How do I merge two labels in Jira?

[Laura Morgan]

I have two labels in my project, called 'Refactor' and 'refactor'. I know I can run a search and save a filter which includes both, but if someone is looking at an issue and clicks the label to see which other tickets use it, they're only going to see the issues with the matching version of the label. Is there a way to merge 'Refactor' and 'refactor' so there's a single label?

[Ajay _view26_ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Laura Morgan 

There is no easy way out other than to do it manually

Please refer - https://confluence.atlassian.com/jirakb/edit-and-rename-labels-in-jira-cloud-1116305331.html

[Nar Kumar C_ - Narva Software]

Hi Ajay,

It is also possible (and much simpler) to merge two labels using apps: https://marketplace.atlassian.com/search?query=manage%20labels

[Oliver Siebenmarck _Polymetis Apps_ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Laura Morgan ,

The good news is, that in cloud labels are case-insensitive, ie 'refactor' and 'Refactor' would be the same label anyway. 

But what about cases where is not just a matter of capitalization? When you have something like 'refactor' and 're-factor'? There's multiple approaches you can take here – with or without apps.

Without Apps

You can search for issues by their label with JQL and then make a bulk update. For example, you could search for 

labels in ("re-factor")

and then replace that label in a bulk update. This will work, but might become a bit cumbersome if you have a lot of labels to merge.

With Apps

Of course, there are also apps to manage labels, most of them should be able to do merges like this, either globally or per project. Personally, I like Project Labels, which includes a feature to auto-correct common label misspellings, so the problem wouldn't occur again. But I also work for Polymetis Apps so I might be biased here. 

Anyway, hope that helps,
 Oliver

[Laura Morgan]

I had no idea - I should have just clicked the label and checked! Thank you.

[Stephen_Lugton · Accepted solution]

@Laura Morgan you could do this with a simple automation, which will add the Label you want to keep and remove the other one:

This can be run manually from any issue