Migration to Jira Cloud - Custom fields and screens are getting duplicated

[Mayur Ingale]

We are migrating to Jira Cloud instance with existing data that came from the same server instance that the current migration is coming from.

The server instance is a Test instance which getting refreshed once in few months with new data from production Jira Server.

I noticed that if there wasn't a Server refresh in that period of time between the 2 phases of migration, everything looks good and we don't have any duplications, but after we did a refresh to the Test server instance and then the 2nd phase migration, all the custom fields and screens are getting duplicated. 

We need to know of someone encountered this before and how to avoid this.

If it's not possible to avoid this, it will be helpful to know how to fix it on Cloud post-migration and merge the duplicated fields, using scripts or any other possible solutions.

[Gaurav]

Hello @Mayur Ingale 

The scenario as per my understanding is:

• Data migrated from the server (Test instance) to the cloud instance
• Test instance refreshed
• Data migrated from the server (Test instance) to the cloud instance again as 2nd Phase migration

Assuming the following:

• Migration was performed using JCMA (Jira Cloud Migration Assistant),
• 2nd Phase Migration was performed to further migrate the projects

The duplication of the custom fields and screens occurred as the JCMA treats the custom fields as unique during each execution.

So, if you execute migration through JCMA multiple times, it would treat the custom fields being used by the projects in that migration plan as unique and would create a copy of the same.

In order to avoid this, you may consider migrating the whole instance together; if the instance is not too big.

Alternatively, you may even consider creating blocks of projects to be migrated together based on the custom fields being used.

Last but not the least, this can be fixed as well. Post-cloud migration you can simply copy the content from the duplicate fields to the original fields (using Automation) and then delete the duplicate ones.

Hope this helps.

--GG

[Mayur Ingale]

Thank you @Gaurav for your quick reply !!

Actually we have difference cases... till date we have successfully migrated some Jira projects from 3 different instances.

This specific senario we need to meger one of our business line to existing Cloud production Jira. So full migration option is not suitable us.

You said "copy the content from the duplicate fields to the original fields (using Automation)"  --> Could you please explain bit more about this. How can we use Automation to fix these duplicate objects post migration?

[Gaurav]

Hello @Mayur Ingale 

In order to copy the content, create a rule which is scheduled and use JQL to limit the issues.

In actions,

• select the Edit issue
• select the original field
• for value click on the 3 dots
• Select COPY
• Click on the Text, and select the Duplicate Field

Hope this helps.

--GG

[Matthew Joslin_AppFox_]

We speak to a lot of admins going through this and guaranteed - cleaning up before migration is much easier than after.
Once duplicates land in Cloud they're harder to untangle, and you'll hit the 700-field cap faster than expected. Would recommend our app Optimizer for Jira here.

It's designed for this prep phase as it surfaces unused custom fields, screens, workflows and schemes via smart tables so you can bulk delete or archive in one action, with a config merge option that consolidates duplicate fields while preserving historical data.

Works on both Data Center pre-migration and Cloud post-migration, so the same toolkit covers both sides of the move. Got some neat Rovo-assisted actionable advice integration, too.
Free 30-day trial via the Marketplace, if it sounds like it could help you.