We're doing some user cleanup to free up some licenses on our enterprise account. I have a csv of atlassian IDs that I'll run the Delete user API call on. https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rest/v3/api-group-users/#api-rest-api-3-user-delete
Here's my question: Before we bulk deactivate these accounts, what is the best way to ensure that any needed filters and dashboards are still available? I do not want to affect any of our existing business processes inadvertently after I deactivate these accounts. I pulled the first 50 filters through Search for filters and Get filter https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rest/v3/api-group-filters/#api-rest-api-3-filter-id-get and noticed that several of them were owned by people in my list to deactivate.
Is this even an issue I should stress over before deactivating these accounts? Will the filters and dashboards stay available after the account is deactivated?
I'm referencing this dead thread here "What to think about before deleting a user?" Linda never seemed to get a sufficient response.
Disable or remove inactive Jira users in bulk in Jira Cloud | Jira | Atlassian Documentation
What to think about before deleting a user?
Hi @Hunter Lardydeleting users does not affect the Dashboards or Filters that they own. They will simply remain as they are and all users will still be able to use them.A while ago, those filters and dashboards would've become uneditable, but especially in Cloud, Admins are always able to edit them, even if they're not granted edit permission specifically.One thing you might want to keep in mind: It's possible that if any of the deleted users are mentioned within JQL of a filter, these filters will break. But I'm not entirely sure about that; it's possible that - in Cloud - a placeholder will be used for their name and the filter still works.So, in short: You don't have to worry about Filters or Dashboards becoming lost when you delete their owners' user accounts.GreetingsPhilipp
Good morning @Philipp Sendek _catworkx_ . Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.
I'm getting conflicting answers between you and Atlassian Support. I posed the same question as above to them, and received this answer.
Thank you for reaching out to Atlassian Support. I'm Alexandre and I will assist you today with this issue.
Let me first clarify: you want to know how to keep filters and dashboards available while bulk deactivating users; is that correct?
Deleting a user from an instance removes the filters/dashboard associated with that user.
If the filter is associated with a board, it makes the board unusable.
A user with Administer Jira Global permission can take over ownership of any such filters.
Dashboards of deleted users will remain in Trash for 60 days before being permanently deleted. Steps to restore, here: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/manage-shared-dashboards/#Restore-a-dashboard-from-trash
So, ideally, you will have to change the owner of these filters and dashboards before, although there is no public doc, I found the endpoints that you can use to achieve this: [insert REST calls I already know about].
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Do you have a source for your claim?
Hi @Hunter Lardy ,thank you for circling back and sharing this with me. As the Cloud products keep evolving also in their internal workings, it's possible that my statement isn't accurate anymore and you should trust the statement of Atlassian Support or simply test it out with a dummy user to be 100% sure. I haven't tested it personally recently.Such things happen and if I need to be 100% certain, I just test it with example data (and recommend everyone to do the same).Apologies for my answer if it was indeed inaccurate and thank you again for pointing out the contradicting statement by Support!GreetingsPhilipp
Hi @Philipp Sendek _catworkx_ .
After doing some of my own testing, I'm finding that filters and dashboards do seem to function as normal after a user is deactivated.
At first, we were unable to locate some filters from a deactivated user. We found that was because all we knew at the time was the owner (who is not searchable from the All Filters page after deactivation). We just need to know the filter name or ID and we can access it after we deactivate someone.
Thanks again for responding. It does seem like your explanation has more truth that Support's in this instance.
We do still plan to change the owner of our deactivated user's filters to one of the Jira admins, just to keep them in one place. If anyone's curious, I could share the Python script I made to accomplish this automagically. (I'm no professional developer, no warranties xD).
Hi ,
To add to the discussion — if you're looking for a way to bulk deactivate users safely, we built a Forge app called User Account Manager that helps with this exact workflow.
Before bulk deactivating, you can:- Review all affected users with their status and last active date- Set up protected accounts to exclude critical users (like filterand dashboard owners) from bulk actions- Use the confirmation modal to review exactly who will be affected- Export the user list beforehand as a backup (CSV, JSON or TXT)
This way you can identify which users own important filters ordashboards and protect them before running the bulk deactivation.
Free trial available:https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1286949292/user-account-manager-bulk-user-actions-customer-export
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