key needs to be in the title or the description of the pull request, or in the name of the source branch.

• Builds and deployments — if Jira work item keys are included in commit messages, branch names, or pull requests that are part of a workflow or deployment. Find out more about linking builds and deployments to Jira

• Commits containing Jira work item keys — only the latest 50 commits from non-default branches will be backfilled. Any unreachable commits (like commits from deleted branches) are excluded.

• Branches — as long as the work item key is in:

  • the branch name, or

  • the title of the latest pull request associated with the branch, or

  • the last commit message of the branch.

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’ve migrated your Jira site or moved to a new GitHub organization:

• To prevent synchronization issues, make sure only one Jira site is connected to your GitHub organization at a time. If you’ve migrated to or created a new Jira site, disconnect the GitHub for Atlassian app from the old site, connect it to a new one, and run a backfill to restore links and data. Backfill duration depends on the amount of data; for large datasets, run the backfill during off-peak hours to allow enough time for synchronization before checking your linked data.

• If you’ve migrated to a new GitHub organization, historical development references in Jira, like branches, commits, and pull requests, will continue to point to repositories in the original organization. To link new work, connect your new GitHub organization to Jira with GitHub for Atlassian and include Jira work item keys in commits, branch names, or pull request titles. Bulk updating repository URLs or remapping historical references in Jira’s development panel isn’t supported; you can only update work item descriptions or comments using bulk edit tools or marketplace apps, but not the development panel.

Manually backfill GitHub data

You can manually backfill GitHub data to import more than six months of history or fix synchronization issues, such as mismatched statuses between GitHub and Jira.

Run manual backfills periodically to address ongoing synchronization gaps or suspected errors.

To manually backfill GitHub data:

1. Select Apps, then Manage apps.

2. Select GitHub for Atlassian in the sidebar.

3. Select settings () for your GitHub organization, then Continue backfill.

4. Select the date you want to start importing history from, then Backfill data. By default, the manual importation process adds data in addition to what’s already been imported. If you want to overwrite all existing historical data, select the checkbox next to Restart the backfill.