Moving Jira issues of Xray type to a new project and retain Xray metadata

[donhames]

I am reaching out in hopes that someone with experience using the Jira app Xray can offer some guidance.

I have opened Support Tickets with Xray and with Atlassian. Neither offered a direct solution. Here is the situation.

I have many Jira projects that utilize Xray and have been using it for years. I am trying to separate the issues in these projects into new, smaller Jira projects. I have attempted several methods, including the Jira app's Deep Clone, Jira's Move and Bulk Move, Admin Data Transfer, and CSV export/import. All these methods enable users to move or copy the Xray issues within Jira projects to a new Jira project; however, the Xray metadata does not transfer.

Has anyone encountered this issue and can share how you solved it?

I appreciate your guidance and solutions in advance.

[Ankita Mehta]

Hi @donhames

This is a common challenge when working with Xray: standard Jira operations like Move, Bulk Move, Deep Clone, or even CSV export/import typically handle only the Jira issue data—not the Xray-specific metadata (like test steps, executions, coverage, attachments, etc.).

Xray stores much of its data in custom issue types and app-specific entities that aren’t exposed through Jira’s native APIs or bulk operations. That’s why even though the issues themselves move, the underlying test design, execution history, and traceability links often don’t come with them.

Key Points to consider before you begin:

• Test Executions and Runs are tightly linked to their source project and environment. Even if you clone the test cases, the execution data usually isn’t portable using basic methods.
• Traceability (e.g., coverage between tests and requirements or defects) can break unless re-established manually.
• CSV-based methods don’t account for this structure, which makes them useful only for basic test cases — not rich test data.

In cases like this, especially across multiple Xray projects with history and linkage that needs to be preserved, some teams turn to enterprise migration tools that support Xray at the API level — not just Jira issues. One such tool that you may consider can be OpsHub Migration Manager (OIM) (Atlassian Silver Solutions Partner) if you want to move your Xray data with zero downtime, non-disruption and full fidelity — including test steps, execution history, attachments, and traceability — from one project to another without data loss or manual rework.

Drop us a line if you have questions or want to request a demo. 

Good Luck!:)