Determine your user migration strategy

This guide outlines the best method to migrate your users from Jira or Confluence Server (or Data Center) to cloud.

The best way to import your users and groups will depend on:  

• what products you’re migrating and whether you have users from external directories

• which migration method you're using

• if you plan to use Atlassian Access for SCIM (user provisioning)

Before you begin

Before you decide how to migrate your users, make sure you:

• Read our other documentation on user management in cloud and server and what user management set up you need in cloud.

• Review how users, groups and permissions are migrated if you plan to use either the Jira or Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant to migrate.

• Read the section below on Atlassian Access recommendations if you plan to use an external identity provider.

Jira user migration strategies

Depending on the Jira products you’re migrating and whether you’ve external directories, use this table to decide the migration method you should opt for.

When migrating Jira users with Jira Cloud Migration Assistant

Using the migration assistant, you can:

• migrate users related to the projects you select to migrate, or

• migrate all users from active internal and external directories without any project data

For Jira Service Management, the migration assistant can migrate customer accounts related to selected projects, or migrate all customer accounts without any project data.

Jira Cloud Migration Assistant migrates users from inactive directories if they’re referenced in projects. These users will be migrated without personal information and will appear as Former user.

Jira Cloud Migration Assistant creates a new Atlassian account for each user and associates them to your cloud site. They will also be assigned a password, so your users will need to reset their password the first time they sign in. All your users' history and content will be linked to their new Atlassian account. Learn more about migrating users and groups with the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant.

If you can't use the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant to migrate all data, consider using it to migrate users only. For example, you can migrate all your Jira users with the migration assistant first and then import your projects through Jira Site import later. Learn how to use the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant. 

Migrate Jira users with Jira Cloud site import

Jira cloud site import migrates only users managed in Jira’s internal directory. If users are managed by external directories such as LDAP, ADFS, or Crowd, you’ll need to use the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant.

Learn how to use the Jira Cloud site import. 

Confluence user migration strategies

Using the Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant, you can:

• migrate users related to the spaces you select to migrate, or

• migrate all users from active internal and external directories without migrating any spaces

The Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant creates a new Atlassian account for each user and associates them to your cloud site. They will also be assigned a password, so your users will need to reset their password the first time they sign in. All your users' history and content will be linked to their new Atlassian account, and space permissions will remain the same. See the Users and groups section in the Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant page to learn more about migrating users and groups.

Migrate both Jira and Confluence

When migrating both Jira and Confluence, we recommend that you use the Jira and Confluence cloud migration assistants to migrate your users either before, or along with, your data. 

Depending on the Jira products or external directories you have, you may need to use the Jira cloud site import. Check the Jira user migration strategies section above to see which method is suitable for you. If you use site import, you’ll need to migrate Jira first to avoid this issue:

• ACCESS-653 - Migrating from Atlassian Server products where SCIM was enabled to Atlassian Cloud and then using Atlassian Access SCIM causes users to be given GUID usernames IN PROGRESS

We recommend that you migrate all Jira users and data using the most suitable methods mentioned above, and then migrate your Confluence uses and spaces.

If you plan to use an external identity provider for SCIM user provisioning, we also recommend migrating Jira first. See our Atlassian Access recommendations below for more details.

Atlassian Access recommendations

If you're planning to subscribe to Atlassian Access for advanced user management features, including SAML single sign-on (SSO) and System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) there are a few recommendations to be aware of.

SAML SSO

If you’re planning to use SAML SSO in cloud, set this up prior to migrating. That way, users won't have to switch login experiences.

SCIM user provisioning

The process for setting up SCIM user provisioning will depend on what you’re migrating and when.

Confluence only

If you’re migrating Confluence only (and you don’t have Jira at all), we recommend that you set up SCIM before migrating your data and users with the Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant.

Jira only

If you’re migrating Jira only (and don’t have Confluence at all), we recommend setting up SCIM after manually importing your users and before migrating your data. This is to avoid some known issues (listed below).

Confluence and Jira

If you're planning to migrate both Confluence and Jira and you need to connect SCIM, we recommend migrating Jira first, and not connecting SCIM until after Jira is migrated.
You may encounter issues if you migrate Confluence with SCIM first and then choose to migrate Jira later.

To migrate you will need to:

1. Manually import your users
   To manually import your users, you will need to get in touch with our technical support team so they can do it for you. See the instructions on “How to bulk import your users before migrating” below.

2. Set up SCIM
   After all your users are successfully imported to cloud, you can start syncing via user provisioning. The existing users you've already imported can become managed by your external identity provider, and you’ll be able to activate and deactivate users and sync groups from your external identity provider.

3. Resolve group conflicts before syncing
   You may run into group conflicts when syncing your external identity provider with your Atlassian organization. When you sync, we’ll warn you about duplicate group names between your external identity provider and your Atlassian organization. You’ll be able to accept or reject changes to group members before you sync those groups. Learn more about resolving group conflicts before syncing.

4. Migrate your data
   You can then choose to migrate your data using either of the methods above.

Troubleshooting user migration

If you've run into a problem during your migration, we're here to help. You can start by searching for known issues in our public issue tracker. There, you can find information about some of the common issues we see with Jira migrations, including their status and suggested workarounds.

A currently known issue is ACCESS-653

More information and support

We have a number of channels available to help you with your migration.

• For more migration planning information and FAQs, visit the Atlassian Cloud Migration Center.

• Have a technical issue or need more support with strategy and best practices? Get in touch.

• Looking for peer advice? Ask the Atlassian Community.

• Want expert guidance? Work with an Atlassian Partner.