Airtable Import for Jira
Setup takes about 15 minutes. Here's how it works, step by step.
Before you start
You'll need:
- Jira Cloud (not Data Center or Server)
- An Airtable base on the Team plan or higher
- A Jira admin to install the app
Install the app
A Jira admin installs Airtable Import for Jira from the Atlassian Marketplace. In Jira, go to Apps, then Explore more apps, search for Airtable Import for Jira and select Get app.
Once it's installed, open it from Apps in Jira's top bar.
Set it up
Connect
Sign in to Airtable from inside Jira. Only Jira admins (and whoever they allow) can set it up.
Map
Pick a table and a Jira space. Shim suggests where each field goes in Jira, and which linked records become issue links. Change whatever you want.
Preview
You get a list of every issue Shim is about to create or update, plus every value it can't copy over exactly and why.
Test
Run it on 5 records and go look at them in Jira. If something's off, undo the test and fix the mapping.
Go live
Shim moves the rest, and that's it. The table is in Jira.
What comes over
| In Airtable | In Jira |
|---|---|
| Records in a table | Jira issues, one per record |
| Fields | The Jira fields you map |
| Linked records | Issue links, when both records are in Jira |
| Comments | Comments, with the name of whoever wrote them |
| Attachments | Attachments on the issue |
| Collaborators | Jira users, matched for you |
When something goes wrong
If one record has a problem, Shim skips it and keeps going with the rest. The problem shows up in the app with an error code, what went wrong, and how to fix it. Here's one you might see in the preview:
Offline mode
Status "Someday" isn't in PROD's workflow. Pick a Jira status.
Fix it, and Shim picks the record up again on the next sync.
An error code's first digit tells you where the problem is. E1 is the connection, E2 is Jira, E3 is your field mapping, and E4 is a field rule in Airtable.
Undoing changes
The 5-record test is there so you can check the result before anything else moves. If something's off, open the test in the app and select Undo test. Shim removes the issues the test created, as long as nobody has changed them since. If someone has, Shim leaves that issue alone and labels it instead.
Shim never deletes anything in Airtable.
Common questions
What does it bring over that a CSV import doesn't?
Comments (with who wrote them), attachments, and who's assigned to what (matched to their Jira accounts). Linked records turn into issue links, too. A CSV import often skips those, or takes hours of cleanup to get them in.
What Airtable plan do I need?
Team or higher. Airtable's Free plan gives apps only 1,000 API calls a month, and Shim would run out of them partway through.
Can I undo it?
That's what the 5-record test is for. Look at those records in Jira, and if something's off, undo the test, fix the mapping and try again. Shim never deletes anything in Airtable, either.
Is it really free?
Yes. Import apps are free for any size team.
What if we decide to keep using Airtable after all?
Then install Airtable Sync for Jira. It picks up where the import left off, so you don't have to map anything again.
Does it work with Jira Data Center or Server?
No, just Jira Cloud.
Still stuck?
Email [email protected], and include the error code if you have one. You'll hear back within one business day.