Portmux
Project Management → Project Management MIGRATION

Jira to Linear
migration service.

Portmux is a Jira to Linear migration service that moves your full issue history, sprint context, custom fields, and team workflows into Linear with the issue identifiers (PROJ-123) your engineers cite in PRs and Slack still working.

Most Jira-to-Linear migrations are about getting out of Atlassian's pricing and complexity, not about losing context. The hard part is preserving issue identifiers (engineers grep for them in commit messages), keeping sprint/cycle history intact, and handling custom fields that Linear doesn't natively support. We solve all three.

FIG. JIRA → LINEAR
SOURCE
Jira
Project Management
DESTINATION
Linear
Project Management
4–6
Weeks typical
0ms
Cutover downtime
$12k
Starting fee
§ WHAT WE MIGRATE

Every object, every field.
From Jira, into Linear.

Linear's data model is intentionally simpler than Jira's. Some Jira concepts (Epic, Story, Task, Sub-Task, Sub-Bug-of-Story) collapse into Linear's flatter Issue + Sub-issue model. Other Jira concepts (Components, Versions, Releases) map to Linear Labels, Projects, and Cycles.
Projects

Jira Projects mapped to Linear Teams; project keys (e.g. PROJ-) preserved as Linear team identifiers so existing PROJ-123 references still resolve.

Issues

Every Jira Issue migrated to a Linear Issue with original numeric ID preserved (PROJ-123 → PROJ-123) so commit messages, PRs, and external links keep working.

Issue Types

Jira Issue Types (Story, Task, Bug, Epic, Sub-task) mapped to Linear Issue types via Labels; Sub-tasks become Linear Sub-issues with parent linkage.

Epics → Projects

Jira Epics mapped to Linear Projects with the Epic's child Issues automatically associated; Epic-level fields preserved on the Project.

Sprints → Cycles

Jira Sprints mapped to Linear Cycles with start/end dates, sprint goals, and sprint-issue assignments preserved per team.

Comments

All Issue comments migrated with original author (matched by email), timestamp, mentions (re-mapped to Linear users), and Markdown formatting.

Attachments

Issue attachments downloaded from Jira and re-uploaded to Linear with original filenames; inline images in comments re-linked.

Custom Fields

Jira custom fields (text, number, dropdown, multi-select, user picker) mapped to Linear Custom Fields or stored as labels for fields without a Linear equivalent.

Statuses & Workflows

Per-project Jira Workflow Statuses mapped to Linear Workflow States (Backlog, Todo, In Progress, In Review, Done, Cancelled).

Labels & Components

Jira Labels migrated as Linear Labels; Components migrated as a separate Label set with team scoping.

Versions / Fix Versions

Jira Versions and Fix Versions mapped to Linear Projects (for releases) or labels (for milestone tracking).

Users & Assignees

Jira Users matched to Linear Users by email; assignee, reporter, and watcher fields preserved on every issue.

§ HOW THIS MIGRATION RUNS

Three steps. One go-live date.

01
CONNECT

Plug into Jira.

We connect to Jira via API token (Jira Cloud) or PAT (Data Center) with site admin scope, plus Linear via OAuth or API key. The Jira REST API enumerates every project, issue type, custom field, workflow scheme, and screen scheme. Within 48 hours you see a complete Project → Team mapping proposal and a Custom Field translation table for review.

02
MAP

Map to Linear.

Mapping covers project-to-team, issue type → label, status → workflow state, and custom field → Linear field decisions. The most important mapping is the identifier strategy: we lock down Linear team prefixes so existing Jira issue references (PROJ-123 in commit messages, Slack, GitHub PRs) keep resolving after cutover.

03
CUTOVER

Flip the connection.

Linear workspace loaded with full issue history in dependency order (Epics → Issues → Sub-issues → comments). Your team validates 5–10 random Issues per Project for fidelity. On cutover day, Jira is set to read-only, the Linear-Jira link in your tools (GitHub, Slack, Figma) is updated, and we deliver an identifier-mapping CSV in case anything needs to be looked up later.

§ WHERE IT GETS HARD

Jira to Linear isn't a button.

Every migration has its own gotchas. Here's what we plan for on this specific path.

● 01

Preserving Jira issue identifiers

Engineers grep for PROJ-123 in commit messages, Slack, and PR descriptions. Linear assigns its own IDs by default, but we configure Linear team prefixes to match Jira project keys, then load issues in numeric order so the new Linear ID matches the original Jira ID. PROJ-1 stays PROJ-1.

● 02

Custom fields without a Linear equivalent

Linear has limited native custom field types. Jira custom fields like Cascading Select, User Picker (multi), and Calculated Fields don't have direct Linear equivalents. We migrate values into Linear Labels or a Description prefix block, and document which fields lost structure so reporting queries can be rewritten.

● 03

Workflow statuses vary by project

Jira allows different workflows per project (e.g. Engineering uses In Progress → In Review → Done; Marketing uses Drafting → Approval → Published). Linear has one workflow state set per team. We collapse Jira workflows to the closest Linear states, which may flatten some intermediate statuses, and document each collapse.

● 04

Sprint history vs Cycle history

Jira Sprints can span multiple boards and have rollover behavior. Linear Cycles are per-team with strict start/end. Past sprints are migrated as Cycles for historical reference; the rollover behavior (issues spilling into the next cycle automatically) is configured fresh in Linear so it matches your team's expectation, not Jira's defaults.

§ STARTING PRICE

Jira to Linear from $12K.

Single-system migrations like Jira to Linear run as Track A engagements: one source, one destination, up to 1M records, 4–6 weeks. Final price depends on object volume, custom field count, and integrations, scoped on a 20-minute call before any commitment. See full pricing →

TRACK A
FROM$12K
4–6 weeks · 1 source → 1 destination · up to 1M records
Get a quote
§ QUESTIONS

Jira → Linear, asked.

How long does a Jira to Linear migration take? +
Standard Jira-to-Linear migrations run 4–6 weeks. The biggest variable is the number of projects and the diversity of workflow schemes, ten projects with a single shared workflow can finish in 3 weeks; thirty projects with bespoke workflows per project run closer to 7. Issue volume matters less than schema complexity.
Will my PROJ-123 references still work in commits and Slack? +
Yes. We configure Linear team prefixes to match your Jira project keys, then load issues in their original numeric order. The Jira issue PROJ-123 becomes the Linear issue PROJ-123. Existing commit messages, PR titles, Slack mentions, and external bug-tracker links keep resolving.
How do you handle Jira Epics? Linear has Projects. +
Jira Epics map to Linear Projects. Each Epic becomes a Project with its child Issues automatically associated as Project Issues. Epic Name becomes Project Name; Epic Status becomes Project Status; Epic-level custom fields are preserved on the Project. The Epic itself is also kept as a Linear Issue for reference.
What about Jira Service Management tickets? +
Jira Service Management is a different product than Jira Software, with portals, request types, and SLAs. We can migrate JSM tickets into Linear as Issues with a Customer Request label, but Linear isn't a ticketing tool. For most teams, JSM workloads belong in a dedicated support tool (Intercom, Zendesk, Pylon), and we scope that as a separate engagement.
Will sprint history and burndown data carry over? +
Sprint structure carries over: each Jira Sprint becomes a Linear Cycle with the original start/end dates and issue assignments. Burndown charts themselves don't migrate as a separate artifact, Linear renders cycle progress from the underlying issue state changes. Past Cycle data is queryable but visualized differently than Jira's burndown.
NEXT CUTOVER

Book a 20-minute
scoping call.

Tell us what's in the source, where it's going, SaaS or custom, and when you need to be live. You'll walk away with a scoped quote, a named engineer, and a go-live date.

§ RELATED MIGRATIONS