How do I update the changelog history on Jira cloud?

[Prince Nyeche]

I am looking for a way to update the history of a Jira issue.  My query is that I have used the CSV importer to import one project from a  server instance. Now I require the issue history to be imported as well as I have a JSON output of just the history of each issue within that project.

Does anyone know how to perform an import using JIM  with a JSON file on Jira cloud with just the changelog history or do you have to import everything from scratch which includes the users, links, issues etc? I was able to get the format from this article but I have searched in community and can't seem to find any closely related answer to achieving my aim.  Any thoughts?

[Earl McCutcheon · Accepted solution]

Hello @Prince Nyeche ,

The Issue history is a core design element for data integrity and is intended to not be editable in any way to avoid data discrepancies, data manipulation intentional or unintentional, and to act as an audit log of the history of the issue to display the actual history vs a modified version of that data history.

Your options are to either:

1. modify the data on the front end to reflect the desired outcome while leaving past history entries in place to reflect the state the issues were in, and taking note of mistakes in the data entry processes for tracking to try and improve those processes in the future.
2. or delete the existing data points and re-import everything from scratch with the modifications, performed outside the system, in place for the new import to reflect the data with the modified history.

So ultimately the system is designed to prevent you from making changes to issue history, requiring external data modification if desired, and it is not recommended.

Regards,
Earl

[Prince Nyeche]

Hi @Earl McCutcheon 

Thank you very much. Your answer confirms the hunch I've been having and clearly expands on the reason behind it. It all makes sense for data integrity. Thanks again!