How do I import from a CSV file in Excel to create subtasks in Jira?

[Bridget Caci]

Hello! I am new to Jira and am trying to figure out how to import from an Excel CSV file into Jira to create a new issue with subtasks.  I can successfully import the file but it creates stand alone issues.  It does not link the issues to a parent issue as subtasks.  I have tried starting with a new issue and entering the Issue Key in my spreadsheet.  I have tried creating subtasks and entering this Issue Key in the spreadsheet, but no luck.

I have read multiple posts in the Atlassian Community on this but do not understand any of it. 

How do I format my Excel spreadsheet?  What values should go in the cells so Jira understands to link it to a parent issue and create each line as a subtask?

Thank you in advance!

[Mathew Lederman · Accepted solution]

This document explains what is needed: https://confluence.atlassian.com/jirakb/csv-import-parent-child-mapping-1096095688.html but essentially, you just need to add a column titled 'Parent' and put the parent ticket number in that column.

[Bridget Caci]

Thank you! This really helped.  I successfully imported from the CSV file into Jira and created my subtasks.  To do this, I did end up creating the subtask issues before hand. 

Do you know (or can direct me to where I can find the information) if this importing process requires the parent and subtask issue IDs to be mapped?  Is it ever possible to not need to create the subtask first but the import process will still link sub-tasks to a parent issue?

Appreciate your help!

[Mathew Lederman]

Bridget,

You should not need to create the sub-tasks manually. By identifying the project and issue type in your import file the import automation should be able to create the issues without any additional intervention. The only piece you need to add to your base import is to identify the Parent key which will create the parent/child relationship.

Did this not work in your experience? 

[Bridget Caci]

No, it didn't work.  It did create a subtask but it is a stand alone issue (with the Subtask Issue Type) and is not linked to the parent issue.

My spreadsheet columns are pretty basic: Parent ID. Parent Key, Issue Type, Department, Summary, Start Date, Target Date, Description.  My success was after adding Issue ID and Issue Key columns with the info for the manually created subtasks.

[Mathew Lederman]

Were you able to get it to work before adding the Parent ID? I would ensure you can get the import working before adding the Parent, then add the Parent to your import.

Were you able to tell why the import didn't work without the Sub-tasks pre-existing? My best guess is a missing required field!

[Bridget Caci]

Yes, I can import to create stand alone issues.  Most of my columns will import correctly.  I haven't puzzled out yet why Component and Customer Request Type trigger error messages but these are not "critical" fields at this point.

I have been mapping my columns to the fields of the same name.  It does give me an error message if I do not have a column mapped to Issue ID.  I tested mapping Parent ID to Issue ID and I get an error message, "Unable to link issue from [#] to [#] with link named 'sub-task-link': Cannot find imported issue key for external id '[#]'".  I took this to mean that it was looking for the Issue Key for the subtask issue itself.  With this error message, no issues are created - not even stand-alone ones.

[Mathew Lederman]

It looks like Step 4 in the initial link may hold the answer to your question:

For the Task→Subtask relationship to work, copy the 'Issue ID' of the Task issue type and paste it in the 'Parent' column against the Subt-task issue type.

[Bridget Caci]

Thank you, Mathew!  I have my spreadsheet finally formatted correctly and have successfully created new issues and subtasks directly from the import.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out!

Hope you have an amazing day!

[Carole Fournier]

Hi Bridget and Mathew, can you please share or show me your Excel template since I'm not sure how to create the template? I am trying to import parent and multiple-child issues all at once since I have several of them to enter and I think it would be easier to import it.  

The following is what I started doing and this is for the parent issue only but not sure what to do for the child issues.

Parent ID - Parent Key - Issue Type - Department - Summary - Start Date - Target Date - description.

Thanks for your help.

[Bridget Caci]

Hi Carole,

Here is a screenshot of the spreadsheet columns and possible cell values.  For the column headers, I found it easier to just use the same name of the custom field I wanted to fill in - no need to remember when I map it initially.

To create parent and child issues, you will need to add a column for Issue ID and Parent Issue ID to your spreadsheet.  For the Issue ID, enter a number for your parent issues - 1, 2, 3, etc.  Then for the child issues, enter their parent's Issue ID in the Parent's Issue ID column.

From the screenshot below, if I assign the parent issue an Issue ID of 2, then for the issues that need to be created as this parent's children, I will enter 2 in the Parent Issue ID column for just these subtask's I want linked to this parent.

Hope this helps!

[Carole Fournier]

Thank you so much for your prompt response, but I am having another issue. Each time I want to import parent/child issues, it asks me to create a new project. I want to import this data to an existing project, but it doesn't let me.

When importing my CSV files, I go to settings, System, External System Import (under the Import and Export section). From there, I choose CSV and attach my file. When it shows me projects, I can't choose an existing one; I have to create a new one every time. Is this where you go to import your issues?

I did some research, and to import issues, it says that I can go to Issues, which is indicated at the top of the page within a project where you see Projects, Filters, and Dashboards. However, I don't see Issues as a header. Do you know why?

This is from the instructions I found online, but I don't see Issues when opening a project in Jira.

To import a CSV file with your Jira issues: 

1. Select Issues > Import Issues from CSV  to open the Bulk Create Setup page. If you do not have the option Import issues from CSV, your Jira admin must update the Jira Importers plugin to version 6.2.3 or above.
   
   

Thanks again for your time.

[Bridget Caci]

If an option isn't available, it may be related to permissions.  I believe the bulk import needs an Org admin permission.

[Timoti Sburv]

As an alternative, you can use Skyvia (https://skyvia.com/data-integration/jira-csv-file-import-and-export) for a more streamlined and automated import process. It provides a no-code way to import CSV files into Jira while preserving the parent-subtask hierarchy.