Tutorial: Create Jira credentials

In this tutorial, you’ll set up a dedicated Jira user and grant it the permissions the Jira issues integration needs. All steps are performed in Jira, not in GitLab.

After you complete this tutorial, use the Jira username and password you create here to configure the Jira issues integration in GitLab.

To create Jira credentials:

  1. Create a Jira user.
  2. Create a Jira group for the user.
  3. Create a permission scheme for the group.
  4. Assign the permission scheme to your projects.

Before you begin

  • You must have the Jira administrators or Jira System administrators global permission.

Create a Jira user

To create a Jira user:

  1. In the upper-right corner, select Administration > User management.

  2. Create a new user account with write access to your Jira projects:

    • In Email address, enter a valid email address.
    • In Username, enter gitlab.
    • In Password, enter a password. The Jira issues integration does not support SSO such as SAML.

  3. Select Create user.

You can also use an existing user account, provided the user belongs to a group with the required permissions.

Now that you’ve created a user named gitlab, it’s time to create a group for the user.

Create a Jira group for the user

To create a Jira group for the user:

  1. In the upper-right corner, select Administration > User management.
  2. In the left sidebar, select Groups.
  3. In the Add group section, enter a name for the group (for example, gitlab-developers), then select Add group.
  4. To add the gitlab user to the gitlab-developers group, select Edit members. The gitlab-developers group appears as a selected group.
  5. In the Add members to selected group(s) section, enter gitlab.
  6. Select Add selected users. The gitlab user appears as a group member.

Now that you’ve added the gitlab user to the gitlab-developers group, it’s time to create a permission scheme for the group.

Create a permission scheme for the group

The Jira issues integration needs permission to browse projects, create and edit issues, and add comments. Grant only the permissions required for these actions.

To create a permission scheme:

  1. In the upper-right corner, select Administration > Issues.

  2. In the left sidebar, select Permission schemes.

  3. Select Add permission scheme.

  4. In the Add permission scheme dialog, complete the fields.

  5. Select Add.

  6. On the Permission schemes page, in the Actions column, select Permissions for the new scheme.

  7. For each of the following permissions, select Edit, grant the permission to the gitlab-developers group, then select Grant:

    • Browse Projects
    • Create Issues
    • Edit Issues
    • Add Comments

Now that you’ve configured the permission scheme, it’s time to assign it to your Jira projects.

Assign the permission scheme to your projects

A permission scheme has no effect until it’s associated with at least one project. Repeat these steps for each Jira project you want the Jira issues integration to access.

To assign the permission scheme to a project:

  1. In the upper-right corner, select Administration > Projects.
  2. Select the project you want to configure.
  3. In Project settings, select Permissions.
  4. Select Actions > Use a different scheme.
  5. Select the scheme you created, then select Associate.

You’ve done it! Now go to GitLab and configure the Jira issues integration using the gitlab username and password you created here.