Connecting JIRA to a Database

JIRA requires a relational database to store its issue data.

If you are setting up a completely new JIRA installation, the JIRA Setup Wizard will configure a database connection for you to either JIRA's internal HSQL database or an external database.

(info) JIRA's internal HSQL database is suitable for evaluation purposes. However, HSQL databases are prone to corruption. For production installations of JIRA, we strongly recommend that you connect JIRA to another supported database. This allows you to take advantage of your database system's own backup and recovery features.

The following are more detailed instructions for configuring a connection to a JIRA database:

Which Database?

Your choice of database can significantly affect your subsequent experience of JIRA administration. If you have a choice of databases, please first read our list of supported databases.

If you are looking for a low-cost solution, consider using PostgreSQL or MySQL as both of these are open source (free) software.

Upgrading JIRA or Migrating JIRA to Another Server?

If you are upgrading JIRA manually or migrating JIRA to another server and do not have access to a pre-existing dbconfig.xml file, you will need to re-configure your database connection. This results in a dbconfig.xml file (being created in the JIRA Home Directory of your new JIRA installation), whose content defines your JIRA database connection.

The options for re-configuring your database connection depend on what JIRA distribution you are using:

'Recommended' distributions:

If you installed JIRA using the 'Windows Installer', 'Linux Installer' or from an 'Archive File', you can re-configure your database connection either with the JIRA Configuration Tool or manually.

WAR distribution:

If you have set up a JIRA WAR installation, you need to manually configure your database connection.

(tick) Specific instructions for configuring database connections either using the JIRA Configuration Tool or manually are provided in the specific instructions for each database (listed above).

Data Migration

To transfer your issue data from one database to another, please refer to the instructions for Switching databases.

Last modified on Jan 30, 2012

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