How to integrate GitHub and Jira
Jack Wallen shows you how to integrate GitHub and Jira so your developers can focus less on updates and more on what they do best: code.
Jira is one of the most widely used issue tracking platforms in the world. GitHub is one of the most widely used version control systems. Imagine if you could combine these two tools so that updates on pull requests, deployments, branches, builds, and commits are automatically fed into Jira.
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Bringing these two forces together gives your entire team visibility into the status of projects, as well as deployment frequency, cycle time, and performance insights. Sounds like something your teams could use? If so, let me show you how this integration works.
What you need to integrate GitHub and Jira
The only things you need for this are both Jira and GitHub accounts. With these two accounts, let’s make this magic a reality.
How to install the GitHub Jira integration
First, make sure you’re signed in to both your GitHub and Jira accounts. Next, log into your Jira account and go to Apps | Discover more apps. Search for Jira Software + GitHub in the App Marketplace and select this app. You should now see the install page for that app where you click Get App (Figure A).
Figure A
In the resulting pop-up window (Figure B), click Download Now.
Figure B
Once the integration is installed, click Get Started (Figure C).
Figure C
How to connect Jira to GitHub
In the resulting window (Figure D), click Connect GitHub organization.
Figure D
In the next window (Figure E), click Authorize Jira to give it access to your GitHub organization.
Figure E
In the resulting window (Figure F) displays a warning that no GitHub organizations are installed with Jira.
Figure F
Click Install GitHub for Jira in a new organization and in the next window (Figure G), either give Jira access to all repositories or select repositories.
Figure G
If you choose Selected repositories, you will see a dropdown menu where you can select the specific repository you want to connect (Figure H).
Figure H
Select your repository and click Install. You will then be asked for your GitHub password. After successfully authenticating to your GitHub account, click the Connect button (Figure I) to confirm the integration.
Figure I
Once connected, you will see the repository listed in the GitHub configuration window in Jira (Figure J).
Figure J
You will now see the GitHub integrations appear in various cards and entries in Jira. For example, you’ll see both “Create Branch” and “Create Commit” in issue cards (Figure K).
Figure K
Congratulations, you’ve integrated GitHub with Jira for an even more efficient workflow. Hopefully this connection will help keep your teams better informed of what’s happening in your GitHub repositories.
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