Connect GitHub Cloud to Jira

When you connect a GitHub Cloud organization to Jira, your team can link their development activity to Jira issues. This lets you track branches, commits, and pull requests in the context of your Jira issues, on your Jira board, in the releases feature, and more.

Before you begin

For some organizations, the task of connecting GitHub to Jira might involve multiple team members:

• A Jira site admin will install the GitHub for Jira app.

• A GitHub organization owner will connect a GitHub organization to your Jira site.

Install the GitHub for Jira app

1. In Jira, select Apps, then select Explore more apps.

2. Search for GitHub for Jira, then select it from the results.

3. Select Get app, then Get it now.

Connect a GitHub organization

1. After the app is installed, select Get started. If the app is already installed on your Jira site, you can find this section by selecting Apps, then Manage your apps, and then GitHub for Jira.

2. Select Continue.

3. Select GitHub Cloud, then Next.

4. Enter your GitHub username and password, then Sign in.

5. Find the organization you want to connect to Jira, then select Connect.

Add the Jira app to a new GitHub organization

If no organizations are available to connect to Jira, you’ll need to install the Jira app on a new GitHub organization.

1. From step five in the instructions above, Select an organization in GitHub.

2. The GitHub site will open in a new tab and show a list of all the organizations available in your GitHub account. Select the organization you want to connect to Jira.

3. Choose the repositories you want to give Jira access to by selecting either All repositories or Only select repositories.

4. Select Install.

Connect a new GitHub repository

If you selected All repositories when you connected a GitHub organization, Jira will be able to access all the repositories in that organization, including any new repositories you create.

If you selected Only select repositories, any new repositories you create won’t be added automatically. Here’s how to add them:

1. In Jira, select Apps, then select Manage apps.

2. In the sidebar, under GitHub for Jira, select Configure.

3. Find the organization that contains the repo you want to add, and select the three-dot menu (…) to view available actions.

4. Select Configure.

5. A new tab will open with your GitHub organization settings. Under Repository access, select the dropdown Select repositories.

6. Select the repository you want to connect, then Save.

Link your development information to Jira issues

To link branches, commits, and pull requests to Jira, your team must include Jira issue keys in their development actions.

1. Find the issue key for the Jira issue you want to link to, for example “JRA-123”. You can find the key in several places in Jira:
   • On the board, issue keys appear at the bottom of a card.
   • On the issue’s details, issue keys appear in the navigation at the top of the page.

2. Check out a new branch in your repo, using the issue key in the branch name. For example, git checkout -b JRA-123-<branch-name>.

3. When committing changes to your branch, use the issue key in your commit message to link those commits to the development panel in your Jira issue. For example, git commit -m "JRA-123 <summary of commit>".

4. When you create a pull request, use the issue key in the pull request title.

After you push your branch, you’ll see development information in your Jira issue.