Bulk edit work items on a Jira board

Company and team-managed spaces

The bulk-edit flow is the same in both space types. You need the global Make bulk changes permission and permission to perform the chosen edit in every affected space. Jira processes no more than 1,000 work items in one operation.

1. Search for the work items

   Open Filters → Search work items, build a precise search, and switch to the list view if needed. Save or export the result first when you need a record of the original values.

2. Start Bulk change

   Select More actions (•••) → Bulk change all <n> work items. If the option is missing, ask a Jira admin for the Make bulk changes global permission.

3. Choose the work items and operation

   Select up to 1,000 work items, choose Next, then select Edit work items. Use Transition work items when changing status or resolution instead.

4. Set the new values

   Choose the fields to update and enter their new values. If Jira offers Send mail for this update, clear it when the change does not need to notify everyone watching the selected work.

5. Review and confirm

   Check Jira's summary carefully, select Confirm, and wait for the acknowledgement. Split a larger update into separate searches and repeat the operation.

Good to know

Before you start a bulk edit, know what Jira won't let you do:

• 1,000 work items per operation. This is a hard cap in Jira Cloud. Larger jobs need to be split.
• No undo. There is no native rollback in either space type. If you change the wrong field on 500 work items, you'll have to bulk-change them back, which requires remembering the original values.
• Some fields can't be bulk-edited. Attachments, Summary, Description, Environment, Space, Resolution, and time-tracking fields are excluded. Use Transition work items for Resolution and Move for a different space.
• Different workflows can't be transitioned together. If your selection spans work items with different workflows, you'll have to transition them in separate groups.
• Closed and completed sprints are excluded when bulk-editing the Sprint field. Only active and future sprints accept changes.
• Check the notification option. When Send mail for this update is available, clear it if the bulk edit does not warrant notifications. Some Jira Service Management users cannot disable it.
• Cross-space permissions must all pass. If the selection spans multiple spaces, you need the relevant permission (Edit Work items, Assign Work items, etc.) in every space. A missing permission in one space fails the whole batch.