How to Collaborate Across Jira Instances Without Duplicating Work or Sharing Access
Note: This guide was jointly written with @Marlene Kegel - codefortynine.
We're taking the example of a fictional company, Good Software in this guide. Let's assume Good Software builds software for several clients. Each client has their own Jira setup, their own workflows, and their own expectations for visibility and cadence of communication. Meanwhile, Good Software’s developers need to stay focused on their own work in the internal Jira instance - not re-creating work items or checking multiple places just to understand what they should work on next.
Giving clients access to internal spaces isn’t an option either. It would expose sensitive internal information, create security risks, and increase licensing costs. At the same time, clients need transparency. They wanted to see progress, comment on work, and stay updated without waiting for status meetings or manually prepared reports.
The result - a classic collaboration bottleneck:
Two sides working in separate Jira instances, both needing up-to-date information, but neither was able to access the other’s system directly.
Manually sending updates back and forth wasn’t going to cut it. It takes too much time, and information gets outdated quickly.
Their goals were simple:
- Developers work only in the internal Jira.
- Clients stay in their own Jira.
- Both sides see the same information.
- No duplicate work, no extra logins.
That’s when they came up with the following workflow with the help of Deep Clone for Jira and Backbone Work Sync for Jira.
Step 1: Build a Template Space With Deep Clone
The team created an internal space with a set of work items, to create an initial template.
Then the team used Deep Clone to clone the space - including work items, boards, and other configurations - to create a new space to work in. Here are the steps followed:
- Apps → Deep Clone
- Space Clone
- Choose the template
- Enter the new space key and name
This one-time step offered a way to create a consistent starting point for every client.
Step 2: Clone the Space to the Client’s Instance
Next, they wanted to use an Instance Clone to copy the “Wise Development” space configuration to the client’s Jira instance. It only required a quick setup between both Jira admins.
Once connected, they cloned the “Wise Development” space into the client’s instance.
Step 3: Copy and Sync work items With Backbone Work Sync
The work items that already exist in the “Wise Development” space also need to be kept in sync. For this purpose, Backbone Work Sync for Jira was used, although Deep Clone for Jira could be used as well for the initial cloning.
To copy and sync the work items, they started a new Backbone synchronization.
- Choose the internal cloned space as the source
- Enter the client’s Jira URL and space key
- Send the sync request
Once the client accepted, Backbone automatically copied the work items and prepared them for ongoing synchronization.
Step 4: Confirm Mappings and Start Syncing
Thanks to Deep Clone, work item types and fields are already lined up neatly. They confirmed the workflow statuses, enabled two-way sync for comments and attachments, and turned it on.
Step 5: Work Seamlessly Across Both Jira Instances
Now everything runs automatically:
- Developers work only in their internal Jira
- Clients see updates in their own instance
- Statuses, comments, attachments - all synced
- No duplicate work, no switching contexts
Both teams get transparency without opening internal systems or juggling credentials.
A Smarter Way to Collaborate Across Instances
By combining Deep Clone and Backbone, Good Software can:
- Spin up new client spaces quickly
- Mirror space structures across instances
- Keep both sides aligned in real time
- Avoid switching between systems or granting extra access
It’s simple, secure, and scales easily as the client list grows.
Want to dive deeper into Deep Clone’s cloning capabilities? Explore the full feature set →
For additional guidance, reach out to the codefortynine support team →
Want to see how Backbone Work Sync supports cross-instance collaboration? Learn more here →
Or book a demo with our Product Manager →
Note: This guide was jointly written with Marlene Kegel from codefortynine.