Can you create issue links between 2 Jira Cloud Instances?

[Alex Hadden-Boyd]

We have acquired a company who also uses Jira Cloud Premium.  Over time, we plan to migrate some of the projects in their instance to our larger instance.  In the short term is it possible to link issues from their instance into our instance?

[Ste Wright · Accepted solution]

As an update to this question...

It should now be possible to application link multiple instances together, and then link to Issues cross-instance.

To do this you'll need to be a Jira Admin on both instances - and then...

1. Go to Jira Settings > Products in the source instance
2. Select Application Links from the left-hand menu
3. Copy/Paste the URL for the destination instance
4. Press Create new link, and follow the instructions

^ Once this is complete, when using linked issues, it should give you the option to choose which instance the Issue is in - local, or otherwise.

Ste

[Alex Tinsley]

This worked perfectly!

As I'm navigating the testing process for migrating my server instance to cloud I ran across this thread. I linked a project in my sandbox with a project in my cloud instance. 

When you setup the App Link in the Cloud instance (great instructions btw), you only need to enter the base URL for each instance. It does warn you that some of your integrations may not work. 

You have to authenticate in both directions in order to see the published links. 

Then you can jump between projects seamlessly. 

[Sokratis Kontos]

@Ste Wright 

Is it necessary for both sites/instances to be on premium level?
I would like to connect standard Jira site with premium jira site.

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Sokratis Kontos 

You should be fine, there's no need for their to be plan alignment between the two instances :)

Ste

[Ben Vandenbosch]

Hi @Ste Wright - would a Jira Advanced Roadmap be able to populate issues from the linked Jira instance? Thanks!

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Ben Vandenbosch 

I had a look at your other post, and placed a more detailed answer there :)

Ste

[Ben Vandenbosch]

@Ste Wright Thanks for the help!

[Kevin Johnson · Accepted solution]

Hi @Alex Hadden-Boyd

This is what I found, As a Jira administrator, you can activate issue linking to let your team create links between relevant issues across all Jira applications on your site. Here's the documentation for your reference: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/configure-issue-linking/ 

Cheers,

Kevin.

[Alex Hadden-Boyd]

I don't think that is what I need.  I have two different Jira Cloud instances and I want to be able to link between them.  I'm an admin on both instances.

[Kevin Johnson]

The documentation that states 

To Link an issue on another Jira site

You can't do this in the new issue view just yet. Click the issue key to go to the full-page view (if you're not already there) then click through to the old issue view at the top-right to complete this process.

Your Jira administrator will first need to configure fully reciprocal application links between your two Jira sites. To create a link to another Jira site: 

1. Open the issue that you want to link to. 
2. Click more (•••) > Link > Jira Issue.
3. Choose the relevant Jira site and the type of issue link.
4. Enter the issue key or search for the issues you want to link. Note that you can link to any issue that you have access to on the other Jira site. 
5. Check the Create reciprocal link option to create a link back to the original issue from the issues you just selected. issue. For example, if you create a "blocks" link type to issue ABC-123, the reciprocal link generated on ABC-123 will be an "is blocked by" link type back to your original issue.
6. Add a comment to describe why you are linking these issues and click Link.

Doc: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-core-cloud/docs/link-an-issue/ 

[Kevin Johnson]

Hi @Alex Hadden-Boyd ,

Kindly accept the answer if you find the solution provided was useful.

-Kevin.

[elizabeth_jones]

This does not appear to work for 2 cloud instances @Kevin Johnson 

[YARON LEVY]

Are there any risks?
Is it works only through links?

[Ste Wright]

Hi @YARON LEVY 

It depends what you're classifying as a risk - is there a question or concern you're thinking about?

In terms of other options, there are Apps you could consider if you're looking to sync two instances - for example:

• Exalate for Jira 
• Backbone Issue Sync 

Or, search for other options on the Marketplace :)

Ste

[YARON LEVY]

Thank you Stephn,

Do app links and webhooks require the same (service) account in each application?

[Syed Majid Hassan -Exalate-]

Hi @YARON LEVY

This is Majid @ Exalate. 

In order to fully synchronize 2 Jira instances bidirectionally, you can utilize Exalate. The app provides you fully customizable synchronization which can be customized to a very granular level. 

Please feel free to book a customized demo if you would like to see the product in action. 

Thanks

Majid

[Katarzyna Szumilas_Deviniti_]

Hi,

Next to the already mentioned synchronization tools I can also recommend a free app developed by my team- Issue Sync Lite.

Next to the standard features of copying custom field values, comments, attachments, or statuses, it offers quick, intuitive configuration and ease of maintenance as well as the privacy protection that @Arielle Unterberger asked about in her comment above.
With Lite, the synchronized data is exchanged between two instances, without using any middleware platform. Thanks to the Synchronization Scope admins can decide which projects and issue types will be available for synchronization. If you restrict this policy to a single project, the admin of the second instance will not even know about the existence of other projects or issue types.

Hope it helps!
Kasia from Deviniti

[Jason M.]

Looks like they did the ol' bait & switch on the free app, as it is only paid now.

[Katarzyna Szumilas_Deviniti_]

Hi @Jason M_

Indeed, the Issue Sync Lite app mentioned by me in the comment above has been enriched with new features and become Issue Sync Pro in the meantime. By the end of the year, we introduced pricing for new and updated customers (more info here). The solution remains free only for instances with up to 10 users.

I hope this clarifies the change a bit.

Cheers,
Kasia from Deviniti

[Arielle Unterberger]

@Ste Wright How does this affect permissions? I got a question about possibly linking two instances (own organization with an external organization).

E.g. Company A is an external company and has epics. Can Company's B (own org) tasks be children of Company A’s epic? 

Would it be possible for users of both instances only see issues in one project? How would the permission be managed? Is this common practice? What's the best practice approach? (without having read anything else yet, I do feel like connecting to an external's org instance is not very safe, but I still want to do my due diligence and learn from others in the community).

Thanks! 

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Arielle Unterberger 

My original answer only works with issue links - not Epic Link (i.e Parent/Child relationship between Epics and Tasks).

In this instance, I'd either...

• Use one instance, and control access to them using permissions, or...
• If this isn't an option, sync the two instances together and pass the data between them - see this answer for some App options

Ste

[Diana_Architect_ZigiWave]

@YARON LEVY hi. If you're looking for a way to easily connect the two Jira instances and keep them synced in real-time, check out ZIgiOps. It can easily connect the two bi-directionally and help you transfer (and sync) various data/fields. It can be customized to fit multiple use cases. Feel free to check it out and if you want to see it in action (and how it can help you resolve), you can book a demo. 

Regards, Diana (ZigiWave team)