How to bulk update work items with the date that their current status was set

[Heidi Hendry]

I have a need to update 260+ work items in Jira Cloud with the date that their current status was set.

This is a fix after a data migration.

Is this possible with API or External System Import or another method?

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Heidi Hendry 

Are you trying to insert that date into a custom field?

Do you need to get the data information from the change logs of the Jira issues, or do you already have that date information and you just need to add it to the issue?

There are REST API endpoints for updating custom fields.

Custom fields can also be updated through the External System Import process. The input file has to include the issue key along with the issue Summary and the new information you want to add in order to update existing issues, and the columns have to be properly mapped. Importing dates also requires that you properly specify the date format. If you go this route I recommend that you do small scale testing to ensure you set up the import file and import options correctly for updating existing issues rather than creating all new issues. You probably don't want to clean up 260+ new issues created by mistake.

[pawarsachin84]

Hello @Heidi Hendry ,

You can try Recommended Workaround ->

Step 1: Create a Custom Date Field

Create a custom field such as:

Original Status Date

Backfilled Packaging Date (if specific to a status)

☑️ You can do this from Jira Admin → Issues → Custom Fields → Add Custom Field

Step 2: Bulk Update the Issues

✅ CSV Import (External System Import)

1. Export a CSV file with two columns:

Issue Key (ABC-123)

Original Status Date (2024-04-12)

2. Use Jira’s External System Import under:

Jira Settings → System → External System Import → CSV

3. Map the custom date field during import.

This updates the issues without affecting audit logs.

Step 3: Use This Field in Reports

In dashboards, JQL, or tools like eazyBI, you can now use:

"Original Status Date" >= startOfMonth()

Or calculate durations from it:

"Time since status change" = now() - Original Status Date

[Heenaben Sardarbhai Chaudhary]

@Heidi Hendry 

You can do this using the Jira REST API with a script that updates a custom field (e.g., "Status Set Date") on each issue.

First, fetch each issue's changelog to find when the current status was set, then use PUT /rest/api/3/issue/{issueIdOrKey} to update the field. Alternatively, External System Import (CSV) can also work if you prepare a file with issue keys and the correct date values. Automation won't help here since it's retroactive.

Regards,

Heena chaudhary.