We're trying to query the Jira API but get no results

[Peter Johnstone]

I'm working with a colleague to develop a dashboard which pulls issue information from different sources.  I'm working on prototyping the API calls in postman having downloaded the postman example project.

I've stripped the jql back to the most basic example:

project=<project key> order by created DESC

The API returns an HTTP 200 status but the returned json contains no issues:

{

    "issues": [],

    "isLast": true

}

Does anyone have any idea what we could be missing?

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski · Accepted solution]

Hello and Welcome @Peter Johnstone 

Atlassian currently has a search incident on April 8, 2026, and they explicitly called out impact to Jira and Jira Service Management. JSM status is already in monitoring, but Atlassian also says some recently changed data may still be delayed while indexing catches up. So an HTTP 200 with an empty issues list today could easily be related to that incident.

Atlassian Status

If it still happens after the incident is fully cleared, then I would check permissions next. Atlassian’s search API only returns issues the calling user can actually see, meaning Browse projects permission and, if used, issue security access.

[Peter Johnstone]

I've tried the query again today, but still see no results - not sure if indexing is caught up thought.

We're using an account specifically for the API calls, I got a colleague to log in as that user and was able to browse the project and view issues through the UI.

[Nico Maikranz]

Hi @Peter Johnstone 

are you using one of the following api endpoint?

- The Jira Cloud platform REST API

- The Jira Cloud platform REST API

If yes, can you share more details about your api call?

If you are using GET, what does your query parameter look like?
If you are using POST, what does your request body look like? 

[Peter Johnstone]

Hi Nico,

Here's the full get request:

https://nrs-sp-jsm.atlassian.net/rest/api/3/search/jql?jql=project=SSD order by created DESC&maxResults=10&fields=summary,description,status,creator,reporter,type,assignee,due,created,updated&fieldsByKeys=true

Thanks

[Nico Maikranz]

Hi Peter,

I now also downloaded postman and I could recreate your issue with your get request. I changed it to my atlassian instance and change the project key.

I also got a 200 but an empty body.

I then checked the headers and have spotted "AUTHENTICATION_FAILED" when using the "Basic Auth" Method in the Authorization Tab.

I then switched to auth type "API Key" in the Authorization Tab.
For "Key" I entered "Authorization"
For "Values" you need to create a BASE64 String with Mail and API Token

You can check that here: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/basic-auth-for-rest-apis/#supply-basic-auth-headers

After you generated the BASE64 String you enter "Basic <BASE64-STRING>" in the value field

You can leave "Add to" with the value "Header"

---

After all these steps you can send your request again and it should work.

Can you test that? 

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

Hello @Peter Johnstone 

Sorry for late Answer.

Likely the request is hitting /search/jql without a valid Authorization header, so Jira is treating it as an anonymous request and returning an empty result set.

Try Advice from @Nico Maikranz  and let us know how it goes.

He reproduced the empty result, saw AUTHENTICATION_FAILED, and got it working once he sent the header explicitly.

[Peter Johnstone]

Hi Folks,

I hadn't spotted the AUTHENTICATION_FAILED in the response, so that looks promising. I tried generating the BASE64 String using the powershell in the linked article, but authorization is still failing. I'll need to get a colleague to confirm that the API key is correct, or generate a new one.

Will let you know how I get on.

Thanks,

Peter

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

@Peter Johnstone 

Yay, thats promising :)

Keep Us Updated.

[Peter Johnstone]

Success!

The Token that I had been provided with originally only had specific scopes. We replaced this with an API token that has the same access as the associated user account.

Thanks for your help.

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

You´re Welcome.

[Nico Maikranz]

Hi Peter,

which user are you using to authenticate in your api calls?

Can you post the headers you are using and the full request via postman?

It could be that the user has permission to view the project itself but not the issues inside it.