Atlassian Forge app works on my Jira site but fails on other sites with "404 Issue does not exist or

[Muhammad Arsalan]

I have built and deployed a Jira app using Atlassian Forge. The app acts as a lightweight chatbot that listens to Jira Automation Webhooks (e.g., issue commented) and then fetches issue data via the Jira REST API to generate automated insights.

The app works perfectly on my own Jira site, but when installed on another Jira site (by an admin using the official install link), it fails to fetch issues due to permission errors.

What the app does

• Installed as a Forge Jira app
• Triggered by Jira Automation → Send Web Request
• Receives webhook payload in Forge
• Fetches issue details using:

api.asApp().requestJira(`/rest/api/3/issue/${issueKey}`)

Posts an automated comment back to the issue

Observed behavior

On the external Jira site, the automation fires successfully, but the Forge app fails when fetching the issue.

Jira Automation error:

Unable to publish the web request - received HTTP status response: 500
Failed to fetch Jira data

Forge logs:

Failed to fetch issue OD2T-2: 404 Not Found
"Issue does not exist or you do not have permission to see it."
Critical: Failed to fetch Jira data. Check App Permissions.

Important details

• The issue definitely exists
• The user who commented on the issue is a Jira admin
• The user who installed the app is a Jira admin
• The automation rule can see the issue
• The Forge app cannot

Same code works on my own Jira site (where I’m also an admin)

Forge permissions (manifest.yml)
permissions:
scopes:
- read:jira-work
- read:jira-user

What I suspect

This seems related to project-level permissions or issue security schemes for the Forge app system user, especially since:

• Forge apps execute as the app user, not the human user
• Jira returns 404 instead of 403 when an app lacks issue visibility
• External Jira sites often use custom permission schemes

However, I’m unclear on:

• Whether Forge apps must be explicitly added to project permission schemes
• Whether issue security levels block Forge apps by default
• Whether this is expected behavior for api.asApp() in automation-triggered contexts
• Whether there’s a recommended pattern for cross-site access to issues in Forge apps

Questions

1. Why does a Forge app have access to issues on my Jira site but not on other admin-installed sites?
2. Do Forge apps require explicit project permission or issue security access to read issues?
3. Is this a limitation of api.asApp() when used with Jira Automation webhooks?
4. What is the correct and recommended way to ensure a Forge app can read issues across customer sites without over-scoping permissions?

Any guidance from Forge or Jira platform experts would be greatly appreciated.

Environment

• Atlassian Forge (latest runtime)
• Jira Cloud
• Jira Automation → Send Web Request
• REST API v3
• App installed via official Forge install link

[Alexandre Pezzini]

Hi Muhammad Arsalan

Based on my investigation of similar cases in the Atlassian Developer Community, this is a known behavior related to how Forge app system users are handled in Jira's permission schemes.

Findings & Technical Summary

The issue is likely caused by the Forge app's system user not having the necessary project-level permissions on the external site. Unlike Connect apps, which are automatically added to the atlassian-addons-project-access role, Forge apps act as a unique system user that may not be automatically granted access to projects with custom permission schemes.

• Root Cause: When using api.asApp(), the request is authenticated as the app's internal service account. If the target project on the customer site has a restricted permission scheme (e.g., it doesn't grant "Browse Projects" to "Any logged in user" or a group the app belongs to), Jira returns a 404 to avoid leaking the existence of the issue.

• Why it works on your site: Your site likely uses a default permission scheme where "Any logged in user" or "Service Desk Team" has access, or you may have inadvertently granted the app user permissions during development.

Recommended Solution

To resolve this, the administrator of the external Jira site needs to ensure the Forge app user has the Browse Projects (and Add Comments, if applicable) permission for the specific project.

1. Identify the App User:

   • Go to Project Settings > Users and roles.

   • Click Add users to a role.

   • Search for the name of your app. A user with the same name as your app should appear.

2. Grant Permissions:

   • Add this app user to a role that has the Browse Projects permission in the project's Permission Scheme.

   • Alternatively, update the Permission Scheme to grant "Browse Projects" to the specific app user.

Developer Support Recommendation

This is a suitable case to raise with Developer Support (Ecosystem) if you wish to advocate for a more seamless installation experience (similar to Connect's automatic role assignment).

Sources:

• Forge app - Accessing Jira Service Management project issue

• Missing permissions when using .asApp()