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Jira - CSV Import Inititive - Epic Relationship

Ken Tucker

Hello

I am having terrible trouble with what should be "Simple" CSV importation in Jira Cloud.

Scenario:

1 I have 3 "Initiatives" already created which reflect a World Region
2. I have 200 EPICs I want to CREATE via CSV Import and Link to a specific Initiative using a value in the CSV file. There is way to much confusing topics out there using different terminology to achieve something simple.

3. I have automation in place to create my Tasks and Subtasks and this is working.

Simply Put, my CSV import creates the EPICs but not matter what I try, I cannot associate them with an existing initiative.

Can you provide me a Clear CSV Template and a Clear Mapping using the OLD or New CSV importer. I will do what ever you tell me once it works.

Why is Jira so difficult for simple things.

Thanks
Ken

Accepted answers

John Funk

Hi Ken - Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

There is a lot of confusion about this right now and there appears to be an ongoing bug with it. Here is one ticket in the JAC related to it that you can vote for and follow.

https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRACLOUD-92272

It appears sometimes it works if you do it through the path of Settings > System > External System Import > Switch to old experience. Other times that doesn't work but if works if you do the import from within a filter/search.

Something like this SHOULD work:

Issue Type	Parent	Summary
Epic	ABC-123	Epic 1
Epic	ABC-123	Epic 2

Where ABC-123 is the key for the Initiative and assuming the Initiative work type is a parent one level up from Epic.

All comments

John Funk

Hi Ken - Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

There is a lot of confusion about this right now and there appears to be an ongoing bug with it. Here is one ticket in the JAC related to it that you can vote for and follow.

https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRACLOUD-92272

Something like this SHOULD work:

Issue Type	Parent	Summary
Epic	ABC-123	Epic 1
Epic	ABC-123	Epic 2

Where ABC-123 is the key for the Initiative and assuming the Initiative work type is a parent one level up from Epic.

Germán Morales

Hi!

Since your Initiatives already exist in Jira, linking the new Epics via CSV is super easy using the unified Parent field. Here is the quick way to do it:

Prepare the CSV: Add a Parent column to your Epic CSV file. For each Epic row, simply enter the existing Initiative Key (e.g., INIT-123) of its parent.
Run the Import: Go to Jira Settings (Gear Icon) ➔ System ➔ External System Import ➔ CSV.
*Tip: Click "Switch to the old experience" at the top right if the new importer throws errors.
Map the Fields: Map your CSV's Parent column to the native Jira Parent field, and run the import.

💡 Quick tip: Try doing a test run with a CSV of just 2-3 Epics first to make sure they link up perfectly!

Let me know if that works!

Paul Glantschnig _Appfire_

Hi @Ken Tucker, and welcome to the community!

If the import keeps fighting you on the linking step and if you're open to solutions from the Atlassian Marketplace, there are possible other solutions to your problem.

E.g.: JXL for Jira (the app my team and I work on) is a spreadsheet-style view of your issues. You can import the 200 Epics with just their summaries (no parent), then open a JXL sheet scoped to them, add the Parent column, and set the Initiative in bulk:

Paste a single Initiative key down a whole selection of Epic rows, or
Paste a column of keys straight from your CSV/Excel into the Parent column.

Bulk-setting the parent on many issues

JXL writes the parent links for you, so you get the same result without depending on the importer's parent mapping. If you'd rather do it visually, enabling the hierarchy lets you drag Epics under an Initiative and JXL updates the Parent field.

Cheers, Paul

Evelin Bayer - codefortynine

Hi @Ken Tucker ,

Disclosure: I work at codefortynine, the vendor of Deep Clone for Jira.

As @John Funk already mentioned, this is likely caused by JRACLOUD-92272 – a known bug with CSV import and parent linking. The Parent column approach @Germán Morales suggested is the correct native way, but if it's still not working, it's very likely the bug at play.

You didn't mention where the epic data in your CSV comes from and what you're aiming to achieve with the import. Many people use CSV as a repeatable template to create the same epic structures in different Jira instances or spaces (which might reflect each World Region in your example). If that's your case and you're open to working with a Marketplace app, you could fall back on an advanced cloning app like our Deep Clone for Jira:

Create one "template" epic under each of your 3 Initiatives (be it spaces, instances or whatever structure you're working with)
Bulk Clone or Epic Clone each template as many times as needed – hierarchies are preserved and subtasks can be cloned along if needed
Save the setup as a Preset for one-click cloning next time

Hope this helps! 

Evelin, codefortynine

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