Create issues

Issues are the building blocks of any project. Think of them as packets of work that travel through workflows in a project until they’re completed.

Business projects have different types of issues, including epics, tasks, and subtasks. An issue can also have child issues, which are assigned and tracked separately.

How to configure issue types

How to import multiple issues from a CSV file

Before you begin

You need the Create Issue project permission for the issue's relevant project. The type of issues you can create will depend on the issue types your admin has enabled for your project.

Create an issue

To create an issue anywhere in Jira:

1. Select Create.

2. Add a Summary for the issue.

3. Complete all required fields and any other fields that you want.

   1. Optional: To change which fields appear when you create an issue, select Actions (•••), then Configure fields. Select Custom fields from the dropdown menu, then choose the fields you want. This will update the fields in the issue you’re currently creating as well any future issues created.

   2. Optional: To create other issues with the same Project and Issue Type, select the Create another issue checkbox. Depending on your configuration and issue creation history, some fields may be pre-populated. Review these before creating the new issue.

4. When you're finished, select Create. 

Clone an issue

Clone an issue to quickly create a duplicate of it in the same project. The cloned issue contains most of the same details stored in the original issue, like the summary, affected versions, and components. Some details aren't cloned, like time logged, comments, history, and links to Confluence pages. The issue status also returns to the first step of the corresponding workflow, and the resolutions are cleared. The cloned issue can be linked to the original issue, but doesn't have to be.

To clone an issue:

1. Open the issue.

2. Select More actions (•••), then Clone.

3. If you want to, edit the cloned issue's Summary.

4. If applicable to the issue you're cloning, you can also select:

   • Attachments to copy existing attachments

   • Subtasks to copy existing subtasks

   • Links to copy any existing linked issues

   • Clone sprint value(s), including current and closed sprint values

5. Select Clone.

Create child issues

In business projects, we use “child” and “parent” to describe related issues. If you have a task with a related subtask, that task would be considered a parent issue while the subtask would be a child issue. Similarly, a task could be a child issue of an epic.

To create a child issue:

1. Open the issue you’d like to be the parent issue.

2. Select Add a child issue () under the issue summary. If you are in a company-managed project and want to create a subtask, select Create subtask ().

3. Add an issue summary and select Create.

Create child issues suggested by AI

Use Atlassian Intelligence to generate a list of suggested child issues, based on the details of the parent issue.

When you accept a suggestion, a new child issue will be created and linked to the parent issue.

To see a list of AI-generated suggestions:

1. Open the parent issue.

2. Select Add a child issue under the issue summary. If you are in a company-managed project and want to create a subtask, select Create subtask.

3. Select Suggest issues.

We’ll then create a list of suggested child issues which you can accept, edit, or decline.

Change the parent issue of a child issue

To change the parent issue of a child issue:

1. Open the child issue.

2. Select the issue type icon in the top-left corner next to the issue key of the parent issue.

3. Select a new parent issue for your child issue.

In the timeline and list views, you can also change the parent issue of an issue by dragging and dropping it underneath a new parent issue.

Work with issue types

Change the issue type in the issue view

After you create an issue, you may want to change its type to better represent the work that needs to be done. For example, you may want to turn an issue that was raised as a task into a bug.

Read more about issue types

To change the issue type:

1. Open the issue you're working with.

2. Select the current issue type icon, which is shown next to the issue key, above the issue summary.

3. Choose a new issue type from the drop-down list.

If there are different fields in the new issue type, or if it has a different workflow, we'll open an additional screen to help you complete the change.

Convert a subtask to an issue

If you’re in a company-managed project:

1. Navigate to the subtask issue you would like to convert.

2. Select More actions (•••), then Convert to Issue.

3. In the Step 1. Select Issue Type screen, select a new issue type (i.e. a standard issue type) and select Next.

4. If the subtask's current status is not an allowed status for the new issue type, the Step 2. Select New Status screen is displayed. Select a new status and select Next.

5. In the Step 3. Update Fields screen, you will be prompted to enter any additional fields if they are required. Otherwise, you will see the message 'All fields will be updated automatically'. Select Next.

6. The Step 4. Confirmation screen is displayed. If you are satisfied with the new details for the issue, select Finish.

7. The issue will be displayed. You will see that it is no longer a subtask, that is, there is no longer a parent issue number displayed at the top of the screen.

If you’re in a team-managed project:

1. Open the issue and select Actions (•••), then Move.

2. In the Operation Details screen, select Task and select Next.

3. You will then be prompted to enter any additional fields if they are required. Otherwise, you will see the message ‘All field values will be retained’. Select Next.

4. The Confirmation screen is displayed. If you are satisfied with the new details for the issue, select Confirm.

5. Once the issue is migrated, select Acknowledge.

Convert an issue to a subtask

If you’re in a company-managed project:

1. Open the issue and select on the issue type icon at the top-left of the issue.

2. Select Sub-task from the list of available issue types.

3. Select the parent issue for the new subtask.

4. In the Step 1. Select Parent and Sub-task Type screen, select the parent issue for the new subtask and select Next.

5. If the issue’s current status is not an allowed status for the new sub-task, the Step 2. Select New Status screen is displayed. Select a new status and select Next.

6. In the Step 3. Update Fields screen, you will be prompted to enter any additional fields if they are required. Otherwise, you will see the message 'All fields will be updated automatically'. Select Next.

7. The Step 4. Confirmation screen is displayed. If you are satisfied with the new details for the issue, select Finish.

8. The new sub-task will be displayed. You will now see a parent issue number displayed at the top of the screen.

If you’re in a team-managed project:

1. Open the issue and select Actions (•••), then Move.

2. In the Operation Details screen, select Sub-task, select a parent issue, and select Next.

3. You will then be prompted to enter any additional fields if they are required. Otherwise, you will see the message ‘All field values will be retained’. Select Next.

4. The Confirmation screen is displayed. If you are satisfied with the new details for the issue, select Confirm.

5. Once the issue is migrated, select Acknowledge.
   
   

Delete an issue

To delete an issue:

1. Open the issue you want to delete.

2. Select Actions (•••), then Delete.