Jira Airtable Integration: How to Guide & Alternatives

Airtable is a platform that lets you create relational databases – in other words it lets you store data points and relate them to one another. 

And while it’s not necessarily specialized for software development, like Jira is, Airtable is backed by automations that have made it a popular project management application. 

So if you have a few teams using Jira and few others using Airtable, it makes sense to have a way to connect the two, say using an Airtable Jira integration. 

In this post, we’ll be discussing how you can integrate Jira with Airtable, including:

• How to sync Jira with Airtable
• Things to know about the Jira Airtable integration
• Airtable Jira integration alternatives

Does Jira integrate with Airtable?

Airtable offers a sync integration with Jira Cloud. The accurately titled “Airtable Sync integration: Jira Cloud” gives Airtable access to issues and filters within Jira. 

There are a few caveats, however: 

1. You must be using a paid Airtable plan for the integration to work. Access to Airtable sync integrations, like the one for Jira, start at the Team Plan at the lower end. 
2. The sync is limited to what the user who created the sync has access to already. This means that if the user’s permissions change or if the user leaves your organization, the sync will no longer work (see the section on things to know about the integration for more detail.)

There are workarounds – for instance you can connect Jira and Airtable through a third-party app or use an alternative solution like Visor for visualizing and managing your data. Visor’s Jira integration is bi-directional and honors nested Jira hierarchies.

7 Things to Know About the Jira Airtable Integration

1. The integration isn’t available on free plans: If you’re using the free version of Airtable, you won’t be able to access Jira. Airtable syncs start at the Team plan and above.
   
2. Airtable can have a steep learning curve: If you’re looking to share information between Airtable and Jira because you want to share information more widely, you may want to reconsider. Airtable can have a steep learning curve, especially when it comes to the automations and triggers you’ll be employing to get the Airtable Jira integration to work.
   
3. Access is limited. The sync is tied to the user who created it. So if the user leaves your organization or their permissions change, the sync will stop working. 
   
4. Custom fields do not work. According to a response from Airtable on their community board (and based on their own documentation), the Jira Airtable integration doesn’t support custom fields, meaning you’re limited in what you can sync from Jira.
   
5. Choose your settings wisely. When you set up a sync, you should choose filters that won’t change. Otherwise when a filter’s conditions change in Jira, the records that don’t match anymore get deleted – along with any changes or additions you made in Airtable.
   
6. Reviews for the integration are mixed. Comments in the Airtable community note “a bunch of glitches” and “the interface is a little temperamental”, among other complaints.
   
7. For more advanced functionality, you might need a separate app. Even Airtable recommends a third-party app to handle more advanced automations. If you’re not willing to add an additional expensive subscription to the mix, you might need a simpler way to visualize your Jira data. Visor, for instance, offers similar visualization options with a reliable, direct link to Jira.

How do I set up the Airtable Jira integration?

All the set up for your Airtable sync integration for Jira Cloud can be done from Airtable. There’s no need to install anything or activate anything separately in your Jira instance. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Navigate to Airtable integrations

Select your profile icon in the top right-hand corner of your screen and then click on Integrations.

The Integrations screen will open. Select the “+ Connect new account” hyperlink, and you’ll be taken to a list of available integrations, including Jira Cloud.

Step 2: Connect to Jira Cloud

Select Jira Cloud, and you’ll be taken to an authorization screen. Choose the site you’d like to connect to Airtable, and click the Accept button. 

Your Jira account is now connected with Airtable.

How do I sync Jira Cloud with Airtable? 

Once you’ve connected Jira and Airtable, you can sync up a table with Jira. 

Step 1: Import your table

Select the “+ Add or import” menu on the top left of your screen. You can then select Jira from the available sources (click the “more sources” option at the bottom if you don’t see Jira Cloud listed). 

The system will prompt you to either choose a Jira account you’ve already linked to Airtable or to choose a new Jira account. Once an account is linked, choose a site that you want to use for your synced table.

Step 2: Choose filters

After that you can choose a filter. This lets you determine which records will be linked in Airtable.

You can then decide if you want to sync all the fields from Jira, including fields you add to Jira in the future, or just specific fields you want to include. 

Note: There is a limit to the number of fields you can sync to Airtable. You can find a complete list on the Airtable Jira integration page. If you need additional fields, you may need to find an alternate method for sharing info between the two applications, or an alternative way of visualizing your Jira data.

Step 3: Choose how often you want to sync

Once you’ve decided on your filters, you’ll be given Setting options. These will let you determine a schedule for when Jira and Airtable will sync and whether records deleted in Jira should be removed from Airtable. 

After that, just click the “Create table” button, and you’re done! Jira will be synced to Airtable and create new Airtable records based on your selections.

How do I update Jira from Airtable?

If you want to update Jira from Airtable, you can do that using automations. Take a look at this tutorial video from Gap Consulting about how to create automations in Airtable:

Step 1: Select a trigger

To update Jira from Airtable, you’ll need to set up a trigger that tells the automation to run. In this case, select the “When record enters a view” trigger so that whenever a record fits your criteria, it’ll trigger your automation

Step 2: Update an existing Jira issue

After you set up your trigger and test it, you’ll be prompted to either select an existing or choose a new Jira account. You can see a walkthrough here.

Now you can create a “Jira: Update Issue” action. Just select the Jira Account, Site, and Project you’d like to update. You can also choose an Issue Type if you like to get access to type-specific fields. 

Enter your Jira Issue ID or Key that you want to update. Then choose the fields you want to update from the list that displays.

For more detailed instructions, you can visit Airtable’s help page on automation actions in Jira.

Airtable Jira Integration Alternatives

If you decide that Airtable’s Jira sync integration isn’t the right fit for you, there are some alternatives you can try instead:

1. Use a third-party connector

If you want to connect Airtable and Jira but don’t want to use Airtable’s sync, you might consider a third-party app, like Zapier instead. The automations and triggers in Zapier are a bit more flexible than those in the standard Airtable Jira integration.

If you want to explore the best use cases for and limitations of a Zapier’s Jira Integration, our blog has you covered.

2. Use a Jira-focused integration app, like Visor

If you want a direct, easy-to-use way to manage and visualize your Jira data, consider a different system altogether. 

For example, Visor allows you to view data as Gantt charts or in a table view, like Airtable does.

However, Visor’s Jira integration is also easy to use, like a spreadsheet, and doesn’t require complicated automations to sync with Jira. Instead, you can set up a bi-directional sync, letting you maintain a central source of truth that any team member can access and understands without training.

Conclusion: Consider whether the Airtable Jira integration is the right one for you

Airtable is a powerful tool that lets you manage a lot of information – but so is Jira. 

If you’re connecting Airtable and Jira because you’re already using both, and you don’t want to do anything too fancy, then the Airtable sync might be a good choice.

However, if you just want to view your data in a clear, accessible way, a simple, intuitive solution like Visor might be a better choice.

Moira West

Moira West

Moira West is a former journalist and educator who has spent the last nine years writing about technology, data management, and more. She is excited to now bring her expertise to Visor. When she's not working, she spends time with her family, paints, bakes, and writes more -- just for fun.