# Summary The purpose of this issue is to: - Assess the impact of a planned feature removal, deprecation or other change. - Document what actions customers must/should perform to mitigate the impact of the change. - Track findings from support tickets and other sources related to the change. ## What is happening The GitLab for Jira Cloud app on the Atlassian Marketplace is being upgraded from Atlassian Connect to Atlassian Forge. This follows Atlassian's [end-of-support timeline for Connect apps](https://www.atlassian.com/blog/developer/announcing-connect-end-of-support-timeline-and-next-steps). The Forge-based version is published as a [major upgrade](https://developer.atlassian.com/platform/marketplace/upgrading-and-versioning-cloud-apps/#changes-that-require-manual-customer-approval) of the existing listing. Jira administrators must manually approve the upgrade. ### Related Issues/MRs/Epics - Issue/epic: https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/21004 - MR: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/226639 - Docs: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/592890 - Tracking issue: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-jira-forge/-/issues/7 - Staging review (Ben King): https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-jira-forge/-/work_items/4 - Staging review (Anton Smith): https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-jira-forge/-/work_items/6 ### Status / What actions have been taken so far - Forge app built and tested in staging by two independent reviewers (Ben King and Anton Smith). All features verified working with both GitLab.com and GitLab Self-Managed. - Documentation MR created and under review: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/226639 - Manual install migration documentation is being worked on separately. ### Timeline / Important Dates - **GitLab 18.10**: New documentation section goes live. - **March 31, 2026**: Atlassian blocks Connect app updates and private Connect app installs ([Phase 2](https://www.atlassian.com/blog/developer/announcing-connect-end-of-support-timeline-and-next-steps)). ## What impact will this have on users? Customers who installed the GitLab for Jira Cloud app from the [Atlassian Marketplace](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1221011/gitlab-com-for-jira-cloud) will see a major upgrade prompt in their Jira admin panel. A Jira administrator must approve the upgrade. No GitLab-side configuration changes are required. ### What this may look like for Support Anticipated Support Impact: Low What errors or messages users may report: - **"What is this major upgrade?"** — Customers asking what the upgrade prompt means and whether they should approve it. **The Forge version replaces the Connect version. Admins should approve the upgrade.** - **"Will I lose my synced data?"** — Questions about data preservation. **All previously synced development data is preserved automatically.** The Forge app uses the same app identifier (`gitlab-jira-connect-gitlab.com`), so no data migration is needed. - **"Do all features still work?"** — Questions about feature parity. **Yes.** All features verified working in staging: syncing branches, commits, merge requests, pipelines, deployments, feature flags, smart commits, and branch creation from Jira. - **"Does it work with Self-Managed?"** — **Yes.** Tested with both GitLab.com and GitLab Self-Managed instances. - **"What do I need to change on my GitLab instance?"** — **Nothing.** Admins only need to approve the upgrade in Jira. - **"How do I migrate my manual install?"** — Manual installation migration documentation is being worked on separately and is not yet available. What workarounds/solutions are available?: No workarounds needed. The upgrade is straightforward — approve in Jira and all existing functionality continues to work. ### Do users need to be contacted? - [x] No - [ ] Yes, please link to the [marketing ops issue](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/support/workflows/sending_notices/#mass-emails-through-marketing-department): ## DRIs/Contacts for questions and approvals for communications/action items - Slack Channel: - Product or Development DRI: @jotolo_gl - Support DRI: @anton ## Communication to Support team 1. Announced to team in 1. [x] `#support_gitlab-com` or `#support_self-managed` or `#support_team-chat` 1. [x] Support Week in Review[(SWIR)](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/support/readiness/support-week-in-review/-/issues/?sort=created_date&state=all&first_page_size=10). Use [this link](https://gitlab-com.gitlab.io/support/toolbox/forms_processor/SWIR/) add it to the SWIR in the `Things to know about` category.