Import issue "Cannot add value [ [PROJ-15986] ] to CustomField Epic Link in Work item

[frank_schilperoort]

I am trying to import the following example CSV:

Internal ID,Issue ID,Project,Issue type,Parent,Epic name,Summary
1,Project A - 1,Project A,Initiative,,,[Project A] Initiative summary
2,Project A - 2,Project A,Epic,Project A - 1,[Project A] Epic name,[Project A] Epic summary
3,Project A - 3,Project A,Story,Project A - 2,,Story summary

Using the following configuration: 

However, I get the following error:

2026-01-20 09:17:15,963 INFO - Importing work item: [externalId='Project A - 1', summary='[Project A ] Initiative summary']
2026-01-20 09:17:17,943 INFO - Importing work item: [externalId='Project A - 2', summary='[Project A ] Epic summary']
2026-01-20 09:17:19,870 WARN - Cannot add value [ [PROJ-15986] ] to CustomField Epic Link in Work item with summary 'Story summary'. Probably value was in incorrect format
2026-01-20 09:17:19,878 INFO - Importing work item: [externalId='Project A - 3', summary='Story summary']
2026-01-20 09:17:20,830 INFO - 3 work items successfully created

 This worked before. However, now I consistently get this error. I have tried all kinds of ways to prevent the error but to no avail. Thanks in advance!

[Madhumitha N]

Hello @frank_schilperoort ,

The Epic Link field expects the issue key of the Epic (e.g., PROJ-15986), not the Issue ID or summary.

Parent child import related document:  https://support.atlassian.com/jira/kb/keep-issue-parent-child-mapping-during-csv-import-to-jira-cloud/