Edit Issues in Excel for Jira

From Jira to Excel and back.

Export a search, edit the workbook in Excel, then upload it. You review every change before anything is saved, and Jira applies it as you.

1. Export the issues

In Jira, open Search (issue search) and run the search you want to edit. You can also select some issues.
Choose Apps → Edit Issues in Excel. The JQL of your search is filled in.
Choose Selected issues or All results of the search, and open Columns to pick the fields. The key is always included.
Choose Prepare workbook, then Download.

The app is also available as a page under Apps in the Jira sidebar, where you can type any JQL. One export can hold up to 5,000 issues; narrow the search to export more. Jira requires a restricted search, for example one that names a project.

The first time you open the app, Jira asks you to Allow access. The app then works only with your own Jira permissions.

2. Edit in Excel

The workbook has one Issues sheet with a row per issue. Edit the white cells:

Text and numbers: type as usual. Multi-line text keeps its line breaks.
Priority, select lists, versions and components: use the dropdown. For fields with several values, separate them with commas or put each on its own line.
Labels: separate labels with spaces.
Dates: enter a real date; the cell is formatted as a date.
People: type the person’s display name as Jira shows it. The review tells you if a name is ambiguous or not found.
Description and paragraph fields: plain text; leave a blank line between paragraphs.

Grey cells are read-only: the key, the status, fields you cannot edit, unsupported field types, and descriptions with rich formatting. Changing them has no effect. Do not rename the sheet or delete the hidden sheets; they let the app compare your edits safely. New rows are skipped, and deleting a row does not delete the issue.

Excel, LibreOffice and Numbers are supported. Numbers keeps the data but drops the dropdowns and frozen header when it saves.

3. Review your changes

Open the app again (from issue search or its page) and choose Choose edited workbook…. The app compares each cell with the exported value and with Jira now, and sorts them into tabs:

Changes: cells that will be updated.
Conflicts: values someone changed in Jira after your export. They are skipped unless you tick Overwrite.
Errors: values Jira would not accept, such as an unknown option, a person who could not be found, or a required field left empty.
Read-only: edits to grey cells, which are ignored.

Values that are already in Jira are recognised and not sent again.

4. Apply

Choose Apply N changes to M issues. Progress is shown and you can cancel. Changes are made as you and appear in each issue’s history. Jira emails watchers as usual; Jira and project administrators can switch that off before applying. When it finishes, choose Download report for a workbook that lists every change and its result.

If some issues failed, fix the cells and upload the same workbook again. Saved changes are recognised and skipped.

Supported fields

Editable: summary, description, environment, priority, labels, components, fix versions, affects versions, assignee, reporter, due date, and custom fields of these types: text, paragraph, URL, number, story points, date, select list, radio buttons, multi-select, checkboxes, user picker, labels, and multiple-version picker. Other fields can be exported for reference but stay read-only, including status, date-time fields, sprint and parent.

Common questions

Do I need to be a Jira administrator?

No. Anyone who can edit the issues can use the app. Jira’s permissions decide what you can change.

What if a colleague edits an issue while I work in Excel?

The review shows their change as a conflict and keeps it unless you choose to overwrite it.

Can I create or delete issues?

Not yet. The app updates existing issues from the export. New rows are skipped and deleted rows are left unchanged in Jira.

Where is my data processed?

In your browser. The app has no vendor backend, external API calls, app data store, or third-party analytics. Downloaded workbooks and reports are saved or shared wherever you put them.

Need help?

Email info@druidori.com. See support details and what to include.