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how to update the parent field of a sub-task

Ismail Abdelkefi
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April 15, 2026

I am working on migrating issues from an old instance to a new one.
My migration process is as follows:

  • CSV export of the issues.
  • Loading the issues into the new instance (without links).
  • Linking the sub-tasks and stories together using a Python script.

The issue is that when updating an issue with the parent field, I receive a 204 status response, but nothing happens.
It's worth mentioning that I am using the Data Center version of Jira.
Any help would be appreciated

1 answer

3 votes
Tomislav Tobijas
Community Champion
April 15, 2026

Hi @Ismail Abdelkefi ,

What payload exactly are you sending/using for sub-tasks and setting parent on them? Also, it might be worth knowing which Jira DC version you have. 👀

Have you tried something like this:

{
"fields": {
"parent": {
"key": "PROJ-123"
}
}
}

or alternatively: 

{
"fields": {
"parent": {
"id": "10001"
}
}
}

I've mainly done this update on the cloud, but something similar should work on DC (depending on the version).

Cheers,
Tobi

Ismail Abdelkefi
I'm New Here
I'm New Here
Those new to the Atlassian Community have posted less than three times. Give them a warm welcome!
April 15, 2026

@Tomislav Tobijas thank you for your reply.
i am using Jira DC version 10.4.1
And yes i tried all the payloads above but nothing works.

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Tomislav Tobijas
Community Champion
April 15, 2026

Hmm, I'm currently OOO, but I did a quick check. You could try checking this as well:

The parent relationship in Data Center often relies on the Parent field being present on the Edit Issue screen of the sub-task's field configuration.

...If the field is hidden or not associated with the screen, the API might ignore the update silently.

Now, if that doesn't work as well, I'd probably recommend reaching out to Atlassian Support with this. They'll probably have more info and some troubleshooting insights regarding that. 👀

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