📥 Jira Excel Export: Get a Full Change History in Minutes

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You go to Jira, try to save your data in Excel... and notice something is not there. The export doesn’t present the entire story of each work item, just the current state. No timeline. No history. No "who changed what and when”.

And when you are preparing a report, an audit or a retrospective that is a big thing. You must have all modifications, status changes, reassignments, field changes, even deleted work items. But Jira doesn’t provide a built-in means of exporting that history.

The good news? You can get a full change history in Excel format and in minutes.

So now, we are going to discuss how to export all updates on your projects to a clean Excel file that can be filtered, analyzed, and shared.

Let's break down how it works.

Why Export Jira Work Item Data to Excel

The ability to export Jira data to Excel is not only related to convenience, but also it is about visibility. Usage of Excel is the simplest way to analyze and share information when teams have to review progress, prepare reports or meet compliance requirements.

Here are some reasons why teams may need to use Jira Excel export::

• For audits and compliance checks.
• For management reports which need clear, shareable information.
• For sprint reviews and retrospectives.
• For user or project performance analysis.
• For backups and documentation to ensure long-term visibility.

This is easy using Excel: everything can be filtered, sorted, grouped, and charted.

The problem? The native export of Jira has only the latest version of each work item - not the complete history of change.

To know who updated a status last week, what work items have been reopened, which tasks had several reassignments, or what was deleted during the sprint, you can’t rely only on Excel.

You require the entire change timeline, and Jira doesn’t provide such an export that by default.

So, let’s explore what you can do with native Jira export capabilities and what to do if you need the full history of work item changes. 

How to Export One Work Item and a List of Work Items in Jira (Native Options)

Jira has inbuilt export capabilities, though they are limited. You are able to export the current fields of work items and not their entire change history. Nevertheless, it can be handy when you require the fast Excel output.

Exporting a Single Jira Work Item in Excel

To export a single work item in Jira, do the following:

1. Open the needed work item.
2. Click Actions (•••) → Export and choose Excel.
3. Select what to export (you can choose fields, comments, history).

 You will get such a report 👇: 

As you can see, this export file is hard to read and doesn’t include details about deleted comments. So, it lacks the data that can be really useful and important for different analyses. 

Exporting Multiple Work Items in Excel Using JQL

To export a list of work items, you need to first filter them using JQL. For that, do the following:

1. Go to Filters → All work items.
2. Switch to JQL and enter your query. For example: 

project = "Device Design" AND updated >= -10d 

      3. Then, click Export → Export Excel CSV (all fields) or Export Excel CSV (my defaults), as using this method, you won’t be able to download true Excel (XLS/XLSX) file. 

You will get such a report 👇: 

So, this method has huge limitations. It allows exporting only the current field values, doesn’t include change history, and provides data in CSV instead of true Excel format.

How to Export Full Change History in Excel with Issue History for Jira

The native exports of Jira show the current state of the work items. To view every change in detail, you will require an app designed to track history. Issue History for Jira app by SaaSJet makes it easy and quick, regardless of whether you are exporting a single work item or hundreds of them at once.

Exporting Full Work Item Change History in Excel 

To export the full history of one work item in Excel format, do the following:

1. Install Issue History for Jira app from Atlassian Marketplace.
2. Open the needed work item and go to the Activity section. 
3. Click More and choose 🕒Issue History. 
4. Click Export button and choose Excel format. 

You will get such a report 👇:

You will be able to see all changes made to work item: status updates, field edits, comments (added, edited or deleted), reassignments, and more.

Exporting Full Change History in Excel for Multiple Work Items

To export the complete history of changes related to multiple work items in Excel format, follow the next steps:

1. Open Issue History for Jira app from Apps menu. 
2. Use filters to select the data you need (by project, sprint, updater, date range, etc.).
3. In the Columns menu, choose the field need (e.g., priority, due date, etc.).
4. Click Export button and choose Excel. 

You will get such a report 👇: 

So, you will have every update across all selected work items. It is perfect for audits, retrospectives, compliance reports, and team analysis.

Also, you can try Advanced Excel export, which includes Field changes duration and Field changes total count reports. For example: 

👉 Try Issue History for Jira on the Atlassian Marketplace and export a full change history in just a few clicks.

Summing Up

The export capabilities that Jira has are handy; however, they reflect the current status of your work items.

When complete work item change history is required, Issue History for Jira app provides you with all the details in a single location, and you can export them to Excel within minutes.