Integrate key development tools with Jira
10 min
Intermediate
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to:
- Describe the value of combining Jira with a repository
- Integrate a service or software space with a repository
- View development information alongside your work in Jira
- Create repository branches from Jira work
- View commits related to Jira work
Integrate Jira with a repository
A repository contains the files that make up an application or service and is where the code is deployed. Here’s what happens when you integrate Jira with a repository, like GitHub or Bitbucket:
- In software spaces, you can view development information alongside your work in Jira.
- In service spaces, you can map repositories to your services. Once you've mapped a repository to a service, during a major incident, incident responders can view any recent deployments for a service.
Here’s how this integration can help your team:
✔ Reduce context-switching. Once Jira is connected with a repository, you can view the progress of the work in Jira. This allows developers to continue working with their preferred tools.
✔ Automatic updates. The connected repository automatically provides updates in Jira on the development progress. This informs the entire team of work item progress.
✔ DevOps process insights. As more developer activities are shared with Jira, the team can see trends in the data, enabling insights for continuous DevOps process improvement.
If your team uses Bitbucket, you can create a repository to help keep your files organized. Other members of your team can access the repository if they have the correct permissions. Learn how to create a Bitbucket repository through Atlassian Documentation.
Enable the Code feature
You must enable the Code feature before you can link repositories to your Jira space. This action will add a Code page to your space. The Code page displays a list of the repositories linked to your space, helping you track where your team works. It can display up to 100 linked code repositories.
To enable or disable code for your software space:
- Navigate to your software space.
- In the sidebar, next to the space name, select More actions (represented by ···), then Space settings.
- In the sidebar, select Features.
- Enable or disable the Code feature.
👇 The Code page allows you to view all of your linked repositories.
Only space admins can enable and disable features for a space.
Link repositories using work item keys
Once code is enabled for your space, you can link a repository to a space by including work item keys in your branch names, commit messages, and pull requests.
👇 Click the tabs below to see how you can link a repository to a Jira space using work item keys.
Find the key for the Jira work item you want to link to.
👉 For example: “JRA-123”
View development activity in Jira
When Jira is integrated with a repository, the Development panel displays with the work item details. You can view linked commits, pull requests, builds, branches, deployments, and feature flags. This allows you to evaluate the status of a work item’s development at a glance.
👇 Here’s an example of the Development panel within the work item's details.
Development activities will automatically link to your Jira work item and appear in the work item's development panel.
Your admin must connect and configure Jira and your development tools. You must also have the View development tools permission to see the development panel.
Create repository branches from Jira work
When Jira is integrated with a repository, a Create branch link will appear in the development panel of a work item. This link allows you to create a branch in the repository and start the development work for the work item.
👇 Click the tabs below to see how to create a branch from a Jira work item.
Select Create branch from the work item's development panel.
View commits related to Jira work
Typically, developers work in local repositories and use their own tools to work with code. Developers then push their commits to the repository. When your repository is linked to Jira, you can view commits directly from a work item.
👉 For example: Tinh uses Bitbucket to update their files and make commits directly to the repository. They make sure to include the related work item key in the commit message. Because Tinh included the work item key in the commit message, the commit information is displayed in the development panel on the Jira work item.
👇 Click the tabs below to see how to create commits in Bitbucket that link to Jira.
Create the commit message in Bitbucket. Include the work item key in the commit message. A space or dash must separate the key.
👇 In the example below, the work item key “GREET-1” is visible at the beginning of the message.
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next lesson
What is Statuspage?
- Statuspage provides real-time incident communication and updates
- Set up the Statuspage integration
- Integrate Statuspage with Jira Service Management