Are the contents of the ${JIRA_HOME}/export folder necessary for Jira?

[admin admin]

Hello there,

I have a long-standing Jira server which has acquired a great deal of data in th '${JIRA_HOME}/export' directory, and I want to confirm that these zip files, and not necessary for the operations of the server.

Let me also thank those who help out here, I don't get the chance to share my heart felt appreciation for the help that you provide here.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Accepted solution]

The files in "export" are exports of data, for backup or migration, you do not need them to run Jira (I usually set up a "log rotate" to clear out older files in there, if the admins have not turned off the regular xml backups)

[admin admin]

That was my expectation, thank-you Nic.

[Kyle Manel]

There is an administrative option to set regular xml backup removal, or are you talking about a cronjob and-the-like?

[Michael Smith]

I am still confused is there an administrative option to prevent xml backups from occuring?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Yes, but not quite - it's not "prevent", it's "turn off". 

By default Jira runs an xml backup regularly (twice a day if memory serves, but I don't pay a lot of attention as I usually turn it off on install).  If you got to Admin -> Backups, you should find the timing and an on/off switch which you can adjust to what you need.

[admin admin]

The reason I ask is for change control;

Knowing what data is retained in the exports folder will also provide me some capacity to remove unnecessary files from the server, as all files will be maintained in our quarterlies until now.