Why am I required to back up before I can import on a new install?

Trey Harvell

I am attempting to migrate my JIRA server data to a brand-new Cloud installation.  When I attempt the import, it tells me my backup is outdated and I need to perform a backup before I can import.

When I attempt a backup, either offline, cloud, with or without attachments, the backup fails in the preparation stage and tells me to contact support or try again later.  I've been trying this since yesterday morning.

And apparently, because I'm on the "free" version, this is my only recourse for support, even though it appears to be an issue on Atlassian's end.

RJ Gazarek

Hi @Trey Harvell 

This was a change we implemented recently, that while I understand is frustrating in your use case, is saving our customers from a lot of trouble.  A site import is a very destructive action, that can wipe out an entire instance.  Some customers have done this, overwritten all of their data, and was extremely disruptive to their business. 

We've implemented this safeguard, requiring customers to take a backup before conducting an import.  Now, as far as why you're getting an error, that I'm not sure about.  

Since this is a new safeguard we implemented, I'm going to reach out to our engineers that worked on this, and see if we can look into this for you. 

RJ Gazarek
Sr. Product Manager