Airtable Sync 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 Sync for Jira from the Atlassian Marketplace. In Jira, go to Apps, then Explore more apps, search for Airtable Sync 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 does the rest, and keeps the table and Jira in sync from then on. Any time it changes a value, it saves the old one first, so you can always undo it.
What syncs
| 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
Any time Shim changes a value, it saves the old one first. To undo a change, open the record in the app's change history and select Restore field.
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.
Common questions
Can I sync comments between Airtable and Jira?
Yes, both ways. Each comment shows who wrote it.
What if someone changes the same field on both sides?
You pick which side wins for each field, or have Shim ask you each time. Either way, Shim hangs on to the other value, so you can switch to it later.
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 it move a table into Jira too?
Yes. The first sync brings the whole table into Jira, and it keeps syncing after that. If you already used Airtable Import for Jira, Sync picks up where the import left off.
Can I undo a change?
Yes. Any time Shim changes a value, it saves the old one first, so you can undo it. You can also undo the whole 5-record test. Shim never deletes anything, and it won't stomp on a value someone changed since the last sync.
How much does it cost?
It's free if your Jira site has 10 users or fewer. After that, it's $50 a month at 50 users, $100 at 100, $265 at 500 and $340 at 1,000. You pay through the Atlassian Marketplace.
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.