Create a custom URL for Jira

[Samuel Hoover]

I've never used Jira before and as a small non-profit I have been given the task to install this on one of our servers. I have Jira installed on a server and I want to create a URL other than the http://localhost..... My problem is this is my first database I've ever built but it all looks to be working. I'm extremely new to SQL and most of all I'm worried about screwing this install up. Does anyone know the steps to do this that they are willing to take the time to share. I'm assuming I have to do something on the DNS server first of all but not sure what that is or how to do it. I've been trying to do this for a couple days and Jira support suggest asking here. Thanks in advance.

[Daniel Eads]

Hi Samuel,

The good news is that this is a super common thing and there's little chance of causing a mess. Any changes you make here should be pretty easy to clean up if things to awry! No SQL should be required for this.

First of all, you'll want to get a subdomain set up in your DNS. This varies depending on what DNS server you're using (or if your domain registrar handles this for you). Most folks use something like jira.domain.com but you're free to set whatever subdomain suits your fancy. You'll want the record for this subdomain to point at the IP address of your Jira server.

Next up, you'll configure the base URL of Jira so that Jira knows how to write hyperlinks to go to the right place. This is done in Jira's System Administration (brief steps copied from here):

1. Choose  > System. 
2. Choose General Configuration in the left-hand panel.
3. Choose Edit Settings.
4. Enter the new URL in the Base URL text box.
5. Choose Save.

At this point, if you're not running behind a reverse proxy (such as nginx, Apache, or IIS), you're done! Based on what you've stated, I think this is the situation you're in.

If in the future you want to put a reverse proxy in place (this makes it easier to run over HTTPS), we've got some good guides for nginx and Apache to help get started.

Cheers,
Daniel

[Samuel Hoover]

Daniel

Thanks for the info. Very helpful and easy steps. I was able to create that DNS record and change the base URL to a better one. Do you know will this mess with my server being located since the servers actual name is different from my URL? 

After I'm done making it easy for internal use I do need to make it accessible for a couple remote users. Is that something I can or should do through windows IIS or do I need to do that using the Apache and nginx info you sent me? I looked it over and it's a bit over whelming for a newbie. Not that I know how to do it in IIS either.

Thanks,

Sam 

[Daniel Eads]

Hey Sam,

This shouldn't be a problem if your server has a different hostname (as long as DNS knows where to send the traffic - either the CNAME which is your actual server's hostname, or the IP address for the server which hopefully isn't changing).

If you're looking at external accessibility, you should definitely put a reverse proxy in front. Don't expose your application to the general internet (and hopefully use HTTPS at your reverse proxy).

I think the main advantage of using IIS is that it has a GUI, which can be easier for first-time configuration. We have some steps for setting up a reverse proxy with IIS here. Although I think it's not terribly awful to use Apache on Windows (just slightly more "scary" to set up that IIS) and nginx even has some Windows builds now. Whatever you're most comfortable with is what you should go with, and if there's anybody around that knows any of those three web servers, doing whatever someone can help with is ideal.

Cheers,
Daniel

[Jiveshwar Sharma]

I am unable to find the Base URL feature. Is it because I am using the community cloud edition?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Yes, you can't change Cloud urls (well, you can ask Atlassian support to do it for you as long as it's not too often, and hopefully we'll get some more flexibility soon)