Jira Software lets you reopen sprints that have been previously closed. This is a handy feature when:
- You've mistakenly completed the wrong sprint
- You've completed the correct sprint, but you completed it too early
Sprints that are mistakenly closed, or closed too early, actually affect your team's velocity, since the data in these sprints will still be included in your board. Your Velocity Chart will then be reflecting inaccurate data, which makes reopening sprints a good option to consider.
Before you begin
- Sprints only apply to Scrum boards.
- To reopen a sprint, you must be a Jira Administrator or a user with the Manage Sprints permission.
General points when reopening sprints
In general, it's worth keeping these points in mind when you're trying to reopen a sprint:
- When you haven't enabled parallel sprints on your board, and there is a currently active sprint, you cannot reopen the sprint you previously completed.
- When issues in the completed sprint have already been moved to other active sprints, you can still reopen the sprint, but it will not contain the issues that are already in the active sprints.
- For issues that are completed outside of a sprint, but are then pulled back into a sprint you just reopened, the Sprint Report for the opened sprint will show these issues as 'completed outside of this sprint'.
An in-depth look at reopening sprints
The diagram below shows you the possible flows when you're reopening sprints, depending on certain scenarios.
Scenarios where you can reopen sprints
In the following sample scenarios listed below, let's assume the following details:
- You've created a sprint and named it 'Sprint 1'.
- You've added some issues to Sprint 1, and then started it.
- Your team is currently working on the issue in Sprint 1.
- You have a future planned sprint named 'Sprint 2'.
Simple scenarios
Below are some examples of simple scenarios where you may want to reopen a sprint, and the results you can expect.
| Scenario details | Expected results |
|---|---|
|
|
| Sprint 1 cannot be reopened because all incomplete issues in Sprint 1 when it was closed are now in the currently active Sprint 2. |
Complex scenarios
In some cases, you may be able to reopen a sprint, but the results may not be as what you expect them to be. Or you may not be able to reopen a sprint altogether. Below are some examples of complex scenarios where you may want to reopen a sprint, and the results you can expect.
| Scenario details | Expected results |
|---|---|
|
|
| Sprint 1 cannot be reopened for the following reasons:
|
| Sprint 1 cannot be reopened because all of its issues are now in the currently active sprint, Sprint 2. |
Reopening a sprint
- Choose the Jira icon (
or 
) > Projects. - Select the relevant project
- Click Reports, then select Sprint Report
- Select the relevant sprint from the sprint drop-down
- Select more (•••) > Reopen sprint. The Reopen Sprint dialog will be displayed, showing you the outcome you can expect when the sprint is reopened
- Click Reopen
Note the following details that take place when a sprint is completed then reopened:
- When you complete a sprint, this event of completing the sprint will be recorded in the corresponding Sprint Report.
- When you reopen that sprint, this event of reopening the sprint will also be recorded in the Sprint Report. However, the report will now use the new end date moving forward.
- When the reopened sprint is completed, the last completion date will appear as the end date in the Sprint Report.
Next steps
Need help? If you can't find the answer you need in our documentation, we have other resources available to help you. See Getting help.