Licensing and application access

To grant users log in access to a Jira application, the application must first be licensed, and secondly, the application must have at least one default group assigned to it. Any users added to this group will be able to log in to the application. This is called application access. Your Jira application may have more than one group assigned to it, and a user may be a member of more than one group assigned to the application, but they will only count as one licensed user for that application. This is covered in more detail on Managing users access to Jira applications.

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Installing your first application and application access

When you install your first application and license it (you may obtain a license as part of the installation process, or directly from my.atlassian.com), Jira will create two user groups, and add you to both of them. The first group is the jira-administrators group, and this is the group that grants you the Jira Administrator global permission and grants you administrative privileges. The second group created depends on the Jira application you have installed. They are listed below:

JIRA applicationUser group created when the product is licensed
Jira Core
jira-core-users
Jira Software
jira-software-users
Jira Service Management
jira-servicedesk-users

Both of these groups are assigned to the application you installed on the Application access page, and the second group is also assigned as the default group. This means any subsequent users you create for the application will be added automatically to this group.

Adding additional Jira applications

You may have a requirement to add another Jira application to your instance. You can install additional applications through your Version & licensing page. This allows you to locate the most up-to-date version of the application and install it. Once installed, you'll still need to ensure the new application is licensed. Once licensed, Jira will create a default group for the application, but you will not be added to this group automatically. To gain full access to the application, you should add yourself to a group associated with the application.

Running multiple Jira applications

Each Jira application comes complete with a specific set of features and functions, which tailors the experience delivered to its users. Every user in Jira will have access to an application based on their membership of groups. A user may have access to all the applications, or only one application. If a user has access to an application, they will count as a licensed user for that application. For example, if a user belongs to a group for Jira Software and a group for Jira Service Management, they will count as a licensed user for both Jira Software and Jira Service Management.

When you have multiple applications installed, by default, all users will be able to view all projects (unless there are specific project permissions set up that prohibit this). This means a Jira Core user will be able to see all Jira Software and Jira Service Management projects. However, as they are not licensed for these applications, they will not be able to see any features or functions that are specific to that application. For example, a Jira Core user viewing a Jira Software project would be able to see the project and its issues, but would not be able to see any Jira Software specific features, like Agile boards, development information, or release information. These features can only be viewed by a Jira Software user. It's important to note that Jira Core does not have any specific features or functions that cannot be viewed and/or actioned by other users. This means that if you are a Jira Software or Jira Service Management user, you can already view and work on a Jira Core project. You do not need to have specific application access for Jira Core, and therefore do not need to consume a license. View the Jira applications and project types overview page for more information on what licensed users can and cannot view and action on projects from other applications.

Last modified on Dec 9, 2021

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