Unable to remove status from a workflow
Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products 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
Summary
When removing a status from a workflow, the status should not be in use by any issue in any project associated with the workflow.
Diagnosis
When trying to remove a status from a workflow, the message We can't remove this status for you shows up.
However, when searching for issues in the status being removed, none can be found.
Cause
Issues in archived projects do not show up in JQL searches, but removing a status from a workflow can trigger the message above.
Solution
Search for issues in the status on the projects associated with the workflow using a direct query on the database tables involved. Replace <status name> with the status, and the <project name1> with the projects associated with the workflow. Add/remove the "OR jp.pname = '<project name2>'" portion according to the amount of projects associated with the workflow.
The query below is tested on a PSQL database, please update the syntax accordingly to your database environment.
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select (jp.pkey || '-' || ji.issuenum) as issuekey, jp.pname as project, issuestatus.pname as status
from project jp join jiraissue ji on ji.project = jp.id
left join issuestatus on ji.issuestatus = issuestatus.id
where issuestatus.pname = '<status name>' and jp.pname = '<project name1>' OR jp.pname = '<project name2>' ...;Once you find the relevant issues, unarchive the project, transition/update the offending issue/s to another status, and then archive the project again.
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