How to find out what config changes were made to which plugin(s)?

Question

As a Jira Admin, I just went into Administration and noticed, "configuration changes were made to 'Plugins' at 2022-07-13 04:23."

I'd like to see two things:

1 - who made the changes, and

2 - what those changes were

Is that possible from the logs?  Can someone guide me to which log file(s) to examine for both 1 and 2?

SPHIOR · Answer

Following up since this is still open — Nic is right that the native logging doesn't go to that level of detail for plugin/app config changes specifically. The audit log will usually tell you *that* something changed and roughly when, but not a clean before/after diff of what actually changed within the plugin's config.

The workaround that's worked for me: capture the plugin/app configuration state on a schedule (even just exporting it periodically) and diff each capture against the previous one. That reconstructs the "what changed" even though Jira itself won't hand it to you directly. It's basically manual version control for config that doesn't have native version control.

I ended up building a Marketplace app (Sphior Ledger for Jira) that automates this for the broader config layer (permissions, workflows, custom fields) since I kept hitting the same wall — happy to share more if it's relevant, but the snapshot+diff approach works as a DIY pattern too if you want to build it yourself.

Disclosure: I'm the developer behind that app, flagging per community guidelines.

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

I don't think the logging goes to that level of detail, unless a particular plugin has its own logging functions.

If there are logs, you should find them in <Jira home>/log/atlassian-Jira.log (but you might want to look into other logs in the same directory)

Embrenchia Snyman_w9ppa8 · Answer

Any update on this?