To connect Jira to Slack, install the Jira Cloud for Slack app from the Slack App Directory, log in to your Atlassian account to link the two, then type /jira connect in a channel to subscribe it to a Jira space. Your Jira site admin must enable the integration first. Zapier covers custom automations.
Before anyone on your team installs anything, send one message to your Jira site administrator. The Jira Cloud for Slack app can be installed by anyone, but it won't connect until the admin switches the Slack integration on for your site. Skip that and you'll see a message saying connecting was disabled by the administrator, which is where most people give up.
Installing Jira Cloud for Slack
- Ask your Jira site administrator to enable the Slack integration for the site.
- Install the Jira Cloud for Slack app from the Slack App Directory on your Slack workspace.
- Follow the prompt to log in to your Atlassian account. Once the two are linked, you'll get a direct message from the Jira Cloud app.
- For a private channel, invite @Jira first. Then type /jira connect in the channel and pick your Jira site and space.
- Set filters for work item type, priority and event type, then select Confirm.
- Optionally type /jira notify for personal alerts, and use /jira manage to pause, edit or disconnect channel subscriptions later.
Your Slack workspace may show a Needs review status until a site admin approves it. You can still configure and use Jira from Slack in the meantime, so don't wait on it. If you run several Jira Cloud sites, you'll be asked to pick one each time you connect a space or set up notifications.
The /jira commands worth remembering
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| /jira connect | Subscribes the channel to a Jira space |
| /jira manage | Views and manages the channel's subscriptions |
| /jira notify | Sets your personal notifications |
| /jira create | Creates a work item |
| /jira unsubscribe | Stops notifications |
| /jira logout | Logs you out of your Atlassian ID |
Channel alerts versus personal alerts
Channel notifications can be set from Slack with /jira connect, choosing the site and space and then filters, or from Jira itself in the space settings under Notifications and Connect to Slack. Use the filters. A channel subscribed to every event in a busy space turns into noise within a day, and people mute it.
Personal notifications are separate. Type /jira notify and choose Essentials, which covers work items assigned to you, mentions, comments on your work items and status changes on items you watch, or All. You can filter those by space, work type or priority too.
Space admins get two extra controls: a basic or extended notification format, and JQL-based advanced filtering for anyone who wants precise rules.
Turning a Slack thread into Jira comments
This is the feature that saves the most copying and pasting. Syncing a Slack thread adds all previous messages and later replies as comments on a Jira work item, so a discussion that started in Slack ends up on the record. Choose Unsync thread and new messages stop flowing, though messages already synced stay on the work item. You can also create a work item directly from a message.
When notifications go quiet on purpose
Atlassian Support notes that the app respects existing Jira permissions. If your Jira site uses work-item-level security schemes, Slack notifications aren't sent for work items with those restrictions. That's sensible for confidential work, but it can look like a fault if nobody knows the scheme exists. If one project's alerts never arrive, check for a security scheme before anything else.
Zapier and Microsoft Teams as other routes
Zapier lists templates for Jira Software Cloud and Slack, such as creating Jira issues from new Slack channel messages, creating issues from Slack reactions and sending Slack messages for updated Jira issues. It's the route for custom automations the native app doesn't cover. If your team uses Microsoft Teams instead, Atlassian documents a matching Jira Cloud integration for Teams, including Jira notifications there.
If you're weighing up the tools themselves, my guides to Jira alternatives and Slack alternatives cover the other options.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
My advice for a calm Jira channel
Get the admin switch sorted first, then subscribe each channel to one space with tight filters: the work item types and priorities that matter to that team, nothing more. Let individuals use /jira notify for their own items. A channel that only posts what people need is one they'll keep reading.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a native Jira and Slack integration?
Yes, the Jira Cloud for Slack app from the Slack App Directory.
How do I get Jira updates in a channel?
Type /jira connect in the channel, choose your site and space and set the filters.
Does it work in private channels?
Yes, after you invite @Jira to the channel.
Can I turn a Slack thread into a Jira record?
You can sync a thread so it becomes comments on a work item, or create a work item from a message.
Why can't I connect?
Your Jira site admin probably hasn't enabled the Slack integration yet.
