Clone Expert Migration Kit
Guides and recommendations for using Clone Expert in Jira Cloud migration scenarios.
Clone Expert migration principles
Clone Expert works with Jira work items that already exist in your Jira instance. The app does not migrate Jira data by itself and does not require a separate migration of app-specific template objects.
From the Clone Expert perspective, migration from Jira Data Center to Jira Cloud is usually straightforward: after your Jira work items are migrated to the Cloud instance, install Clone Expert for Jira Cloud and use it to clone the work items available in Jira Cloud.
This means that Clone Expert can be used in Jira Cloud in a similar way as in Jira Data Center, provided that the work items used by teams for cloning have been included in the Jira migration scope.
The most important preparation step is to identify which Jira work items are used as cloning templates or reusable structures by your teams. These may include template epics, tasks, stories, subtasks, onboarding structures, audit templates, test iteration templates, or any other work item sets that teams regularly clone.
Whether these work items are migrated depends on your Jira migration scope and on how your teams are configured to work with templates. For this reason, you should analyze template usage before migrating Jira work items and make sure that all relevant template work items are included in the migration process.
Key point
Clone Expert operates on Jira work items available in the target Jira Cloud instance. To continue using existing cloning templates after migration, make sure that the Jira work items used as templates are included in your Jira migration scope.
Cloud versus Data Center – features available
Clone Expert for Jira Data Center and Clone Expert for Jira Cloud support the main cloning scenarios, but feature availability may differ between hosting models.
Use the comparison below to check which capabilities are available in each version before planning or finalizing your migration. This helps identify whether teams rely on features that require additional review, configuration, or validation after moving to Jira Cloud.
| Feature | Data Center | Cloud |
| Clone the epic with children and subtasks | ✅ | ✅ |
| Clone any work item with children and subtasks | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bulk clone of any work items | ❌ | ✅ |
| Cloning subtasks | ✅ (to the same parent only) | ✅ |
| Clone single work items | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cloning child work items | ✅ | ✅ |
| Clone children to the existing parent (epic or any other) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Selecting the parent issue for the cloned epic or any other work item | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cross-project clone | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cloning attachments | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cloning links | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cloning watchers | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cloning comments | ✅ | ✅ |
| Clone strategy decision | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bulk edit before cloning (preview table) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Basic placeholders: custom, standard | ✅ | ✅ (standard placeholders as object placeholders) |
| Advanced placeholders: on-clone placeholders, object placeholders, function placeholders | ❌ | ✅ |
| Quick Clone | ✅ | ✅ |
| Clone multiple times | ✅ | ✅ |
| Adding a new issue on the cloning preview table | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cloning with a link | ✅ | ❌ |
| Worklog cloning | ❌ | ✅ |
| Jira Assets cloning (CMDB) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Date auto adjustment | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multiple language support | ❌ | ✅ |
Template checkbox custom field
In Clone Expert for Jira Data Center, the Template checkbox is a Jira custom field added automatically during app installation. It can be added to Jira screens and used to mark selected work items as templates.
Many teams use this field to identify template work items, build filters, create dashboards, or separate reusable template structures from regular work items.
During migration from Jira Data Center to Jira Cloud, this custom field should be included in the Jira configuration and data migration scope. The field should be migrated together with its values so that work items marked as templates in Data Center remain marked as templates in Jira Cloud.
The field should also be available on the same relevant screens, projects, and work item types in Jira Cloud as it was in Jira Data Center. This helps teams continue working with template work items in a familiar way after migration.
Important
If filters, dashboards, boards, reports, or automation rules are based on the Template checkbox field, make sure they are reviewed after migration. The custom field ID may change in Jira Cloud, so JQL queries or configurations that reference the field by ID may need to be updated.
Migration validation checklist
This validation should be performed after Jira work item migration has been completed and confirmed as successful. At this stage, the template work items and reusable structures used by teams should already be available in the target Jira Cloud instance.
Clone Expert does not migrate Jira data by itself. The purpose of this validation is to confirm that the migrated Jira work items, project configuration, permissions, and placeholder setup allow teams to continue using Clone Expert for Jira Cloud as expected.
If Jira work item migration has not been completed successfully, resolve migration issues first. Clone Expert validation should not be used to compensate for missing projects, missing work items, incomplete hierarchies, or incorrect Jira configuration.
Recommended validation sequence
| Step | Validation area | What to verify |
| 1 | Confirm Jira migration success | Confirm that Jira work item migration has been completed and accepted as successful. Template work items, reusable structures, parent-child relationships, and subtasks should already be available in Jira Cloud before Clone Expert validation starts. |
| 2 | Confirm template work item availability | Check whether the work items used by teams as cloning templates were included in the Jira migration scope. This may include template epics, stories, tasks, subtasks, onboarding templates, audit templates, testing templates, or other reusable work item structures. |
| 3 | Confirm project configuration | Verify that the relevant Jira Cloud projects, work item types, workflows, screens, fields, required fields, and field contexts are configured correctly. This should normally be part of the standard Jira Data Center to Cloud migration validation. |
| 4 | Validate Template checkbox custom field | If the Template checkbox custom field was used in Jira Data Center, confirm that it was migrated to Jira Cloud together with its values. Check that work items marked as templates in Data Center are still marked as templates in Jira Cloud. |
| 5 | Validate Template checkbox configuration and related objects | Confirm that the Template checkbox field is available on the relevant Jira Cloud screens, projects, work item types, and field contexts. Review filters, dashboards, boards, reports, and automation rules that depend on this field. If any JQL queries or configurations reference the old Data Center custom field ID, update them to use the correct Jira Cloud field. |
| 6 | Confirm permissions | Verify that users have the required permissions in Jira Cloud to access template work items and create cloned work items in target projects. Permissions should be aligned with the intended setup after migration and, where applicable, with the permissions used in Jira Data Center. |
| 7 | Confirm Clone Expert Cloud installation | Confirm that Clone Expert for Jira Cloud is installed in the target Jira Cloud instance and available to the users or groups that should perform cloning operations. |
| 8 | Validate placeholder setup, if used | If teams used placeholders in Jira Data Center, verify that placeholder migration actions have been completed before test cloning. Standard placeholders should be updated to the Cloud placeholder syntax. Custom placeholders should be recreated in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud settings and used in template work items with the correct Cloud syntax. |
| 9 | Validate custom placeholders configuration | For instances where custom placeholders were used in Data Center, go to App Settings → Placeholders in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud and confirm that equivalent custom placeholders have been created with the correct names and values. |
| 10 | Validate placeholder syntax in template work items | Check migrated template work items and confirm that placeholders use the correct Cloud syntax with double curly braces. Standard placeholders should follow the Cloud semantic syntax, for example {{originalIssue.summary}} or {{project.key}}. Custom placeholders should match the names configured in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud, for example {{ClientName}}. |
| 11 | Run test cloning | Select representative template work items and perform test cloning. The selected test cases should reflect the main cloning scenarios used by teams in Jira Data Center. |
| 12 | Verify cloning results | Review the cloned work items and confirm that cloning was completed correctly. Check hierarchy, parent-child relationships, subtasks, field values, dates, links, attachments, comments, required fields, Template checkbox value if relevant, and placeholder values. |
| 13 | Confirm business acceptance | Ask template owners or key users to review the cloned results and confirm that the output matches the expected business process. |
Placeholder validation checklist
If placeholders were used in Jira Data Center, verify the following before running test clones:
- All standard placeholders used in template work items were identified.
- Data Center standard placeholder syntax was updated to Cloud placeholder syntax.
- Custom placeholders configured in Clone Expert for Jira Data Center were documented before migration.
- Equivalent custom placeholders were created in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud under App Settings → Placeholders.
- Custom placeholder names used in template work items match the names configured in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud.
- All placeholders in migrated template work items use double curly braces, for example
{{ClientName}}. - Standard Cloud placeholders use the correct semantic syntax, for example
{{originalIssue.summary}},{{project.key}}, or{{now.jiraDate}}. - Custom field placeholders use the correct Jira Cloud custom field IDs.
Placeholders migration
Clone Expert for Jira Data Center and Clone Expert for Jira Cloud use different placeholder mechanisms. Before migrating templates from Data Center to Cloud, check whether your teams use placeholders in Jira work items used as templates.
In Clone Expert for Jira Data Center, placeholders can be used in two ways:
- Standard placeholders – predefined placeholders available in Clone Expert, such as
{SUMMARY},{DATE},{PROJECT_KEY}, or{CUSTOM_FIELD_12345}. - Custom placeholders – placeholders manually configured by Jira administrators in Clone Expert settings as reusable syntax-value pairs.
Each type requires a different migration action.
Standard placeholders used in Jira Data Center are not converted automatically during migration. After migration, they should be mapped to Cloud object placeholders. This requires replacing the Data Center placeholder syntax with single curly braces, such as {SUMMARY} or {PROJECT_KEY}, with Cloud object placeholder syntax using double curly braces, such as {{originalIssue.summary}} or {{project.key}}.
Custom placeholders must be identified in the Data Center configuration before migration and recreated manually in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud. After they are recreated in Cloud, update the template work items so that they use the Cloud custom placeholder syntax with double curly braces.
For this reason, your migration plan should include a dedicated placeholder review. Before migrating, identify which Data Center standard placeholders and custom placeholders are used in template work items. After migration, update the placeholder syntax in the migrated templates and recreate required custom placeholders in the Clone Expert Cloud configuration.
Important: Placeholder syntax is not automatically converted during Jira migration.
If migrated templates still contain placeholders written in the Data Center placeholder syntax, Clone Expert for Jira Cloud will not resolve them during cloning. They will remain visible in cloned work items as plain text.
Standard placeholders migration steps
Standard placeholders used in Jira Data Center should be mapped to Cloud object placeholders. This means replacing the Data Center placeholder syntax with single curly braces, such as {SUMMARY} or {PROJECT_KEY}, with Cloud object placeholder syntax using double curly braces, such as {{originalIssue.summary}} or {{project.key}}.
1. Check whether Data Center placeholders are used
Before migrating work items to Jira Cloud, review Jira work items that are used as templates and cloned by users with Clone Expert for Jira.
Check fields where placeholders may have been added, especially:
- Summary
- Description
- Environment
- Text custom fields
- etc.
Look for placeholders written in the Data Center placeholder syntax:
{SUMMARY} |
{CURRENT_USER_NAME} |
{PROJECT_NAME} |
{DESCRIPTION} |
{ASSIGNEE_ACCOUNT_ID} |
{ORIGINAL_ESTIMATE} |
{PARENT_ID} |
{ASSIGNEE_NAME} |
{DATE} |
{PARENT_KEY} |
{ORIGINAL_REPORTER_ACCOUNT_ID} |
{TIME} |
{PARENT_SUMMARY} |
{ORIGINAL_REPORTER_NAME} |
{DATETIME} |
{PARENT_DESCRIPTION} |
{PROJECT_ID} |
{CUSTOM_FIELD_12345} |
{CURRENT_USER_ACCOUNT_ID} |
{PROJECT_KEY} |
If these placeholders are present, plan to update them to the Cloud placeholder syntax after migration.
2. Migrate work items to Jira Cloud
Migrate Jira work items according to your standard Jira migration process.
Placeholders stored in Jira fields are migrated as part of the work item content. Clone Expert does not automatically convert Data Center placeholder syntax to Cloud placeholder syntax during migration.
After migration, review the migrated templates and update placeholder syntax where needed.
3. Replace Data Center placeholders with Cloud placeholders
Use the mapping below to update placeholders in migrated templates.
| Data Center placeholder syntax | Cloud placeholder syntax |
{SUMMARY} |
{{originalIssue.summary}} |
{DESCRIPTION} |
{{adfToWikimarkup issue.description}} |
{PARENT_ID} |
{{originalIssue.parent.id}} |
{PARENT_KEY} |
{{originalIssue.parent.key}} |
{PARENT_SUMMARY} |
{{originalIssue.parent.summary}} |
{PARENT_DESCRIPTION} |
{{originalIssue.parent.description}} |
{CURRENT_USER_ACCOUNT_ID} |
{{user.accountId}} |
{CURRENT_USER_NAME} |
{{user.displayName}} |
{ASSIGNEE_ACCOUNT_ID} |
{{originalIssue.assignee.accountId}} |
{ASSIGNEE_NAME} |
{{originalIssue.assignee.displayName}} |
{ORIGINAL_REPORTER_ACCOUNT_ID} |
{{originalIssue.reporter.accountId}} |
{ORIGINAL_REPORTER_NAME} |
{{originalIssue.reporter.displayName}} |
{PROJECT_ID} |
{{project.id}} |
{PROJECT_KEY} |
{{project.key}} |
{PROJECT_NAME} |
{{project.name}} |
{ORIGINAL_ESTIMATE} |
{{originalIssue.timetracking.originalEstimate}} |
{DATE} |
{{now.jiraDate}} |
{TIME} |
{{now.shortTime}} |
{DATETIME} |
{{now.jqlDateTime}} |
{CUSTOM_FIELD_12345} |
{{originalIssue.customfield_67890}} |
4. Review and map custom field placeholders
If your Data Center templates use custom field placeholders, update them to the Cloud placeholder syntax, and ensure each custom field ID is mapped correctly.
In the Data Center placeholder syntax, the number in the placeholder represents the Jira custom field ID.
Example:
{CUSTOM_FIELD_12345}
In this example, 12345 is the ID of the custom field in the Data Center instance.
After migration to Jira Cloud, the same custom field may have a different ID in the target Cloud instance. Do not copy the old Data Center field ID automatically. First, check the corresponding custom field ID in Jira Cloud and then use that Cloud field ID in the Cloud placeholder syntax.
| Data Center placeholder syntax | What to check after migration | Cloud placeholder syntax |
{CUSTOM_FIELD_12345} |
Check which custom field in Jira Cloud corresponds to the Data Center custom field with ID 12345. |
{{originalIssue.customfield_67890}} |
In the example above, 12345 is the custom field ID from Jira Data Center, while 67890 represents the corresponding custom field ID in Jira Cloud.
The exact Cloud ID depends on how the custom field was migrated or recreated in the target Jira Cloud instance.
Before updating placeholders, prepare a simple mapping table between Data Center custom fields and Cloud custom fields.
| Data Center custom field name | Data Center custom field ID | Cloud custom field name | Cloud custom field ID |
| Example custom field | customfield_12345 |
Example custom field | customfield_67890 |
After the mapping is confirmed, replace the Data Center placeholder with the Cloud placeholder using the correct Cloud custom field ID.
| Before migration / Data Center placeholder syntax | After migration / Cloud placeholder syntax |
{CUSTOM_FIELD_12345} |
{{originalIssue.customfield_67890}} |
Make sure that the custom field exists in the target Jira Cloud instance, has the expected type, and is available in the relevant project and work item type context.
5. Validate updated templates
After updating placeholders to the Cloud placeholder syntax:
- Open the migrated template work item.
- Start the cloning process with Clone Expert.
- Open the placeholders panel in the clone window.
- Check whether placeholders are detected correctly.
- Create a test clone.
- Confirm that all placeholder values are resolved as expected.
This validation is especially important for shared, business-critical, or frequently reused templates.
Example
Before migration, using Data Center placeholder syntax:
Prepare project setup for {PROJECT_NAME} - {DATE}
After migration, using Cloud placeholder syntax:
Prepare project setup for {{project.name}} - {{now.jiraDate}}
Before migration, using Data Center placeholder syntax:
Original task: {SUMMARY}
After migration, using Cloud placeholder syntax:
Original task: {{originalIssue.summary}}
Custom placeholders migration
Custom placeholders in Clone Expert for Jira Data Center are placeholders configured manually by Jira administrators in the app settings. They are defined as reusable syntax-value pairs and can be used in multiple template work items.
Custom placeholder configuration is not migrated automatically from Clone Expert for Jira Data Center to Clone Expert for Jira Cloud. If your teams use custom placeholders in Data Center, include them in your migration analysis.
Before migration, review the custom placeholders configured in Clone Expert for Jira Data Center and document their syntax and values.
After migration, recreate the required custom placeholders manually in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud configuration.
In Clone Expert for Jira Cloud, custom placeholders are managed globally by Jira administrators in:
App Settings → Placeholders
After recreating the custom placeholders in Cloud, update the migrated template work items so that they use the Cloud custom placeholder syntax with double curly braces.
| Data Center custom placeholder | Data Center value | Cloud custom placeholder | Migration action |
{CLIENT_NAME} |
Client name used in templates | {{ClientName}} |
Recreate the placeholder in Clone Expert Cloud and update the template content. |
{SPOC_EMAIL} |
Standard contact email | {{SpocEmail}} |
Recreate the placeholder in Clone Expert Cloud and update the template content. |
{COMPANY_SIGNATURE} |
Standard company signature | {{CompanySignature}} |
Recreate the placeholder in Clone Expert Cloud and update the template content. |
Example before migration, using Data Center custom placeholder syntax:
Main contact: {SPOC_EMAIL}
Example after migration, using Cloud custom placeholder syntax:
Main contact: {{SpocEmail}}
When a user starts cloning a template in Jira Cloud, Clone Expert detects placeholders used in the template. If a placeholder matches a configured Cloud custom placeholder, its value is prefilled during cloning.
The user can change the value for a single cloning operation if needed, but this does not change the global custom placeholder value configured in Clone Expert Cloud.
To learn more about Cloud custom placeholders, see the custom placeholders documentation.
Important
Updating the syntax in template work items is not enough for custom placeholders. Custom placeholders must also be recreated in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud configuration. If a Cloud custom placeholder is not configured, Clone Expert will treat it as a regular on-clone placeholder instead of using a predefined global value.
Rollback and post-migration considerations
Clone Expert does not perform a separate data migration. The app works with Jira work items and Jira configuration available in the target Jira Cloud instance.
This means there is no separate Clone Expert migration process that needs to be rolled back. If Jira projects, project configuration, permissions, custom fields, screens, and work items are migrated correctly, Clone Expert for Jira Cloud should be able to operate on the migrated work items.
From the Clone Expert perspective, the key requirement is that the work items used as templates and the Jira configuration required to clone them are available and correctly configured in Jira Cloud.
Important
Clone Expert validation should be performed after the Jira migration has been completed and confirmed as successful. If projects, work items, custom fields, screens, permissions, or other Jira configuration elements were not migrated correctly, these issues should be handled as part of the Jira migration process.
Placeholder-related risks
For Jira instances where Clone Expert placeholders were used in Data Center, the main post-migration risk is that not all placeholders were identified before migration or that they were not correctly mapped to the Cloud placeholder syntax.
If placeholders remain in the Data Center syntax, Clone Expert for Jira Cloud will not resolve them during cloning. They may remain visible in cloned work items as plain text.
If this happens, identify the affected placeholders in migrated template work items and update them according to the Cloud placeholder syntax.
This may include:
- mapping standard Data Center placeholders to Cloud object placeholders,
- mapping custom field placeholders to the correct Jira Cloud custom field IDs,
- recreating custom placeholders in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud configuration,
- updating template work item content to use the Cloud syntax with double curly braces.
After the placeholder configuration and syntax are corrected, run a test clone to confirm that placeholder values are resolved correctly.
Template checkbox custom field risk
Another risk is related to the Template checkbox custom field, if it was used in Jira Data Center to mark work items as templates.
This field should be migrated to Jira Cloud together with its values and should remain available on the relevant screens, projects, work item types, and field contexts.
If filters, dashboards, boards, reports, or automation rules were based on the Template checkbox field, they should be reviewed after migration.
The custom field ID may change after migration to Jira Cloud. If a saved filter or JQL query still references the old Data Center custom field ID, it may return incorrect results or no results at all. As a consequence, dashboards, reports, boards, or other objects based on that filter may also present incorrect data.
If this happens, update the affected filters or JQL queries so that they reference the correct Template checkbox custom field in Jira Cloud.
Recommended corrective actions
| Issue | Recommended action |
| Template work items are missing in Jira Cloud | Confirm whether the projects or work items used as templates were included in the Jira migration scope. If needed, migrate or recreate the missing template work items. |
| Clone Expert cannot clone expected work items | Check Jira Cloud permissions, project configuration, required fields, screens, workflows, and field contexts. |
| Placeholders remain unresolved after cloning | Identify placeholders still using the Data Center syntax and update them to the correct Cloud placeholder syntax. |
| Custom placeholders are not prefilled during cloning | Confirm that equivalent custom placeholders were recreated in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud under App Settings → Placeholders and that template work items use matching Cloud placeholder names. |
| Custom field placeholders resolve incorrect values or fail | Verify that the placeholder references the correct Jira Cloud custom field ID. |
| Filters based on the Template checkbox return incorrect results | Update the affected JQL filters so that they reference the correct Template checkbox custom field in Jira Cloud. |
| Dashboards, boards, or reports show incorrect template data | Review the filters used by those objects and correct references to the Template checkbox field or other migrated custom fields. |
Migration readiness summary
Clone Expert for Jira Cloud can be considered ready for use after migration when the following conditions are met:
- Jira work item migration has been completed and confirmed as successful.
- Projects, work item types, workflows, screens, fields, field contexts, and permissions are correctly configured in Jira Cloud.
- Work items used as templates or reusable structures are available in Jira Cloud.
- The Template checkbox custom field was migrated together with its values, if it was used in Jira Data Center.
- Filters, dashboards, boards, reports, and automation rules based on the Template checkbox field were reviewed and updated if needed.
- Standard placeholders were mapped to Cloud object placeholders, if used.
- Custom placeholders were recreated in Clone Expert for Jira Cloud configuration, if used.
- Custom field placeholders use the correct Jira Cloud custom field IDs.
- Representative template work items were cloned successfully in Jira Cloud.
- Template owners or key users confirmed that cloned results match the expected business process.
If all items above are confirmed, teams can continue using Clone Expert for Jira Cloud on migrated Jira work items and templates.