The latest articles on DEV Community by David Malko (@davidmalko87). https://dev.to/davidmalko87 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3428221%2F05bf40a9-cc93-41d2-ae32-fe0718f05a79.jpg https://dev.to/davidmalko87 en David Malko Sat, 28 Mar 2026 15:10:49 +0000 https://dev.to/davidmalko87/i-built-a-jira-cloud-backup-tool-after-atlassian-deprecated-theirs-and-paywalled-the-replacement-2f60 https://dev.to/davidmalko87/i-built-a-jira-cloud-backup-tool-after-atlassian-deprecated-theirs-and-paywalled-the-replacement-2f60 <h2> The Problem </h2> <p>On March 30, 2026, <a href="https://community.atlassian.com/forums/Jira-questions/Backup-Manager-API-deprecation-is-there-going-to-be-a/qaq-p/3120079" rel="noopener noreferrer">Atlassian deprecated the Jira Cloud Backup Manager <br> API</a> — the only way to automate project backups on Standard plan. Their <br> replacement? A paid add-on, Premium/Enterprise only.</p> <p>That doesn't work if you need to:</p> <ul> <li>Migrate a single project to a new Jira instance</li> <li>Archive a project before deleting it</li> <li>Restore after accidental bulk changes</li> <li>Have automated backups without upgrading your plan</li> </ul> <p>So I built a free tool.</p> <h2> Who this is for </h2> <ul> <li>Jira Cloud Standard plan users</li> <li>Teams migrating a single project to a new Jira instance</li> <li>Admins who want automated backups without upgrading their plan</li> </ul> <h2> What It Does </h2> <p><strong>jira-project-backup-restore</strong> backs up and restores individual Jira <br> Cloud projects using the standard REST API v3.</p> <h3> Backup captures: </h3> <ul> <li>All issues with full field data and changelog history</li> <li>Comments, worklogs, attachments (binary files streamed to disk)</li> <li>Agile boards, sprints, components, versions, project roles</li> </ul> <h3> Restore features: </h3> <ul> <li> <strong>5-phase restore</strong>: epics → regular issues → subtasks → links → comments → worklogs → attachments</li> <li> <strong>Resumable</strong>: re-run after interruption, already-processed items skipped</li> <li> <strong>Dry-run mode</strong>: preview all actions without touching the API</li> <li> <strong>Cross-instance</strong>: backup from one org, restore into another</li> <li> <strong>--skip-existing</strong>: skip projects that already have a complete backup</li> <li> <strong>Auto-cleanup</strong>: incomplete partial folders removed before each run</li> </ul> <h2> Install </h2> <p>pip install jira-project-backup-restore</p> <h2> Quick usage </h2> <h1> Backup </h1> <p>python main.py --backup PROJ</p> <h1> Backup multiple, skip already completed </h1> <p>python main.py --backup PROJ1,PROJ2 --skip-existing</p> <h1> Restore with dry-run first </h1> <p>python main.py --restore backups/PROJ_20260322_143000 --target NEWPROJ --dry-run</p> <h1> Then for real </h1> <p>python main.py --restore backups/PROJ_20260322_143000 --target NEWPROJ</p> <h2> Known Limitations (API constraints, not tool ones) </h2> <div class="table-wrapper-paragraph"><table> <thead> <tr> <th>Data</th> <th>Status</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Timestamps</td> <td>Not restorable — Cloud API blocks it</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Comment author</td> <td>Prepended as text attribution</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Issue keys</td> <td>Reassigned — mapping saved to key_mapping.json</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Issue status</td> <td>Resets to default — transitions phase planned</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <h2> GitHub </h2> <p><a href="https://github.com/davidmalko87/jira-project-backup-restore" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/davidmalko87/jira-project-backup-restore</a></p> <p>PRs and feedback welcome</p> atlassian python devops opensource