Set the timezone for the Java environment for Jira Data Center
Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian apps on the Data Center platform.
Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.
*Except Fisheye and Crucible
Overview
Functionality within Jira applications may be reliant upon the time zone that is configured for the Java environment. The time zone value will be picked up by default from the operating system.
It is also possible to alter this default by passing an additional parameter to the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
The time zone can be edited by changing the server clock on the server that is running JAVA or changing the properties as explained below.
Change JVM Timezone
The value of the timezone can be altered with the below JVM argument, which is set as per our Setting Properties and Options on Startup documentation. The below example would be used to set it for America/Chicago:
-Duser.timezone=America/ChicagoIf the Jira Data Center application is using a cluster of nodes, and if the nodes have different time zone settings, there can be unwanted issues such as:
Time differences in the date/time fields of the same Jira issue across the nodes
ℹ️ The List of TZ Database Time Zones documentation on Wikipedia contains further information on the different time zones that can be set.
Example Timezones
Timezone | Code |
|---|---|
Sydney | Australia/Sydney |
Los Angeles | America/Los_Angeles |
New York | America/New_York |
Paris | Europe/Paris |
Rome | Europe/Rome |
UTC | UTC |
Madrid | Europe/Madrid |
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