Excel Import and Update for Jira

Documentation · Jira Cloud · Provider: GRAMSHIFT · Last updated: 2026-09-14

Create and update Jira issues from an Excel workbook (.xlsx). Every row is checked before anything is sent, parent and child issues can be created from one sheet, and existing issues can be updated by key. The file is read in your browser; it is never uploaded to GRAMSHIFT or to third parties.

Getting started

A Jira admin installs the app from the Atlassian Marketplace. No configuration is needed.
Open it from the Jira sidebar: Apps → Excel Import and Update.
Choose where new issues go: a project and a default issue type. Press Download a template to get a sheet whose header row matches the create screen of that issue type.
Choose an .xlsx file. If the workbook has several sheets, pick one.
Check before importing. The app shows how many rows will be created and updated, which columns it will use or ignore, and every row with a problem. Rows with problems are not sent.
Press Import. When it finishes, the result table shows the issue key or the reason for each row, and you can download the result as .xlsx.

The app works with your own Jira permissions: you can only create issues where you have Create permission and update issues you are allowed to edit.

Sheet format

Row 1 is the header. Each header is a Jira field name in your Jira language (for example Summary or 要約), a field ID (for example customfield_10015), or one of the common English and Japanese names such as Issue Type, Due date, 課題タイプ, 期限. If two fields have the same name, write Name [customfield_10015].
Key (or キー): empty = create a new issue. An issue key such as ABC-123 = update that issue. When updating, empty cells are left unchanged, and only values that differ from the issue are sent. An Issue Type column is allowed if it matches the issue; the issue type cannot be changed by import.
ID and Parent (or 親): put any label in the ID column, and in a child row write that label in Parent. Parents are created first. If Parent does not match an ID in the sheet, it is read as an existing issue key. A row that updates an issue can also be a parent. This works for epics and their child issues and for sub-tasks.
Project (optional): new issues always go to the project you chose. Rows with a different project key are reported and not sent; import them separately with that project selected.
Empty rows are skipped. Columns the app does not recognise are listed as ignored.
Formula errors and merged cells: a cell that shows an error such as #N/A, #REF! or #DIV/0! in a column the app uses is reported, and that row is not sent. Merged cells keep a value only in their first cell, so when a merge hides values in a column the app uses, every non-empty row in the merged range is reported and not sent. Fix the formula, or unmerge the cells and fill in every row.

ID  | Issue Type | Summary            | Parent | Due date   | Assignee          | Labels        | Key
E1  | Epic       | Website renewal    |        | 2026-11-30 | Alex Kim          | web renewal   |
S1  | Story      | New top page       | E1     |            | Alex Kim          |               |
T1  | Sub-task   | Hero image         | S1     |            |                   |               |
    |            | Renamed summary    |        | 2026-12-24 |                   |               | ABC-42

Supported fields and values

Field type	How to write it
Text (summary, single-line text)	As is.
Description, environment, paragraph custom fields	As is. Line breaks in the cell become separate paragraphs.
Number	A number cell, or text such as `3.5` or `1,200`. Text with a decimal comma such as `1,5` is reported, not guessed.
Date (due date, start date, date custom fields)	An Excel date cell, or `2026-09-30` / `2026/9/30`. Impossible dates such as 2026-02-30 are reported.
Date and time	An Excel date-time cell or `2026-09-30 14:00`, taken as the time zone of your browser.
Priority, single select	The option name.
Multi select, components, versions	Names separated by commas, semicolons or line breaks.
Labels	Separated by spaces or commas (Jira labels cannot contain spaces).
When updating, a list in a cell (labels, multi select, components, versions, users) replaces the current list of the issue. If that removes values the issue has now, the check step names the values that will be removed for that row. A changed description or paragraph field replaces the current text; if the current text has formatting (headings, lists, links, tables), the check step warns that it becomes plain text. Values that are the same as the issue are not sent, so formatting is kept.
User (assignee, user pickers)	The exact display name of one active user, or an account ID. An email address matches only when that user makes their email visible (many users do not). If no user or several users match, the row is reported instead of guessing.

Not supported yet: attachments, issue links, sprints, teams, cascading selects, time tracking, status changes, comments, and clearing a field. Columns for these are listed as ignored.

Fields that Jira sets itself cannot be imported: Created, Updated, Creator, Resolved (resolution date), Time spent, Original estimate, Remaining estimate, their Σ totals, Work ratio, Progress, Votes, Watchers and Last viewed. Their columns are listed as ignored with that reason before anything is sent, so a sheet exported from Jira can be used without removing them.

What is checked before importing

Issue type exists in the project; summary is present for new issues; required fields of the create screen are filled; fields are on the create screen.
Numbers and dates can be read; issue keys look like keys; each ID is used once; every Parent points to an issue key or an ID in the sheet, without loops.
No cell the app uses shows a formula error, and no merged cell hides a value the app uses.
If a parent row has a problem or is not created, its child rows are not sent, so child issues are never created without their parent.
For updates: the issue exists and you can see it; the same key is not used twice; users can be found. Rows whose values are all the same as the issue are shown as Already up to date and not sent. Rows where a list would lose values, or where formatted text would become plain text, are listed with a warning; they are still sent when you press Import.

Jira can still reject a row (for example an option that does not exist, or a missing permission). Those rows are shown as Failed with Jira's message, and the other rows continue.

“Result unknown”

If the connection drops or Jira returns a server error while a batch is being created, Jira did not confirm whether those issues were created. The app does not resend them automatically, because that could create duplicates. Search Jira for those rows before importing them again.

Limits

Up to 1,000 rows per import and files up to 10 MB. If a sheet has more rows, the first 1,000 are imported and the check tells you the last row number; put only the rows after it in another file.
Rows hidden by an Excel filter are imported too. Delete rows you do not want to import.
The app does not require the Jira Make bulk changes permission. Anyone who can use the app and create issues in a project can import up to 1,000 rows at a time.
.xlsx only. Save .xls or .csv files as Excel Workbook (.xlsx) first.
New issues are created in batches of 50. In our tests, 300 rows took about 45 seconds; updates are sent one issue at a time and are slower. Keep the page open until it finishes. Cancel stops rows that have not been sent; rows already sent stay in Jira.
After an import, you must choose the file again before the next import, so a second click cannot send the same check again.
Importing the same file again creates its new issues again. Rows without a key are always created; the app cannot tell that a row was already imported. If some rows failed or were not sent, the result screen says so. Before importing the file again, write the new issue keys (shown in the result and in the result file) in the Key column of the rows that were created, or delete those rows. Rows with a key are only updated, so they are safe to import again.

Troubleshooting

“No issue type … in this project”

Issue type names follow your Jira language. Download a template or copy the name from the Default issue type list.

“No user matches …”

Use the exact display name as shown in Jira, or the account ID. Email addresses match only for users who make their email visible. The user must be active.

Some rows failed. How do I retry them?

Fix the problem in those rows. Then, for every row that was created, write its new issue key in the Key column (or delete the row), and import the file again. If you import the file unchanged, the rows that were created are created a second time. Child rows can keep their Parent value: when the parent row has a key, the child is attached to that issue.

A column is ignored

Open Columns in the check step to see why: no field with that name, several fields with that name, a field type that is not supported yet, or a field that Jira sets itself (such as Resolved or Time spent).

“Your license is not active”

Ask a Jira admin to check the app under Manage apps.

Support

Email contact@gramshift.com. Please include the header row of your sheet, what you expected and what happened (a screenshot helps). Please do not send full files with confidential content unless we ask for it. We reply by email and aim to answer within 3 business days (Japan time, Monday to Friday).

日本語（使い方の要約）

Jira の左のサイドバーの アプリ → Excel Import and Update を開きます。
新しい課題を作るプロジェクトと既定の課題タイプを選びます。「テンプレートをダウンロード」で、その課題タイプの作成画面に合わせた見出しの Excel を取れます。
.xlsx ファイルを選ぶと、作成・更新する件数、使う列・無視する列、問題のある行が表示されます。問題のある行は送りません。
「取り込む」を押すと、行ごとに課題キーか理由が表示され、結果を .xlsx でダウンロードできます。

1行目は見出しです（Jira の項目名・項目ID・「要約」「課題タイプ」「期限」「担当者」などの名前）。「キー」が空の行は作成、ABC-123 と書いた行はその課題を更新します（空のセルは変更しません）。「ID」列に付けた名前を子の行の「親」に書くと、親から先に作ります。更新では、課題の今の値と違う項目だけを送ります（同じ説明は送らないので書式が残ります。違う説明を入れると書式は消え、今の説明に書式があれば確認画面で注意が出ます）。ラベル・複数選択・コンポーネント・バージョン・利用者の一覧は、セルの一覧で置き換わります。今の値が外れる行では、確認画面に外れる値を出します。数式のエラー（#N/A など）のセルや、結合セルで値が隠れた行は、確認画面に理由を出して送りません。作成日・更新日・解決日・消費時間・見積・作業比率など Jira が自動で決める項目の列は、無視する列として表示します。担当者は表示名かアカウントID で書きます（メールアドレスは本人が公開している場合だけ一致）。同じファイルをもう一度取り込むと、「キー」が空の行はもう一度作成されます。一部の行が失敗した後にやり直すときは、作成できた行の「キー」列に新しい課題キーを書くか、その行を消してから取り込んでください（結果の画面でも案内します）。1回 1,000 行・10MB まで。Excel のフィルターで隠した行も取り込まれます。ファイルはブラウザの中で読むだけで、GRAMSHIFT にも第三者にも送りません。お問い合わせ: contact@gramshift.com