Undo a deleted Jira work item
Jira Cloud has no recycle bin for work items. Once someone deletes one, it is gone. Pinwheel Restore keeps a copy of every item, so a Jira admin can bring a deleted one back with its fields and comments in one click.
Try it free on the Atlassian Marketplace
Free for up to 10 users. Larger sites get a free 30-day trial, then pay $0.40 per user per month (11 to 100 users; lower rates above that), billed by Atlassian.
How it works
- Install it. From then on, Pinwheel saves a copy of each work item whenever it is created, edited or commented on. Nobody has to do anything.
- Someone deletes a work item. It appears in the Pinwheel Restore list with who deleted it and when.
- A Jira admin clicks Restore. Pinwheel recreates the item with its fields and comments. Each comment says who originally wrote it and when. A note on the item lists anything Jira would not let it set.
What comes back
| Restored | Not restored (listed in the note instead) |
|---|---|
| Summary, description, type, priority, labels, components, versions, due date, assignee, reporter (when Jira allows), sprint, custom fields, and up to 100 comments | Attachments, worklogs, work item links, and change history |
Sub-tasks deleted along with their parent are caught too. Restore the parent first, and its sub-tasks go back under the restored copy.
Good to know
- Only items created or changed after you install the app are fully protected. Older items that are deleted untouched still appear in the list and can be recreated with their summary and type.
- A restored item gets a new key (for example OPS-51 instead of OPS-7) and starts in the first status of its workflow. The note records the old key and status.
- Deleted items are kept for 30 days by default. An admin can set anywhere from 1 to 365 days.
- Only Jira admins can see the list and restore items.
Setup
- Install Pinwheel Restore from the Atlassian Marketplace.
- Open Jira settings → Apps → Pinwheel Restore. Change the retention period if 30 days is not right for you, and click Save.
That is all. There is nothing else to configure.
Your data
Pinwheel Restore runs on Atlassian's Forge platform. Copies of your work items are kept in the app's Atlassian-hosted storage, in the same region as your Jira data. Nothing is sent to Pinwheel or anywhere else. People are stored only as an account ID and display name; when Atlassian reports an account closed, Restore removes that person and shows "Former user". When you uninstall the app, Atlassian deletes its storage after its standard 28-day retention. See the privacy policy.
Questions
Does Jira not have a trash for this?
Jira Cloud can restore whole spaces from the trash, but not single work items. Atlassian's own backup and restore add-on is only for Premium and Enterprise plans.
Can I restore something deleted before I installed the app?
No. The app can only restore items it has seen. Install it before you need it.
Who can restore items?
Jira admins, from the app's settings page. Regular users cannot see the deleted list.
Something did not restore the way I expected.
Email support@pinwheelapps.com with the old and new keys and the text of the Pinwheel note.
Also from Pinwheel: Worklog Reminder, daily emails for people who forgot to log their time.