To create a new project, the easiest way is to select the Create Project menu option from the Projects drop-down menu from the top navigation bar. This will bring up the Create project dialog. Note that, as we explained, you need to be a JIRA Administrator (such as the user we created during installation) to create projects. This option is only available if you have the permission.
From the Create project dialog, select the template you want to use under the Business heading and click on Next. On the next page, JIRA will display pre-defined configurations for the template you have selected. In our example, we have selected the Task management template, so JIRA provides us with two issue types, and a very simple workflow with two steps. Click on the Select button to continue.
For the third and last step, we need to provide the new project's details. JIRA will help you validate the details, for example, by making sure that the project key conforms to the configured format. After filling in the project details, click on the Submit button to create the new project.
The following table lists the information you need to provide when creating a new project:
|
Field |
Description |
|
Name |
This is a unique name for the project. |
|
Key |
This is a unique identity key for the project. As you type the name of your project, JIRA will auto-fill the key based on the name, but you can replace the auto-generated key with one of your own. You will be able to change the key later. The project key will also become the first part of the issue key for issues created in the project. |
|
Project Lead |
The lead of the project can be used to auto-assign issues. Each project can have only one lead. This option is available only if you have more than one user in JIRA. |
Once you have created the new project, you will be taken to the Project Browser interface, which we will discuss in the forthcoming sections.
When creating new projects, you may find that the project key needs to be in a specific format and length. By default, the project key needs to adhere to the following criteria:
- It should contain at least two characters
- It cannot be more than 10 characters in length
- It should contain only characters, that is, no numbers
You can change the default format to have less restrictive rules.
First, to change the project key length, perform the following steps:
- Browse to the JIRA Administration console.
- Select the System tab and then the General configuration option.
- Click on the Edit Settings button.
- Change the value for the Maximum project key size option to a value between 2 and 255 (inclusive) and click on the Update button to apply the change.
Changing the project key format is a bit more complicated. JIRA uses a regular expression to define what the format should be. To change the project key format, use the following steps:
- Browse to the JIRA Administration console.
- Select the System tab and then the General configuration option.
- Click on the Advanced Settings button.
- Hover over and click on the
([A-Z][A-Z]+)value for the jira.projectkey.pattern option. For example, if you want to use numbers in your project key, you can use([A-Z][A-Z0-9]+). - Enter the new regular expression for the project key format and click on Update.
There are a few rules when it comes to setting the project key format:
- The key must start with a letter
- All letters must be uppercase, that is,
(A-Z) - Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character can be used
- The new pattern must be compatible with all existing projects