This page is for team-managed projects
To check whether your project is team-managed or company-managed, select More actions (•••) next to the project name in either the header or the sidebar. At the bottom of the menu that opens, you’ll be able to view whether your project is team-managed or company-managed.
If you’re in a company-managed project, check out these company-managed project articles instead.
More about the difference between company-managed and team-managed projects.
Work item statuses report at-a-glance the state of the work described on a work item. You can customize the statuses your team uses on your team-managed project work items.
Work item statuses relate to your work type’s workflows and you can edit them in the workflow editor. Read more about workflows in team-managed projects.
You must have the administrator role in your project to do the things described on this page. Learn more about team-managed project roles.
In team-managed software projects, you can create, edit, or delete work item statuses in two ways:
From your project’s settings, by editing a work type’s workflow (described below).
From your project’s board, by creating, editing, and deleting columns. Learn more about using a team-managed board.
Add or create a status in your work type’s workflow
To create a new status:
Next to your project's name in the sidebar, select More actions (•••), then Project settings, then Work types.
From the sidebar, select the work type you want to edit.
Select Edit workflow.
Using the toolbar at the top of the editor, select a status category for the status you want to create.
Give your status a name.
Select Add.
Your new status appears on the workflow. By default, new statuses allow work items in any other status to move into them. The Any status label represents this kind of "global" transition.
Read more about creating, editing, and deleting work item transitions.
You can add up to 100 statuses across all of your project's workflows, and up to 50 statuses in any one workflow.
When you’re done making edits to your work type’s workflow, select Update workflow and confirm which work type the workflow will apply to.
By default, new statuses aren’t assigned to a column, and are therefore not visible on the board.
If you've added a status that's new to the workflow, you'll have the chance to assign it to a board column in the workflow editor. Otherwise, you can manage columns and statuses by going to Project settings > Board > Columns and statuses.
Edit a status’s name or category in your work type’s workflow
To edit a status:
Next to your project's name in the sidebar, select More actions (•••), then Project settings, then Work types.
From the sidebar, select the work type you want to edit.
Select Edit workflow.
Select the status in your workflow diagram. The status details panel appears.
In the status details panel, you can edit the status’s name and category:
To edit its name, click the status’s name in the details panel.
To edit its category, select the Category dropdown in the details panel.
Statuses can be shared between work types. If you change the name or category of these shared statuses, Jira also updates their names and categories in all your project’s workflows that use the status.
If you want to change the name or category of a status only for the workflow you’re editing:
Click the This status is shared across multiple workflows warning text in the details panel.
Click the link to Change status for these work items only.
Give your status a new name.
- Select Change.
Jira makes a copy of the status, including its transitions and rules, for the workflow you’re currently editing. Read more about creating, editing, and deleting workflow transitions.
When you’re done making edits to your work type’s workflow, select Update workflow and confirm which work type the workflow will apply to.
Delete a status in your work type’s workflow
To delete a status:
Next to your project's name in the sidebar, select More actions (•••), then Project settings, then Work types.
From the sidebar, select the work type you want to edit.
Select Edit workflow.
Select the status in your workflow diagram. The status details panel appears.
At the bottom of the details panel, select Delete status.
Statuses can be shared between workflows. Deleting a status in the workflow editor only removes the status from the workflow you're currently editing.
Pro tip: You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Z (on Mac: Cmd+Z) to undo any changes while editing your workflow. This comes in handy if you accidentally delete a status and don't want to recreate all of its transitions.
When you’re done making edits to your work type’s workflow, select Update workflow and confirm which work type the workflow will apply to.
Jira warns you about any work items that are in statuses you’re deleting and ask you to move them to a valid status.