How do I edit the Labels system field to add more label values and allow multiple selections?

[Nikhil Patel]

I am migrating thousands of issues from one Jira instance to another. The old Jira instance has issues with multiple labels which is used as filters for search. The new Jira instance has a labels field already, but only a few pre-built values. I want to go in and edit that field and add 60-80 more values.

I have clicked on project settings, issue types, and then an issue type. When I click on labels, it just shows a drop down list of the current values, but not the option to add. I can create a custom label field but it only allows a record to have one label. I have worked with the admin to find a solution, but no success. 

Does anyone have a solution to this?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

Labels are a little different to other fields.  They are a multi-select field, but they don't have a centralised list of options like other select lists. 

You can think of their list of options as 

• All labels on every issue you have
• Maintainable by ordinary users, not just admins

To add a value to the label field, add it to an issue.  To remove a value from the label options list, delete it from all the issues that have it.