How to back up Jira (and restore deleted data)

In short: Jira Cloud has no recycle bin for issues. Atlassian states a deleted work item "is removed from the database and can no longer be accessed", and Atlassian's own backups "can't restore individual deleted work items". Deleted projects stay in trash for 60 days. ProBackup snapshots Jira every 24 hours and restores deleted issues with their comments and attachments.

Why Jira's native protection is not a backup

Jira is the system of record for engineering and service teams. It is also one of the few SaaS tools where a single click deletes data with no way back.

Atlassian's documentation (checked 2026-09-16) is explicit:

• Issues (work items): "When a Jira work item is deleted, it is removed from the database and can no longer be accessed or viewed." There is no trash; Atlassian tracks a long-standing feature request for one (JRACLOUD-36415).
• Atlassian backups: "Atlassian backups can't restore individual deleted work items." Atlassian's only suggestion is to keep your own pre-deletion XML or CSV export, or to rebuild the item by hand from notification emails.
• Projects (spaces): projects "along with their work items, components, attachments, and versions will be available in trash for 60 days". Only Jira and site admins can restore them, and "when you permanently delete a space you can't recover it."

The audit log records who deleted an issue and when. It stores nothing about what was deleted.

A bulk delete from a saved filter, an automation rule with the wrong JQL, or an integration with delete permissions can therefore remove hundreds of issues, their comments, worklogs and attachments in one run.

How to back up Jira with ProBackup

ProBackup is a SaaS backup service that takes automated daily snapshots of your cloud app data and lets you restore individual records, files or whole projects back to the original account.

Setting it up for Jira Cloud:

1. Start a trial. Go to app.probackup.io/onboarding, choose Jira and create your account. The 7-day trial needs no credit card.
2. Connect via OAuth. Click Connect Jira and sign in to Atlassian. Choose the Jira site to protect and grant ProBackup read access. ProBackup never stores your Atlassian password; it holds an OAuth token you can revoke from your Atlassian account settings.
3. Choose the scope. Select the projects to include. Only projects and issues the connected account can see are backed up, so connect a user with browse permission on everything you want covered. Advanced scope control is available on Premium.
4. Wait for the first snapshot. The first snapshot is taken within 24 hours; sites with hundreds of thousands of issues take longer because the Jira API is paginated and rate-limited. You receive an email when it completes. After that, ProBackup takes a new snapshot every 24 hours with no scheduling required.

Snapshots are stored on AWS S3, encrypted with AES-256 at rest and TLS in transit, in one of nine AWS regions you select at signup. ProBackup is SOC 2 Type II certified (May 2025) and GDPR compliant.

What is and is not backed up

ProBackup backs up what the Jira Cloud REST API exposes:

• Users
• Projects
• Issues (work items), including description, status, labels and links
• Custom fields and their values
• Comments
• Attachments
• Components
• Boards and sprints [verify: landing page lists boards and sprints as not backed up; help centre lists them as backed up]

Not backed up, because the Jira API does not expose them:

• Automation rules
• Assets (Jira Service Management)
• Configurations: workflows, schemes, screens and permissions

ProBackup adds these to the scope as soon as Atlassian makes them available. It captures the first 2,000 characters of a text field. Snapshots are retained for 6 months on Plus, 2 years on Pro and without limit on Premium.

How to restore deleted Jira issues

ProBackup supports two restore modes across its platforms: create new duplicates (originals left untouched) or overwrite existing records field by field. For Jira, the help centre documents the duplicate mode [verify: overwrite mode availability for Jira]:

• Restore an issue. Open the backup, pick the snapshot date before the deletion, open the project and select the issue. A duplicate is created in the related project with its description, attachments, comments, labels and most custom field values. It receives a new issue key.
• Restore a comment. Select the comment in a snapshot; a duplicate is created in the associated issue.
• Restore an attachment. Select the file; it is added to the related issue.
• Restore many issues. Select multiple issues in the vault table and restore them in one job. Smart Alerts (Pro and Premium plans) flag unusual deletions in the daily report so you notice before anyone else does.

Current limits, stated plainly: not all custom field types are written back, components are not restored, and child issues are not restored automatically with their parent. Project-level restore is not yet supported [verify: help centre says it will be added later in 2026].

Restores go back to the original Jira site only. ProBackup is a backup tool, not a migration tool.

Frequently asked questions

Does Atlassian back up my Jira Cloud site?

Atlassian keeps site-level backups for disaster recovery of its own platform. Those backups cannot restore an individual deleted issue, comment or attachment for you; Atlassian's documentation says so directly. A third-party backup with granular restore is the only way to get a single deleted issue back.

Where is my Jira backup stored?

On AWS S3, in the AWS region you select at signup (nine regions are available). Changing region after the first backup requires support assistance. Data is encrypted with AES-256 at rest and TLS in transit. On Pro and Premium plans you can also sync a copy to your own Google Drive.

How much does it cost to back up Jira?

Plans start at $25 per month, billed yearly (Plus, 6-month version history). Pro is $38 per month with 2 years of history, Premium $69 per month with unlimited history. One licence covers your whole Jira site; there is no per-seat pricing.

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