Importing data from Bugzilla

The JIRA Importers plugin, which is bundled with JIRA, allows you to import data from Bugzilla by connecting to a live Bugzilla database.

(info) Our main website highlights some top reasons why people migrate from Bugzilla to JIRAVersion 4.1 or later of the JIRA Importers plugin is compatible with Bugzilla 2.20 to 4.4.4. Users of older Bugzilla versions will need to first upgrade the Bugzilla database tables to a supported version, using Bugzilla's checksetup.pl script. The JIRA Importers plugin requires that your Bugzilla database is MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL Server.

(info) JIRA is able to import data from Bugzilla 2.20 only if it's using a supported database.

(info) JIRA does not bundle the MySQL driver anymore. If the Bugzilla data is located in a MySQL database, follow the instructions in Connecting JIRA to MySQL to install the MySQL database driver before attempting to import from Bugzilla

On this page:

The Bugzilla import process consists of simply running the Bugzilla Import Wizard (below).

  • You can choose to map individual fields and field values during the import process, some of which are mandatory.
  • At the end of the Bugzilla Import Wizard, you will be given the option of creating a Bugzilla configuration file, which contains the settings you configured while running through the Bugzilla Import Wizard. This is useful if you need to test your Bugzilla import on a test JIRA server first before performing the import on a production system.

(warning) Please note:

  • JIRA's character encoding is set to UTF-8 by default. If, however, your JIRA installation's character encoding is set to something other than UTF-8, you may encounter problems with importing data from Bugzilla. For more information, please refer to JIM-5. Importing Bugzilla data into a non-UTF-8 JIRA installation is not supported.

Running the Bugzilla Import Wizard

Before you begin, please back up your JIRA data.

  1. In your Bugzilla system, run the Bugzilla 'Sanity Check' to ensure your data is error-free.
  2. Log in to JIRA as a user with the JIRA Administrators global permission.
  3. Choose > System. Select Import & Export > External System Import to open the Import external projects page.
  4. Select Bugzilla to open the Bugzilla Import Wizard: Setup page.
     
  5. On the Bugzilla Import Wizard: Setup page, complete the following fields/options:

    Bugzilla URLSpecify the URL of your Bugzilla site. This is the URL you would normally use to access Bugzilla through a web browser.
    Specify credentials

    Select this checkbox if you want to import Bugzilla issues into JIRA, which require user credentials on your Bugzilla site to access them.
    Selecting this checkbox reveals/hides the Bugzilla Login and Bugzilla Password fields, into which you should specify these user credentials.
    (info) If your Bugzilla site requires credentials and you do not specify them here, Bugzilla "Big File" attachments will not be imported.

    Database type

    Select the type of database that your Bugzilla installation uses:

    • PostgreSQL
    • Microsoft SQL Server
    • MySQL
    HostnameSpecify the hostname or IP address of the server running your Bugzilla site's database server.
    PortSpecify the TCP/IP port that the Bugzilla site's database server is listening on.
    (tick) This field is automatically populated with the default port value based on the Database Type you choose above.
    DatabaseSpecify the name of your Bugzilla database (into which Bugzilla saves its data).
    (info) This database name can usually be found in the 'localconfig' file in Bugzilla's root directory, for example, /etc/bugzilla/
    UsernameSpecify the database user that Bugzilla uses to connect to its database.
    (info) This database user can usually be found in the 'localconfig' file in Bugzilla's root directory, for example, /etc/bugzilla/
    PasswordSpecify the password of the database user (above) that Bugzilla uses to connect to its database.
    (info) This password can usually be found in the 'localconfig' file in Bugzilla's root directory, for example, /etc/bugzilla/
    Use an existing configuration fileLeave this checkbox cleared if you do not have a configuration file or if you want to create a new configuration file. Configuration files specify a mapping between fields in Bugzilla and those in JIRA.
    (info)  Note:
      • If you select this option, you will be asked to specify an Existing Configuration File.
      • If you do not select this option, then at the end of the Bugzilla Import Wizard, JIRA will create a configuration file which you can use for subsequent Bugzilla imports (for re-use at this step of the Bugzilla Import Wizard).
    JDBC connection parameters
    (in expanded Advanced tab)
    The Bugzilla Import Wizard will construct a JDBC-based database URL from the Bugzilla database server details you specify above. JIRA uses this URL to connect to and import issues from Bugzilla. If you need to specify any additional connection parameters to your Bugzilla database, specify them here.
    (info) If you chose MySQL (above), the Bugzilla Import Wizard will add several additional connection parameters by default.
  6. Click the Next button to proceed to the Setup project mappings step of the Bugzilla Import Wizard.

  7. On the Setup project mappings page, select which Bugzilla projects you wish to import into JIRA.
    (info) All Bugzilla projects are selected by default, so clear the checkboxes under Import of the Bugzilla projects you do not wish to import into JIRA.
    For Bugzilla projects you wish to import into JIRA, click in Select a project and then do either of the following:
    • Start typing the name (or key) of a project that already exists in JIRA or use the drop-down menu to select an existing JIRA project.
    • Select Create New from the drop-down menu and in the resulting Add A New Project dialog box, type the following:
      1. A new project Name
      2. A new project Key
        (info) This will be used as the prefix for all issue IDs in your JIRA project.
      3. The Project Lead.
  8. Click the Next button to proceed to the Setup custom fields step of the Bugzilla Import Wizard.
    (info) This step will almost always appear because at least one Bugzilla field is not likely match an existing JIRA field.
  9. On the Setup custom fields page, for each External field  in Bugzilla which the Bugzilla Import Wizard cannot match to an existing JIRA field, you can choose to either:
    • have the Bugzilla Import Wizard automatically create new custom fields in JIRA based on the names of Bugzilla's fields. This is the default option - whereby the names of the JIRA custom fields to be automatically created appear in the JIRA field drop-down lists.
  10. On the Setup field mappings page, if there External fields in Bugzilla whose values you wish to modify before they are imported into JIRA, select the Map field value checkboxes next to the appropriate fields.
    (info) Please note that it is mandatory to map Bugzilla's bug_status (i.e. Status) field to specific JIRA Status field values as the JIRA Status field is an integral part of JIRA workflows.


    • Other External fields in Bugzilla which are likely to appear on the Setup field mappings page are:

      External field in BugzillaNot choosing the 'Map field value' checkbox
      login_nameThe Bugzilla Import Wizard will automatically map Bugzilla usernames to JIRA usernames (lowercase).
      priorityThe Bugzilla Import Wizard will automatically create missing values in JIRA and will ensure that the issues are migrated with the correct priority (e.g. "Normal" in Bugzilla to newly-created "Normal" in JIRA).
      resolutionThe importer will create corresponding Resolutions in JIRA instead of using the existing ones.
    • Select the appropriate JIRA Workflow Scheme in that will be used by the Bugzilla issues you will import into your JIRA project.
      (info) If you are importing your Bugzilla issues into an existing JIRA project, ensure that you choose the JIRA workflow scheme used by that existing JIRA project.

  11. Click the Next button to proceed to the Setup value mappings step of the Bugzilla Import Wizard.
  12. On the Setup value mappings page, specify JIRA field values for each Bugzilla field value (as detected by the Bugzilla Import Wizard).
    (info) Any fields whose Map field value checkboxes were selected in the previous step of the Bugzilla Import Wizard will be presented on this page, including the mandatory bug_status Bugzilla field.

  13. Click the Next button to proceed to the Setup links step of the Bugzilla Import Wizard.
  14. On the Setup links page, specify the JIRA link type for each Bugzilla link type (as detected by the Bugzilla Import Wizard). To learn more about JIRA link types, see Configuring issue linking.

  15. Click the Begin Import button when you are ready to begin importing your Bugzilla data into JIRA. The importer will display updates as the import progresses, then a success message when the import is complete.

    (info) Note:
    • If you experience problems with the import (or you are curious), click the download a detailed log link to reveal detailed information about the Bugzilla Import Wizard process.
    • If you need to import data from another Bugzilla product/project or site with the same (or similar) settings to what you used through this procedure, click the save the configuration link to download a Bugzilla configuration file, which you can use at the first step of the Bugzilla Import Wizard.

Congratulations, you have successfully imported your Bugzilla projects into JIRA! If you have any questions or encounter any problems, please contact Atlassian support.

Tips for importing Bugzilla data into JIRA fields

During the import process, the following data is copied from the Bugzilla database into JIRA:

In Bugzilla

In JIRA

Import Notes

Product

Project

Bugzilla data is imported on a per-project basis. You can either specify an existing JIRA project as the target, or the importer will automatically create a project(s) for you at time of import. See Defining a project for more information on JIRA projects.

External Project

Project Category

 

VersionAffects Version 

Component

Component

You can choose to have the importer automatically create your Bugzilla component(s) in JIRA, or choose to have bugs imported into no component in JIRA.

Milestone

Fix Version

Versions are imported from Bugzilla (if you choose) and are set to the Un-Released and Un-Archived state.

Bug

Issue

Every Bugzilla bug becomes a JIRA issue of type 'Bug', with one exception: a Bugzilla issue with severity 'Enhancement' becomes a JIRA issue of type 'Improvement' and priority 'Major'.

ID

External issue ID

Each imported issue will be given a new JIRA ID, and the old Bugzilla ID will be saved into a JIRA custom field called 'External issue ID'. This custom field is searchable, so you can search for JIRA issues by their old Bugzilla ID. If you don't need this custom field, delete it or 'hide' it (as described in Specifying field behavior).

Summary

Summary

 

Description

Description

 

Comments

Comments

 

Attachments

Attachments

Attachments are extracted from the Bugzilla database and saved to disk. To specify the location on disk, see Configuring file attachments.

Priority

Priority
(or a custom field)

You can choose to map one of either the Bugzilla Priority field or the Bugzilla Severity field (see above) to the built-in JIRA Priority field, and the other to a custom field. (Alternatively, you can choose to map both the Bugzilla Priority field and the Bugzilla Severity field to JIRA custom fields.) When importing into the JIRA Priority field, you can configure mapping of specific Bugzilla values to specific JIRA values.

Severity

Priority
(or a custom field)

You can choose to map one of either the Bugzilla Priority field (above) or the Bugzilla Severity field to the built-in JIRA Priority field, and the other to a custom field. (Alternatively, you can choose to map both the Bugzilla Priority field and the Bugzilla Severity field to JIRA custom fields.) When importing into the JIRA Priority field, you can configure mapping of specific Bugzilla values to specific JIRA values.

Status

Status

You can configure mapping of specific Bugzilla values to specific JIRA values.

Resolution

Resolution

You can configure mapping of specific Bugzilla values to specific JIRA values.

Duplicates
Depends on
Blocks

Link

You can configure mapping of specific Bugzilla link types to JIRA link types.

Work History

Work Log

Each Bugzilla worklog report will appear in JIRA as a separate worklog entry.

Estimated

Original Estimate

See Configuring time tracking.

Remaining

Remaining Estimate

See Configuring time tracking.

Logged

Time Spent

See Configuring time tracking.

Votes

Voters

If a user has voted one or more times for a Bugzilla issue, a JIRA vote is stored for that user.

CC List

Watchers

 

User

User

You can choose to have the importer automatically create JIRA users for any Bugzilla users who do not already exist in JIRA.

  • Users who interacted with the Bugzilla system will be created as active accounts in JIRA. Other users will be imported into a special group called "bugzilla-import-unused-users" and will be deactivated.
  • Passwords from Bugzilla are not imported for v2.16+ of Bugzilla (as they are hashed in the database). Users from Bugzilla will need to get their passwords emailed to them the first time they log into JIRA.
  • Users with no real name stored in Bugzilla will get the portion of their email address (login name) before the "@" character as their Full Name in JIRA.
  • If you are using External User Management, the import process will not be able to create JIRA users; instead, the importer will give you a list of any new users that need to be created. You will need to create the users in your external user repository before commencing the import (this way, votes etc can be imported correctly).
  • If you have a user-limited license (e.g. personal license), and the number of required users is larger than the limit, then the import will be stopped. A page will be displayed showing a list of users that can't be created.

Status Whiteboard

Status Whiteboard

A JIRA custom field called 'Status Whiteboard' will be created.

Other fields

Custom fields

If your Bugzilla system contains any custom fields, you can choose to map them to specific JIRA custom field(s). If your custom fields don't yet exist in JIRA, the importer can automatically create them for you.

 

Last modified on Sep 3, 2017

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