Exalate Script Mode – How to Migrate an Entire Jira Project (Epics → Stories/Tasks → Sub-tasks) and Keep Hierarchy

General Questions
1

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to migrate a full Jira project from Jira A to Jira B using Exalate in Script Mode.
Project A already contains existing issues — Epics with Stories/Tasks, and those Stories have Sub-tasks.

My goal:

  • Migrate all existing issues from Jira A to Jira B

  • Preserve the full hierarchy (Epic → Story/Task → Sub-task)

  • Keep them synchronized afterwards

I’ve configured both outgoing and incoming sync rules, but I’m still facing problems with authentication and hierarchy preservation (Epic links and sub-task parent relationships).

Can someone share a working example or best-practice script for a one-time migration and continuous sync between two Jira Cloud projects?

Thanks in advance!

2

Great question! Migrating a full Jira project with Epics, Stories/Tasks, and Sub-tasks while preserving hierarchy and enabling ongoing sync is a classic use case for Exalate Script Mode. Here’s a practical overview and some best practices to help you get this working smoothly:

1. Hierarchy Preservation (Epics, Stories, Sub-tasks):

  • Exalate can sync the full hierarchy, but you need to handle Epic links and parent relationships explicitly in your sync scripts.
  • For Epics and Stories, use the issue.epicKey and issue.parentKey properties to maintain relationships.
  • When syncing, ensure that parent issues (Epics, Stories) are created before their children (Stories, Sub-tasks) to avoid broken links.

2. Script Mode Example for Jira Cloud:

Outgoing Sync (on Jira A):

// Outgoing sync - Jira A
replica.key            = issue.key
replica.type           = issue.type
replica.summary        = issue.summary
replica.description    = issue.description
replica.labels         = issue.labels
replica.status         = issue.status
replica.epicKey        = issue.epicKey
replica.parentKey      = issue.parent?.key
// Add other fields as needed

Incoming Sync (on Jira B):

// Incoming sync - Jira B
issue.type        = replica.type
issue.summary     = replica.summary
issue.description = replica.description
issue.labels      = replica.labels
issue.status      = replica.status

if (replica.epicKey) {
  issue.setEpicKey(replica.epicKey)
}
if (replica.parentKey) {
  issue.setParentKey(replica.parentKey)
}
// Add other fields as needed

3. Migration Steps:

  • Start by syncing Epics first, then Stories/Tasks, and finally Sub-tasks. This ensures that parent issues exist before their children are created.
  • You can use JQL to filter and trigger the sync in batches (e.g., Epics first: issuetype = Epic).

4. Authentication Issues:

  • Make sure the Exalate connection uses an account with sufficient permissions on both Jira instances.
  • Double-check that the Exalate app is installed and authorized on both sides.

5. Continuous Sync:

  • Once the initial migration is done, Exalate will keep issues in sync based on your rules.
  • You can refine your sync scripts to control which fields and updates are synchronized.

6. Documentation & Examples:

Tips:

  • Test your scripts on a small set of issues before running a full migration.
  • Use logging in your scripts to debug any hierarchy or field mapping issues.

This approach should get you on track for a smooth migration and ongoing sync. Good luck with your project!

3

Hi,

I wonder what the authentication issues are that you mentioned., but for the hierarchies, I believe you will need to need to send out the parentId field from A and then process it on B to find the correct parent, and link it.

This should be a good starting point (concentrate on the Jira incoming piece here): Jira Cloud Azure DevOps: Bi-directional hierarchy sync

For tasks-subtasks this should help: How to Sync Tasks and Subtasks in Jira Cloud

Please provide the scripts you have on B incoming and maybe I can point you in the right direction if you get stuck.

Thanks
Majid

5

Hi @Dovydas ,

Just checking in to see if you had a chance to review our last message and whether you need any further help with the hierarchy setup?

Thank you,

Ashar

6

Hello. We actually decided to go the other way and work without exalate. Thank you for your time.