Issue archiving options for Jira Server and Data Center

[#1]

If you ever searched for "archiving Jira issues", you probably know that admin wizardry and workarounds to archive Jira projects or issues have been a hot topic for a very long time now. As anyone can see in the Atlassian Community or in public Jira projects, questions and comments are popping up week by week, followed by long discussions.

The recommended options to imitate archiving, however, can be categorized into two major groups, regardless of whether users are on Data Center or Server deployments:

1. you can either keep your “archived” (or otherwise made invisible) issues in the same Jira instance
2. or move it elsewhere.

Both have their pros and cons, so the best you can do is to understand your options and choose one that fits your organization’s needs while forces you to make minimum compromises.

Based on a quick research, the best ways to approach Jira archiving are:

1. Native project archiving (only from Jira Software 7.10.0 Data Center)

2. Exporting issues and moving them to a Document Management System

3. Using restrictive permissions schemes

4. Moving issues to another Jira instance

If you want to read more on the topic, visit the Midori Blog where we looked into the advantages and disadvantages of each archiving method, so you can make an informed decision.

If you use a different method or have questions for the community about archiving in Jira, ask away in the comments!

[Matt Doar]

The article is a good summary of all the approaches I've tried.

The missing one is talking to your Legal department about data retention and getting their permission to delete old issues. Likely the hardest of all the approaches!