Application Links via Cloud Connector — now for Jira and Confluence Cloud

[#1]

Hi Data Center Community 👋

Over the past year we’ve been steadily making it simpler and safer to connect Atlassian Data Center to Cloud — starting with OAuth 2.0 and Cloud Connectors, then extending support to previous LTS versions.

Today we’re bringing that same simplicity to one of the most common integration tasks admins face: creating application links between Atlassian Cloud and Data Center. You can now set up Jira Cloud and Confluence Cloud application links to Data Center via Cloud Connector — with OAuth 2.0 handled automatically, and no manual credential copying.

🔗 The old way: manual, fiddly, and error-prone

Historically, linking a Cloud site to a Data Center instance (or vice versa) meant creating an application link by hand:

• Generating OAuth credentials on one side

• Copying client IDs and secrets back and forth between Cloud and Data Center

• Configuring incoming and outgoing links separately

• Relying on older OAuth 1.0 flows

It worked, but it was easy to get wrong — a mistyped secret or a missed step could leave a half-configured link that was hard to debug.

✨ The new way: application links via Cloud Connector

Now, application links ride on the same secure Cloud Connector backbone as the rest of Unified Connectivity. Admins can create links between Jira Cloud or Confluence Cloud and Data Center through a guided, automated flow.

• Automated OAuth 2.0 credential exchange — no more copying client IDs and secrets between Cloud and Data Center. Credentials are generated and exchanged for you.

• Centralised in the Admin Hub — org admins create and manage application links from Atlassian Administration, alongside your other Cloud connections.

• A simple “request and accept” flow — the request is initiated from Cloud, and the Data Center admin reviews and accepts it (with the required scopes) in the Cloud Connector tab.

• Now for both Jira and Confluence Cloud — the automated flow is available for Jira Cloud and Confluence Cloud application links to Data Center.

• Central management — view, edit, rotate credentials for, and delete links from one place.

🛠️ How it works

1. From your Cloud site admin (Jira Cloud or Confluence Cloud), start creating an application link to your Data Center instance.

2. Choose to connect via Cloud Connector using OAuth 2.0 — the credential exchange is handled automatically.

3. Your Data Center admin reviews and accepts the incoming request, selecting the appropriate scopes, in the Cloud Connector tab.

4. The link is established — and you can manage it centrally from that point on.

No copy-pasting credentials. No juggling separate incoming/outgoing configuration. No OAuth 1.0.

💡 Why it matters

• Faster setup — a guided flow replaces manual, multi-step configuration.

• Stronger security — OAuth 2.0 everywhere, with automated credential handling that removes the steps where secrets could be mishandled.

• Fewer errors — no mistyped secrets or half-configured links.

• One place to manage — application links live alongside your other Cloud Connectors in the Admin Hub.

• Great for hybrid — keep Cloud and Data Center working together seamlessly while you operate in hybrid mode or migrate in stages.
  
  

✅ Availability

Application links via Cloud Connector are available for creating new Jira Cloud and Confluence Cloud links to Data Center. As with the rest of Cloud Connectors, this builds on OAuth 2.0 and the Admin Hub, and is available on supported Data Center releases — including the previous LTS lines, Jira 10.3 and Confluence 9.2.

Prefer the manual approach, or need it for an unsupported version? Traditional application link setup remains available.

📚 Learn more

• Connect to Data Center instances with Cloud Connector

• Link Jira to Atlassian apps using OAuth 2.0

• Configure cloud connectors

Give it a try and let us know what you think! Have you set up an application link via Cloud Connector yet? Share your experience, use cases, or questions in the comments below. 💬

[Steve Letch]

Does this mean we can potentially migrate just one of our DC apps at a time to the cloud, for example, migrate Jira, use the connector, then migrate Confluence a couple months later?