To export Jira to Excel, search for the work (Filters > Search work items), select ••• above the results, choose Export, and pick Export Excel CSV (current fields) or Export Excel CSV (all fields). To skip the download, use the Open in Microsoft Excel icon above the results. Atlassian supports up to 10,000 work items per CSV export. To keep epics, stories and subtasks nested in the sheet, use a hierarchy-aware export such as Cascade’s indented CSV.
Export Jira search results to Excel or CSV
Every native export starts from a set of work items, and search is the most flexible way to choose them.
- Find the work. Go to Filters > Search work items and narrow the results with the basic filters or JQL, for example
project = SHOP AND status != Done. - Open the export menu. Above the results, select ••• (More actions), then Export.
- Choose the columns. Export Excel CSV (current fields) keeps the columns you can see. Export Excel CSV (all fields) includes every field. If you started from a saved filter, Export Excel CSV (filter fields) uses that filter’s columns.
- Open the file in Excel. The download is a CSV file, which Excel and other spreadsheets open directly.
Current fields is usually the better choice: Atlassian advises against exporting all fields when speed matters, and a narrower file is easier to read. The same menu also exports to Word, where Atlassian suggests about 150 work items at a time, and to XML. See Atlassian’s guide to exporting search results.
Open in Excel or Google Sheets without downloading
Above the search results, the Open in Microsoft Excel and Open in Google Sheets icons send the results straight to a spreadsheet. Atlassian recommends them over uploading a downloaded CSV into those tools.
Export from the list view or a plan
In a space, open List, select ••• and choose Export to get the list’s work items as a file. See Atlassian’s CSV export steps.
On Jira Premium and Enterprise, a plan’s timeline exports through Share > Export > Export data (.csv). Only the data visible on the timeline is included, so set the plan’s filters first. See exporting plan data as CSV.
For a board or backlog, run a search that matches it, for example project = SHOP AND sprint in openSprints() for the active sprint, and export the results.
More than 10,000 work items, and garbled characters
Atlassian supports exporting up to 10,000 work items in one CSV export. For more, it recommends splitting the search into smaller JQL ranges, such as one date range at a time, exporting each, and combining the files. See exporting more than 10,000 work items.
Jira writes CSV files in UTF-8. Older versions of Excel can misread them, which shows up as garbled accented or non-Latin characters. Opening the file in a current version of Excel, or another spreadsheet that reads UTF-8, avoids it.
How to keep the hierarchy when you export Jira to Excel
Atlassian’s export documentation does not describe keeping parent and child work items nested. Each work item arrives as its own row, so a sheet of epics, stories and subtasks has to be put back into shape by hand: sorting by parent, then indenting each level.
A hierarchy-aware export does that work for you. It writes the rows in tree order, so each work item sits directly under its parent, and it marks how deep each one is. The result reads like the hierarchy itself, and it still sorts and filters like any spreadsheet. For how the levels fit together, see the Jira hierarchy guide.
Export Jira to Excel with Cascade, hierarchy included
Cascade is a Chrome extension that shows your Jira Cloud work as a tree inside your Jira tab, and exports what you see.
- Install Cascade from the Chrome Web Store and open your Jira Cloud site. No Jira administrator has to install anything, though your employer’s browser policies may restrict extensions.
- Choose the work. Open Cascade and pick Assigned to me, a set of epics, or a whole space. Filter and sort it the way you want the sheet to look.
- Export. Choose Download CSV, or Copy for Excel to paste straight into a sheet. Pick indented to keep each work item under its parent, or flat for one row per work item.
The export follows the filters and sorting in your view. Copy for Excel is capped at 5,000 rows, and an export that stops short says so in its file name. Flat export is planned to stay free; indented export is labeled Cascade Pro and is free for everyone during early access. To see the format first, download a sample indented CSV.
Export one epic with its stories and subtasks, then open the file next to Jira and compare.
Jira export FAQ
Can Jira export directly to Excel?
Jira Cloud downloads search results as CSV files, which open in Excel, and shows an Open in Microsoft Excel icon above the results so you can skip the download.
How many work items can I export from Jira at once?
Atlassian supports up to 10,000 work items in one CSV export. For more, split the search into smaller ranges with JQL, export each one, and combine the files.
How do I export a Jira board or backlog to Excel?
Run a search that matches the board, for example project = SHOP AND sprint in openSprints() for the active sprint, then export the results as CSV. A space’s list view also has an Export option.
Does Jira’s export keep epics, stories and subtasks nested?
Atlassian’s export documentation does not describe keeping parent and child work items nested. A hierarchy-aware export, such as Cascade’s indented CSV, writes each work item under its parent.
Why are characters garbled when I open a Jira CSV in Excel?
Jira writes CSV files in UTF-8, and older versions of Excel can misread them. Open the file in a current version of Excel or another spreadsheet that reads UTF-8.
Is exporting with Cascade free?
Flat CSV and flat Copy for Excel are planned to stay free. Indented export, which keeps the hierarchy, is labeled Cascade Pro and is free for everyone during early access.