Custom Field deleted

[Dylan_E_Adams]

A custom field was deleted from our JIRA board erasing at least 3 years of data, how can we restore it and not have to manually add those data back in? 

[Dave Theodore [Coyote Creek Consulting]]

You'll need to restore a full backup on to a development instance. On the Development instance:

1. Create a filter query that contains all issues with that field populated (ie: <custom_field> IS NOT EMPTY 
2. Click the "Export" dropdown and select "CSV All fields."
3. Save the CSV to your workstation.

On the Production instance, as a jira Admin:

1. Make a backup so you can roll back if something blows up.
2. Click the gear icon to enter the admin interface and select "Issues."
3. Click "Custom Fields" and create a new custom field like the one that was deleted.
4. Click the gear icon to enter the admin interface and select "System."
5. Create a new custom field like the one that was deleted.
6. Click "External System Import," then "CSV."
7. Click Choose file" and point to your CSV file.
8. Follow the wizard and map the (only) following:
   1. Jira Key -> Jira Key
   2. Summary -> Summary
   3. Custom field from CSV -> Newly created custom field
9. Click "Import"

This will update the existing issues. Good luck!