Is it possibe to import from Jira 8.1.3 to J Cloud still having epic structure working

Question

Hello,
I have an issue.
I tried several times to import CSV from Jira 8.1.3 to cloud, but every time it failed to have the Epic structure reflected in the cloud.

I mean, epic with key, let's say: XYZ-1 had connected 2 issueTypes XYZ-2 and XYZ-3 in 8.1.3,
Then after import to cloud it's flat, while opening issue XYZ-2 or -3 link to Epic is gone/missing.

Is it possible to have epic assigned correctly after importing to cloud?
If yes, how to do it?

Thank you in advance!
Adam

Adam Domaszewski (AutoOnline) · Answer

I managed to import CSV with proper structure, both Epic and Task have their tickets associated tasks and sub-tasks.

I did some magic with CSV:
first rows were Epics and at the end the subtasks,
in CSV if there was anything in 'Parent ID' column it was imported at the end.

Nevertheless, thanks Andy for the help

Andy Heinzer · Answer

Hi Adam,

I understand that you're trying import from a Jira Server into Jira Cloud using the CSV importer, but that these imports don't appear to be maintaining the epic links on these issues.

It is possible to import epic links via CSV, but it is not always as straightforward.  To help in this task we have a KB on the topic I would recommend checking out over in Cannot Import Epic Link from CSV due to Incorrect Format.

Part of the problem here is that the epic issue needs to exist within the destination Jira before the children issues in that epic are imported.  To get around that we recommend that you first import all the epics separately.

Once that is done, the other problem can be in regards to the way those epics are referred to in the csv file itself.  Most users want to use the issuekey to link an epic, but that's not how they are expected to be linked in the case of Epic links. Instead, each issue that is linked to the epic should do so using the Epic Name field.  So if your epic has an issuekey of XYZ-1 and an Epic Name of "Sample Epic Sample", then in the CSV file the child issues should have a field called Epic link that references that "Sample Epic Sample" name to create this link.

That KB also notes the need to make sure that none of your epics have the same epic name to avoid an additional conflict here. If they do the the recommendation there is to rename of them to make sure that each epic is unique to avoid further problems with importing them.

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any concerns about these suggested steps.

Cheers,

Andy