How Do I Create a “Template” Project in Jira?

[#1]

Let’s get this out of the way first – you can’t create your own project template with out of the box Jira. Yes, there are several apps in the Atlassian Marketplace that you can use to create those if you like. Here is a link to the Marketplace:

https://marketplace.atlassian.com/search?query=project%20templates

A note to you vendors – this is not the article or place to promote your app. Please keep that to the App Central section of the Community.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program. We have discussed in the Should I Create a Company-managed or Team-managed Project? article, it is not possible to create a “template” project for Team-managed projects (TMP) as these are by design independent projects. If you insist on creating the dastardly TMP projects, there is an open JAC ticket for you to vote for and watch/follow: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRACLOUD-78729.

So, what about Company-managed projects (CMP)?  Well, yes and no. You can’t create a “template” per se, but you can create CMP projects based on existing CMP projects. Great! How does that work then?

Next, let’s assume from here on out this article only refers to Company-managed projects.

Initially, just create your CMP project as normal. It doesn’t really matter which existing Atlassian template you create it from because you will want to modify/customize it anyway. See this article on how to switch out Schemes for your project.

My Template Project

Once the project is created, modify all your schemes to be as you desire – workflows, screens, issue types, etc. I would also encourage you to add a Category to your project for easy reporting and querying/filtering. And finally, I like to include the word Template in my project name, so it stands out. Jira Admins in my organization know not to mess with any project that has the word template in it without having a discussion first.

Once those are all done and attached to your base project, you now have a “template” for future projects.

Creating New Projects

To create a new project based on this new project, start down the normal path of creating a project.

Click on the Projects menu in the top navigation bar and select Create project.

Unfortunately, there is no quick way to “get on with it” as my British friends would say. Atlassian likes to take you on the full create a project path to get to something which will ignore the steps of how you even got there. Maybe an enterprising Jira user will report that to Atlassian Support as a suggestion to add the ability to create a project based on an existing project directly on the first encountered screen to create a project. Maybe that person is you – so get on with it! And then post a link to the JAC ticket in the comments below so we can all vote on it.

Okay, okay, back to where we were. You clicked the Create project link and ended up on a screen with a bunch of templates. I typically just use the base Software development option which is where you land and then click on Kanban.

On the following screen, just click either Use template link at the top or the bottom of the screen. That will land you here:

Simply click the Select a company-managed project option.

Existing Project

This next part is critical as it is the basis for why this article exists. As you come to the Add project details screen, complete the Name of your project and put in a value for the project Key.

Now be sure to click the little box for Share settings with an existing project. This will cause another field to appear with a list of projects from which you can choose one.

Notice that I was able to find my “template” project by simply typing some key words – you might even just type Template and see what shows up. Select the correct existing “template” project and click Next to create the project.

Note: Clicking Next will actually create the project, so don’t think you will have an opportunity to scrap what you are doing on the following step. That step will just allow you to connect the new project you just created to a Confluence Space/Page.

Key Considerations/Limitations

Not available for free

Now that you have completed the process, it is important to note some limitations. First, the ability to create CMP projects based on existing projects is not available for Jira sites using the Free subscription plan. You will need to have a paid plan to use it.

No board is created

Another thing to be aware of is that no board will be created for the new project? Why not!? I think it probably has to do with the fact that existing projects might have multiple boards already created against them. Jira doesn’t know which one to use as the base board for the new project if there are multiples. And it wouldn’t make sense to copy every existing board either. So, no board is created.

However, you can simply copy an existing board, change out the Location for the new project name, and add a new board filter which uses the new project.

There is an open JAC ticket you can vote for and follow: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JSWCLOUD-25346

Which schemes/configurations are copied?

According to Atlassian, the following schemes are shared.

• Issue type scheme
• Workflow scheme
• All screen related schemes
• Field configuration scheme
• Permission scheme
• Notification scheme

That’s it! Let me know your questions, thoughts, and/or experiences with the Create project based on an existing project in the comments below.

[Dave Mathijs]

Great article @John Funk , thanks for sharing! I love template projects.

[Matt Doar _Adaptavist_]

Another great set of steps. Is another limitation still that members of project roles in the source project are not copied into the target (new) project? That may be only DC, not sure.

And what about project category?

[John Funk]

Hey @Matt Doar _Adaptavist_  - Thanks! and yes, that is still a limitation of the Project Roles when creating a new project via the method above. However, Category does indeed get copied. 

And thanks @Dave Mathijs !

[ヴァリエンテ フロリアン_Florian Valiente_]

I thought TMP were getting templates soon-ish? (early 2025)

https://www.atlassian.com/blog/announcements/the-new-jira