Automated Jira Cloud Migration Guide (JCMA)
This guide walks you through the process of migrating Smart Issue Templates data from Jira Data Center to Jira Cloud using JCMA (Jira Cloud Migration Assistant). By the end of this guide, you'll be able to start a migration, monitor its progress, and understand the results.
2. Before You Begin
Prerequisites
Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
DC Plugin Version | 3.1.3 or higher |
Cloud Plugin Version | 24.41.0 or higher |
DC Permissions | Jira Administrator |
Cloud Permissions | Organization Administrator |
JCMA 1.12.46 or higher installed on your DC instance |  |
What Gets Migrated
Entity | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
Scopes | Supported | Scope configurations including projects, issue types, and groups |
Templates - System fields | Supported | Issue templates with name, description, content, project, issue type, scope, available for, summary, assignee and reporter, labels, priority, due date, components, fix/affected versions, linked issues, epic link, time tracking, environment |
Templates - Custom fields | Coming soon | Issue templatesโ custom field values (e.g., select lists, user/group pickers, dates, numbers) and their mappings between Jira DC and Jira Cloud |
Hierarchies | Coming soon | Template hierarchy structures |
Expected Timing
Data Volume | Estimated Time |
|---|---|
~10,000 scopes | 25-30 minutes |
~10,000 templates | 60-80 minutes |
Note: Migration time varies based on the complexity of your data, including user information, project mappings, and group configurations.
3. Running the Migration
3.1 Start Migration from Jira DC
Navigate to Jira Administration > System > Migrate to cloud
Create a new migration and follow the wizard
In the app selection step, ensure Smart Issue Templates is selected
Review the migration summary and click Run Migration
Re-running a Migration
If you need to re-run a migration:
Previously migrated data will be overwritten (not duplicated)
This is useful if you made changes in DC after the initial migration
Simply start a new migration following the same steps above
3.2 Monitoring Progress
3.2.1 Plugin migration dashboard - Jira Cloud
During the migration, you can monitor progress in the Smart Issue Templates Migration dashboard:
Go to Apps > Smart Issue Templates > More Actions (โฆ) > App Settings > Migration Status in Jira Cloud
You will be able to see:
Section | Description |
|---|---|
Support Tools | Allows you to delete temporary information used for the migration, migration history and export the dashboard information |
Migration Overview | Displays general information about the migration, including the Jira version, source URL, and the total number of entities to be migrated |
Overall Status | Shows the current state of the migration and overall progress percentage |
Entity Progress | Breaks down progress by entity (Scopes, Templates), showing records migrated, completion percentage, and status for each |
Execution Timeline | Visual timeline showing when each chunk was processed, helping identify bottlenecks or gaps in progress |
Chunk Timing Details | Detailed table of each chunk with processing time, records processed and status |
Total amount of migrated records | Summary showing the total count of successfully migrated records for each entity |
3.2.2 JCMA dashboard - Jira Data Center
During the migration, you can monitor progress in the JCMA dashboard:
Go to Jira Administration > System > Migrate to cloud in Jira DC
Find your active migration
Click View details to see the logs
Scroll down to find the Smart Issue Templates plugin, then click on View logs to download the migration logs as a CSV file
Open the CSV file, and it should look like this:
3.2.2.1 Understanding Progress Logs
Log Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| JCMA received the migration request |
| Scopes progress update |
| Templates progress update |
| Migration finished successfully |
Note: Additional logs not included in this documentation may help with technical analysis when troubleshooting migration failures.
3.2.2.2 Understanding Statuses
Status | Description | What To Do |
|---|---|---|
RUNNING | Migration is actively processing data | Wait for completion. If it exceeds expected time significantly (2x or more), consider cancelling manually |
COMPLETE | All data migrated successfully | Verify data in Cloud instance |
TIME OUT | The migration stopped because data transfer became too slow to continue | Check the logs to identify the cause, then re-run if needed. Previously migrated data remains intact |
FAILED / INCOMPLETE | Technical error or connection issue | Check error logs, verify connectivity, contact support if issue persists |
3.3 Verifying Migrated Data
Log in to your Jira Cloud instance
Navigate to Apps > Smart Issue Templates > Scopes
Verify that your scopes appear with correct configurations
Spot-check a few scopes to confirm:
Project assignments
Issue type mappings
Group permissions
Owner information
Verify that your templates appear with correct configurations
Spot-check a few templates to confirm:
Project assignments
Issue type mappings
System fields (name, description, summary,
owner, reporter, assignee, issue type, etc.)
4. Troubleshooting
Common Issues
Issue | Possible Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
Migration stuck at 0% | Plugin not properly configured | Verify plugin versions and JCMA setup |
"Transfer expired" error | Migration session timed out | Start a new migration |
Missing scopes after migration | Scope had invalid data | Check logs for skipped records and re-run migration |
Missing templates after migration | Template had invalid data | Check logs for skipped records and re-run migration |
Owner shows as "Migrated User" | Original owner not found in Cloud | Manually update owner in Cloud |
Getting Help
If you encounter issues not covered here:
Collect the migration logs from JCMA and migration dashboard information (Check how to do that on the 3.2.1 Plugin migration dashboard - Jira Cloud section)
Note the migration ID and timestamp
Contact support with this information
5. Appendix
Glossary
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
JCMA | Jira Cloud Migration Assistant - Atlassian's tool for migrating apps from DC to Cloud |
Chunk | A batch of records processed together (used for large datasets) |
Transfer ID | Unique identifier for a migration session |
Entity | A type of data being migrated (scopes, templates, etc.) |