Tutorial
Migrate from Jira to Zuuna — by token or CSV
Two routes: connect Jira with an API token, or upload the CSV export. What comes across, what stays behind, and why old issue keys keep working.
People leaving Jira are rarely looking for arguments — the decision is made. They are looking for the mechanics: what comes across, what stays behind, and how long it takes. This walkthrough answers exactly that.
There are two routes. The faster one needs no file at all, just an API token. The other goes through the CSV export and works even when your Jira instance is not reachable from outside.
Route 1: connect Jira directly
Create a token in your Atlassian account under Security → API tokens. In Zuuna you paste three things: your Jira site address, the email of that same Atlassian account, and the token. Then pick the project, decide which Jira statuses become which columns, and close the tab — the import carries on server-side.
What is notable is what you do not do: no Marketplace app to register, no OAuth to configure, no administrator to ask. The token carries exactly your own Jira permissions and nothing more, and takes about thirty seconds to create. Most tools require an install by someone with admin rights at this point.
Route 2: the CSV export
In Jira, go to issue search and choose Export → Excel CSV (all fields). That specific export, not "current fields" — the latter drops most of what makes the move worth doing. Upload the file to Zuuna; the column mapping arrives already filled in, you check the preview and commit.
What comes across
Title, status (as columns), description, due dates, priority, issue type, story points, estimates, assignees, epics resolved to their real names, sub-tasks, issue links such as blocks and relates to, comments, checklists, sprints, logged work, and attachment names and links.
Plus one detail that matters more day to day than it sounds: old issue keys keep working. A PROJ-42 in an old commit, a wiki page or an email still finds the card after the move.
What does not
The attachment files themselves stay in Jira; their names and links come along. Also excluded: workflows, permission schemes, watchers, the reporter, and Jira labels — a Zuuna card has no equivalent field for those, and epics come from the Epic Link instead.
This is stated plainly because the worst thing about a migration is discovering a gap afterwards. Zuuna shows you what will not come across before you press Import, and a report of what was actually skipped after.
The import runs once
Even the connected route is an import, not a sync. It does not watch Jira and nothing flows back. That is deliberate: a migration has an end, and two systems writing to each other is not a migration but permanent double maintenance.
A note for Data Center
Jira Data Center returns descriptions as wiki markup rather than the newer format, so they arrive as perfectly readable text but without formatting. If that affects you, the Data Center end-of-life page is the right starting point.
FAQ
Do I need admin rights in Jira?
No. The API token carries exactly your own Jira permissions. There is no app to install and no OAuth to configure — which is precisely what most other tools require at this point.
Do my comments come across?
Yes, comments come across, as do checklists, sprints, logged work, sub-tasks and issue links. The attachment files themselves do not — though their names and links do.
Do my old Jira keys keep working?
Yes. A PROJ-42 in an old commit or wiki page still finds the card after the move.
Does Zuuna sync with Jira afterwards?
No. The import runs once. Zuuna does not watch Jira and writes nothing back — not even on the connected route.
Which plan includes the import?
Every plan. Two fields depend on higher-tier features: story points need sprints, estimates need time tracking. Without them everything else still imports and the skip is listed in the report.