As of June 1, 2015, the IDE Connector documentation will no longer be maintained by Atlassian. See https://developer.atlassian.com/blog/2015/06/discontinuing-ide-connectors-support/ for more information. We will also be making this documentation available for our open source community here: http://atlassian-docs.bitbucket.org/

The Atlassian Connector for IntelliJ IDEA allows you to monitor, add and update JIRA issues from within IntelliJ IDEA.

Prerequisites

Please make sure that you have installed the Atlassian Connector for IntelliJ IDEA, as described in the Installation Guide, and defined at least one JIRA server, as described in the Configuration Guide.

Summary of What You Can Do

Below are the highlights of viewing and acting upon JIRA issues within IDEA. Follow the links to the relevant sections of the user guide.

Accessing the JIRA Issues Tab in IDEA

To open the connector's JIRA Issues tab in IDEA:

  1. Click the Atlassian Connector control button at the bottom of the IDEA screen:

  2. The connector window will open. Select the JIRA Issues tab at the top of the connector window:

Using the JIRA Issues Tab

The JIRA issues tab shows a list of issues on the selected JIRA server(s). The issues are on the right, the servers and filters are on the left. You can add and remove JIRA servers, as described in the Configuration Guide.

To build the list of issues, you will use a filter. Currently-defined filters are shown on the left of the JIRA issues tab, under the relevant server name. Available filters are:

  • Preset filters (server-wide only, not project-specific), including filters for all issues assigned to you, recently updated issues, recently resolved issues, etc.
  • One or more custom filters that you have defined locally in the connector window.
  • One or more filters defined on the JIRA server.


Screenshot: JIRA tab in the connector window

In the sections below, we tell you what you can do with the following parts of the JIRA issues tab:

  • The toolbar above the list of servers
  • The toolbar above the list of issues
  • The popup context menu for each issue in the list

Using the Toolbar above the Servers

The toolbar above the list of servers provides the following functionality:

Open the connector configuration panel, to set up your servers and other options. (See Configuring your JIRA Options in IDEA.)

Retrieve information from all the configured JIRA servers and re-run the currently defined filters.

Open all the filter lists, so that you can see the server name and filter names for all servers and filters.

Close all the filter lists for all servers, so that you can see only the server names.

Add a new custom filter, defined locally in the connector, for retrieving issues from your JIRA server.

Remove a custom filter.

Edit a custom filter.

Using the Toolbar above the Issues

The toolbar above the list of issues provides the following functionality:

Divide the list of JIRA issues into groups. You can choose:

  • None — Display a flat list of issues, in no particular order.
  • Project — Display the issues per project, as defined on the JIRA server.
  • Type — Display the issues per issue type, as defined on the JIRA server. For example, this would group all feature requests under one heading, all bug reports under another heading, etc.
  • Status — Display the issues per issue status, as defined on the JIRA server. For example, this would group all closed issues under one heading, all open issues under another heading, etc.
  • Priority — Display the issues per priority. For example, this would group all blocker issues under one heading, all major issues under another heading, etc.
  • Last Updated — Group the issues depending on the date of last modification. The connector groups the issues into logical time periods: today, yesterday, 2 days ago, last week, etc.

Collapse sub-issues under their parents. This option is useful if you have defined sub-tasks in JIRA.

Open all the issue groups, so that you can see the list of issues under every heading.

Close all the issue lists for all groups, so that you can see only the group headings.

Quick search for an issue. Enter one of the following:

  • An issue key — Opens the issue in an IDEA output tool window.
  • Some text — Launches a JIRA search in your web browser.

Open the selected issue in an IDEA output tool window. See below.

Open the selected issue in your browser, using the JIRA user interface.

Add an issue to the active JIRA server, i.e. the server for which you have currently selected a filter in the left-hand panel.

Refresh the contents of the currently-displayed issues list by re-running the selected filter.

Start work or stop work on an issue. When you start work on an issue, that issue becomes your active issue. See below.

Get help on the usage of the JIRA tab (i.e. open this documentation page in your browser).

The search box gives you quick access to an issue. Just start entering the issue key into the search box at top right of the Issues tab. The connector will display matching issues as you type.

Using the Context Menu for an Issue

You can perform the following functions for each issue in the list:

  • Hover over a line to see a preview of the issue information.
    (info) If your update does not appear in the issue preview, click the refresh icon .
  • Double-click a line to open the selected issue in an IDEA output tool window. See below.
  • Right-click a line to show a popup context menu (pictured in the screenshot above) with actions that can be performed for the selected issue:
    • Open Issue — Open the selected issue in an IDEA output tool window. See below.
    • Start/Stop Work — Start work or stop work on an issue. When you start work on an issue, that issue becomes your active issue. See below.
    • View in Browser — Open the selected issue in a new browser window, using the JIRA user interface.
    • Edit in Browser — Open the selected issue for editing in a new browser window.
    • Add Comment — Add a comment to the issue. See below.
    • Log Work — Record the time worked against the issue.
    • Create ChangeList — Add a changelist relating to the issue. A changelist is a set of changes in one or more source code files, making up a logical set of changes.
    • Assign to Me — When you select this option, the issue is immediately assigned to your username on the JIRA server. The connector will send JIRA the username which you used to authenticate to the JIRA server (as described in Configuring the IntelliJ Connector).
    • Assign to User — When you select this option, the connector prompts you for a username. Enter the JIRA username of the person to whom you wish to assign this issue. Note that the username is only validated when the request reaches the JIRA server. If the username is unrecognized, you will receive a remote validation exception message at the bottom of the connector panel. Please try again.
    • Copy to Clipboard — This option offers a quick way to copy specific information about the issue to your clipboard, so that you can then paste it into another application. Hover your cursor over this option and then choose to copy one of the following:
      • The issue key
      • The issue URL on your JIRA server
      • The issue summary
      • The issue key and summary
    • Perform Issue Workflow Actions — Hover over this option to see a list of available actions relevant to the current state of the issue. Click the menu option to perform the action. If the action needs more information, a dialog box will open for you to enter the information required.
      • (info) When performing workflow transitions with JIRA versions prior to 5.x, the connector will only work with custom fields of the Text type. Other custom field types may fail with errors about invalid data.

Making an Issue your Active Issue

Screenshot: Making a JIRA issue your active task

Active issue in IDEA issue toolbar

From the JIRA issues tab, described above, you can start working on a JIRA issue within IDEA. For example, you can do one of the following to open the issue and start work on it:

  • Select the issue and then click the 'Start Work' icon , or
  • Right-click the issue and then select 'Start Work' from the popup context menu.

When you start work on an issue it becomes your active issue, with the following effects:

  • The connector prompts you to create an IDEA changelist, already populated with the issue information.
  • An internal timer starts up for the issue. When you log work against the issue, the time will be automatically populated from the internal timer.
  • The issue appears in the issue toolbar that is part of the main IDEA toolbar.
  • The issue status changes to 'In Progress', if applicable.
  • You can swap easily to a previously-active issue via the drop-down menu in the toolbar.
  • The toolbar has other useful options, such as: open active issue, stop work, log work, etc.

Making an Issue your Active Task (IDEA 9.0.2 and later)

Screenshot: Managing IDEA Tasks

From IDEA 9.0.2 onwards, the JIRA Active Issue mechanism is integrated with IDEA Active Tasks. When you start working on a JIRA issue, an IDEA task will be created for that issue. IDEA automatically saves the context (including active changelist, open editors, expanded branches in Project View, run configurations, enabled breakpoints) for your task. If you need to start work on another issue or shut down IntelliJ, you can restore your context when you return to working on your issue simply by selecting it via the drop-down menu in the toolbar.

Viewing and Updating Issues

From the JIRA issues tab, described above, you can open a JIRA issue in an IDEA output tool window. For example, you can do one of the following:

  • Select the issue and then click the 'Open Issue' icon , or
  • Right-click the issue and then select 'Open Issue' from the popup context menu.

The issue will open in an IDEA output tool window. The window will have two or more tabs, displaying information related to the issue.

You can update any of the fields with a pencil icon () next to them, simply by clicking the icon. These fields can be edited from within IDEA, without having to go to a separate window.

Viewing Issue Details

Screenshot: JIRA issue window, showing the issue details



The toolbar provides the following functionality:

Open the selected issue in your browser, using the JIRA user interface.

Open the selected issue for editing in a new browser window.

Add a comment to the issue. See below.

Record the time worked against the issue.

Add a changelist relating to the issue. A changelist is a set of changes in one or more source code files, making up a logical set of changes.

When you select this option, the issue is immediately assigned to your username on the JIRA server. The connector will send JIRA the username which you used to authenticate to the JIRA server (as described in Configuring the IntelliJ Connector).

When you select this option, the connector prompts you for a username. Enter the JIRA username of the person to whom you wish to assign this issue. Note that the username is only validated when the request reaches the JIRA server. If the username is unrecognized, you will receive a remote validation exception message at the bottom of the connector panel. Please try again.

Start work or stop work on an issue. When you start work on an issue, that issue becomes your active issue. See above.

This option offers a quick way to copy specific information about the issue to your clipboard, so that you can then paste it into another application. Hover your cursor over this option and then choose to copy one of the following:

  • The issue key
  • The issue URL on your JIRA server
  • The issue summary
  • The issue key and summary

Click this icon to see a list of available actions relevant to the current state of the issue. Select the appropriate menu option to perform the action you want. If the action needs more information, a dialog box will open for you to enter the information required.

Refresh the contents of the currently-displayed issue by fetching the latest data from the JIRA server.

Close the issue window in IDEA.

Get help on the usage of the JIRA tab (i.e. open this documentation page in your browser).

Viewing and Adding Comments

Screenshot: JIRA issue window, showing the issue comments



To expand or collapse the comments, you can click the blue arrows in the comment pane or click the 'Expand All' and 'Collapse All' icons in the toolbar above the comment pane.

To add a new comment, do one of the following:

  • Click the 'Add Comment' icon .
  • Or right-click the issue in the list of issue on the JIRA tab (see screenshot above) and select 'Add Comment' from the popup menu.

Viewing Stack Traces

If the JIRA issue contains a stack trace in the issue description or in a comment, you will be able to click the relevant link(s) in the stack trace to open the corresponding source file in IDEA.

Screenshot: JIRA issue window, showing a hyperlinked stack trace in a description

Viewing, Downloading and Uploading Attachments

Attachments are shown in the 'Attachments' tab of the JIRA issue window. You can view the attachment and click it to download it. You can upload a new attachment by clicking the paper clip () icon or by dragging and dropping your file onto the attachment list in the 'Attachments' tab.

Screenshot: JIRA issue window with two image attachments

Accessing your JIRA Issues Quickly

The connector provides a number of ways to open a JIRA issue quickly:

  • Press Shift-Alt-J to see your recently viewed issues. This works from within the IDEA editor as well as in the JIRA Issues window.
  • Another way to see your recently viewed issues: Click 'Recently Viewed Issues' in the left-hand panel of the JIRA Issues tab.
  • Press Shift-Alt-S to do a quick search for an issue. This works from within the IDEA editor as well as in the JIRA Issues window.
  • Click an issue key in the IDEA editor to open the issue.
  • Start entering the issue key into the search box at top right of the JIRA Issues tab (see screenshot above). The connector will display matching issues as you type.
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