Jira time tracking integration — log hours against Jira issues

Connect Jira to SquadBear, search real issues from your timesheet, and log time against them. One-way and read-only — no worklog is written back.

SquadBear's Jira integration exists for one reason: so people can attach a real Jira issue to a time entry, found by a search picker rather than typed from memory. Nothing is mirrored or synced — an issue only becomes a task the moment someone logs hours against it.

What the Jira integration does

It lets you log time against Jira issues from your SquadBear timesheet. On My week, the Work items panel's Search tab queries connected Jira as you type: a key-shaped query like PLAT-123 is looked up directly, and anything else matches issue summaries updated in the last 90 days. Picking an issue drops it onto the grid as a task named after it and logs your hours. The first time anyone logs against an issue, SquadBear creates one task behind the scenes; logging against that same issue again — next week, from anyone on the project — reuses that one task, so per-issue totals accumulate instead of splitting.

If Jira is unreachable or a key doesn't surface in search, typing a key still offers "use PLAT-999 as issue key", so logging never blocks on the tracker being up.

How to connect Jira

Connecting is an admin task and takes a moment:

Go to Time Logging → Projects (admin only). Each tracker has an Integrations card.
On the Jira card, click Connect and fill the short credential form: your Site URL (https://yourcompany.atlassian.net), the email your Atlassian API token belongs to, and an API token (create one at id.atlassian.com under Security → API tokens).
SquadBear verifies the credentials against Jira before saving — wrong credentials come back as a rejection, not a silent failure — and stores the token encrypted.

To narrow a project to a single Jira project, set that project's issue-tracker scope to the Jira project key (e.g. PLAT). Full details are in Connect an issue tracker.

See issues assigned to you

The Work items panel's Assigned tab lists Jira issues assigned to you — once your Atlassian account is linked to your employee record. Linking is self-serve through a connected agent (or an admin can do it for you); until then the tab shows a "Link your account" prompt.

Log time against Jira with an assistant

With a connected assistant (Claude or ChatGPT over MCP), you can search and log against Jira in plain language:

What stays in sync

Only an issue's key and its cached title come from Jira, refreshed the next time someone logs against it. Nothing flows the other way — no worklog is ever written back, and status and assignee aren't stored beyond the live query the Assigned tab runs. Disconnecting hides the pickers and Assigned tab; every hour already logged stays on the timesheet.

Frequently asked questions

Does SquadBear write worklogs back to Jira?

No. The integration is one-way and read-only. SquadBear reads an issue's key and title so you can log time against it in SquadBear; nothing is ever written back to Jira, and status and assignee aren't stored.

What do I need to connect Jira?

Your Jira Site URL (https://yourcompany.atlassian.net), the email your Atlassian API token belongs to, and an API token created at id.atlassian.com under Security → API tokens. SquadBear verifies the credentials before saving and stores the token encrypted.

Can I limit a project to one Jira project?

Yes. A project's issue-tracker scope takes a Jira project key (for example PLAT), which narrows that project's issue picker to just that project's issues. A project with no scope searches the whole connected Jira.

What happens to logged time if I disconnect Jira?

Every hour already logged keeps its issue reference and stays on the timesheet exactly as logged. Disconnecting only hides the pickers and the Assigned tab.

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