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Authorization

Follow this guide to create a new Jira Feeds credential that will allow Nexla to authenticate to and exchange data with your Jira Cloud instance.
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Jira Feeds

Prerequisites​

The Jira Feeds connector uses Basic Authentication with an Atlassian API token. Before creating a credential in Nexla, you will need to gather the following information from your Jira Cloud account.

Your Jira Cloud URL​

Your Jira Cloud site URL follows the format https://<your-company>.atlassian.net. This URL is visible in your browser whenever you are logged in to Jira Cloud. Note the full URL — you will enter it without a trailing slash when configuring the Nexla credential.

Your Jira Username​

Your username is the email address associated with your Atlassian account. This is the same address you use to log in to Jira.

Generate an Atlassian API Token​

Rather than using your account password, Nexla authenticates using a personal API token. API tokens are scoped to your account and provide the same access permissions as your Jira account.

To generate an API token:

  1. Log in to your Atlassian account at https://id.atlassian.com.

  2. In the top navigation, click your profile avatar, then select Manage your account.

  3. Select the Security tab in your account settings.

  4. Under the API tokens section, click Create and manage API tokens.

  5. Click the Create API token button.

  6. Enter a descriptive label for the token in the Label field — for example, Nexla Integration — so you can identify its purpose later.

  7. Click Create.

  8. Copy the generated API token immediately and store it in a secure location such as a password manager.

Important

The API token is only shown once. Atlassian does not store the token value, and you cannot retrieve it again after dismissing the dialog. If you lose the token, you will need to revoke it and generate a new one.

For more information on managing Atlassian API tokens, see the Atlassian support documentation.

Required Permissions​

The API token inherits the permissions of the Atlassian account that generated it. To ensure Nexla can access all required Jira data feeds, the account used to generate the token should have:

  • Browse Projects permission on all projects you want Nexla to access.
  • View Development Tools and View Read-Only Workflow permissions if you need to access certain agile data (boards and sprints).
  • Membership in the relevant Jira groups or project roles to view issues, components, versions, and users.

For broad ELT use cases, Atlassian recommends using a dedicated service account or integration account with appropriate project-level access rather than a personal user account.

Create a Jira Feeds Credential​

  • To create a new Jira Feeds credential, after selecting the data source type, click the Add Credential tile to open the Add New Credential overlay.

Credential Name & Description​

  1. Enter a name for the credential in the Credential Name field and a short, meaningful description in the Credential Description field.

    Resource descriptions are recommended but are not required. They should be used to provide information about the resource purpose, data freshness, etc. that can help the owner and other users efficiently understand and utilize the resource.

JIRA API Token Authentication​

This connector uses Basic Authentication, combining your Jira username (email address) with a personal API token. Nexla transmits these credentials over HTTPS using Base64 encoding as required by the Atlassian Cloud REST API.

  1. Enter the full URL of your Jira Cloud instance in the JIRA Software URL field. This must be the complete base URL with no trailing slash.

    • Format: https://<your-company>.atlassian.net
    • Example: https://acme.atlassian.net

  2. Enter the email address associated with your Atlassian account in the Username field. This is the email address you use to log in to Jira Cloud.

  3. Enter the API token you generated in the Prerequisites section above in the API Token field. This token is used as the password component of Basic Authentication and authenticates Nexla's requests to the Jira Cloud REST API.

    The API token is treated as a secret credential and is stored securely by Nexla. For security best practices, use a dedicated integration account rather than a personal account, and rotate your API token periodically.

Save the Credential​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Save button at the bottom of the overlay to save the configured credential.

  2. The newly added credential will now appear in a tile on the Authenticate screen during data source creation and can be selected for use with a new data source.