How to Export All Jira Change History into Excel or CSV
In Jira, the current state of a task is as significant as the ability to track changes. Teams frequently have such questions as:
- Who changed the status of a task?
- When was the due date updated?
- What happened to a task that seems to be missing?
Such answers are essential to compliance audits, internal reporting, and project accountability. The problem is, though, that with Jira, you can only view history within each individual task, and the standard export option doesn’t include historical changes. It means that when you want to have a full record of updates on several Jira projects or users, the process will be time-consuming and manual.
It becomes a bottleneck in companies that require audit trails or change tracking at scale. This is why many teams are seeking solutions to export the Jira change history into Excel or CSV for easy analysis and reporting.
Why Export Jira Change History
In Jira, the current status of a task, typically its latest status, its assignee, or due date, is displayed. However, sometimes, the history of these changes can also be needed. This is where the exporting of history comes in.
Here are some examples:
📊 Team analysis
Through monitoring changes over time, teams can identify trends, such as the types of tasks that are commonly delayed or the frequency of changes in priorities. This assists in being more realistic in future work planning.
🔄 Retrospectives
Exported history can be used during sprint retrospectives to understand how often tasks remained in each state, when blockers were identified, and how quickly tasks moved forward. It provides the team with actual data to discuss and improve processes.
📑 Reports for managers and stakeholders
Managers don’t always need just a list of tasks completed. They desire to know how it happened, the way work passed through the team, when deadlines changed, and why priorities shifted. Exporting Jira history will provide them with real data they can use when preparing reports or presentations. It also builds trust with stakeholders by showing a clear record of progress.
⚖️ Compliance and Legal Records
A clear record of changes is not a choice in regulated industries. Exported Jira history makes sure that the company is compliant with internal policies, external regulations, and even legal requirements as needed.
🔍 Troubleshooting
When something goes wrong (e.g., missed deadlines or a security incident), Jira history can show exactly when a change was made and by whom. This makes it easier to prevent the same problem from happening again.
Native Jira Options for Exporting History
Jira allows for the export of data in different ways, but there’s one significant problem: most of the time, you only get the latest task details, not the complete change history. Here are the main options and how they work:
Work Item Navigator Export
The work item navigator will enable you to export the report to Excel or CSV. However, this only contains the current task state (status, assignee, due date, etc.). The complete history of change is not included.
How to use it:
- Click Filters → All work items.
- Select the tasks with a JQL query.
- Click Export and choose, for example, Excel CSV (all fields).
REST API
The Jira REST API allows advanced users to query to retrieve change history. This is powerful, but needs:
- Technical expertise.
- Time to configure queries and maintain scripts.
- Handling JSON data before converting it into a report.
For non-technical teams, this can become overwhelming.
Manual Copy-Paste
The other possible option is to open each task individually, navigate to the History tab, and manually copy entities into a spreadsheet. This can work for a few tasks, but when you need detailed data related to multiple ones, it can be highly time-consuming and unsuitable for audits and compliance reports.
A Better Way: Export the Complete Jira Change History
Jira has built-in exports, which only display the current task state; however, most teams require a complete audit trail across projects, users, and time periods. It is where a solution such as Issue History for Jira by SaaSJet can come in very handy.
Key benefits of using Issue History for Jira app:
- Full Jira change history export – status updates, assignee changes, due date modifications, and even custom field updates. Download complete history in Excel or CSV with just a few clicks.
- Advanced filters – view history by project, user, sprint, or date range.
- Deleted work items tracking – see which tasks were removed, when, and by whom.
- Scalable for audits – export thousands of Jira tasks at once without manual work.
How it works:
- Install the app from the Atlassian Marketplace and open it from the Apps menu.
- Apply the required filters (project, date range, etc.).
- View a clear table with all historical changes.
- Click Export → Excel or CSV.
Here is the example of the exported report in Excel format:
So, in just a few steps, you’ll have a complete audit-ready report that you can share with managers, auditors, or stakeholders.
Here you can find the examples of reports you can generate and export using Issue History for Jira app: Exported report samples
| 🔎 Need a quick way to export the full Jira change history? Try Issue History for Jira today → |
Comparison of Jira Export Options
| Method | What You Get | Limitations | Best For |
| 1. Work Item Navigator Export | Current task details | No history logs, only latest state | Quick CSV/Excel of open tasks |
| 2. REST API | Full change log (via JSON) | Complex setup, not user-friendly | Developers with scripting skills |
| 3. Manual Copy-Paste | History tab details per task | Time-consuming, error-prone, not scalable | Small teams checking a few tasks |
| 4. Issue History for Jira app | Complete history (status, assignee, custom fields, deleted tasks) | None significant | Compliance, audits, reporting, retrospectives |
FAQs: Exporting Jira Change History
Q1: Can I export the full change history directly from Jira?
Jira’s native export only includes the latest task details. To access the complete change history, you need either the REST API or a Marketplace app, such as Issue History for Jira.
Q2: Does Jira allow exporting deleted tasks?
Not by default. Jira doesn’t retain deleted tasks in exports, but apps, such as Issue History for Jira, provide visibility into removed tasks and allow users to see who deleted them and when it happened.
Q3: What formats are supported for exporting Jira history?
Jira enables export of data in CSV or Excel formats, but without the history of changes. With Issue History for Jira app, you can export the complete change history in both Excel and CSV formats for easy reporting and compliance.
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