Featured image illustrating a step-by-step guide on syncing Jira to Trello through Unito, depicted by the connected logos through circles and dotted lines.

How to Quickly Sync Jira Issues to Trello Cards With 2-Way Updates

Published in Apps on , last updated .

If you’re planning to sync Jira issues with Trello cards in an automated 2-way integration, you’ve come to the right place. Many software development teams rely on Jira for its flexibility, time-keeping capability, live performance data updates and the transparency it provides to users.

Trello, meanwhile, is a more versatile project management tool for a wider range of departments. Trello cards are intentionally ambiguous so they can be used to represent tasks, contacts, events, deals, opportunities, leads, forms, and so much more. Unito can sync all of these work items between your tools.

This Unito integration for Jira and Trello has two goals:

  • Automatically create new Jira issues based on specific Trello cards and/or vice versa.
  • Keep our cards and issues in a two-way, real-time sync that updates as teams work on tickets and tasks. This ensures everyone has oversight on the latest development work in real-time without needing to switch between Trello and Jira. 
A Trello card synced to a Jira issue with Unito highlighting several synced fields including title, description, due date, and comments.
A Trello card synced to a Jira issue with Unito highlighting several synced fields including title, description, due date, and comments.
A Trello card synced to a Jira issue with Unito highlighting several synced fields including title, description, due date, and comments.
A Trello card synced to a Jira issue with Unito highlighting several synced fields including title, description, due date, and comments.
A Trello card synced to a Jira issue with Unito highlighting several synced fields including title, description, due date, and comments.
A Trello card synced to a Jira issue with Unito highlighting several synced fields including title, description, due date, and comments.

In this Trello Jira Integration Article

Watch this Trello Jira integration in action

Specific Requirements of this Trello Jira Integration

  • The Jira account connected to Unito must have administrator access with global permissions.
  • You’ll need to set your Jira contact email visibility to anyone from your Jira profile page.
  • Then, set up an application link in Jira so that your issues can sync to Trello cards.
Click here for the steps necessary to connect Jira to Unito
  • The Jira account connected to Unito must have administrator access with global permissions.
  • You’ll need to set your Jira contact email visibility to anyo
Jira profile page to change email contact visibility
Changing your Jira contact email visibility enables Unito to discover your account and sync Jira issues to Trello.

Step 1. Connect your Trello board and Jira project to Unito

  • Navigate to the Unito App and select +Create Flow.
  • Select Start Here to connect Trello and Jira.
  • Choose the accounts you want connected to Unito.

You’ll need to specify which account for each tool you wish to connect through Unito, as well as the Trello board and Jira project you need to sync.

See below for an example:

Connecting Trello and Jira to Unito to sync issues and tasks

When you’re ready, click Confirm.

Step 2. Set your Trello Jira flow direction

Your Unito flow lets you create work items (Trello cards or Jira issues) in either tool based on activity in the other.

Flow direction determines whether you want work items to be created in a destination tool based on activity in the source (1-way flow) or if both tools should be able to create work items in the other (2-way).

Either way, we’ll be able to set 2-way updates to any changes in our synced work items in step 4.

Choosing a flow direction in Unito between Trello and Jira
This is an example of a one-way flow from Trello to Jira. New Trello cards will create Jira issues but not vice versa. We’ll decide which Trello cards should turn into Jira issues in the next step.

Click Confirm when you’ve chosen a flow direction. 

Step 3. Set rules to keep specific cards, issues, tasks or tickets in sync

Now we can set up rules to determine which trigger events will create new Trello cards or Jira issues.

The default setting will automatically create new work items in your destination tool whenever work items are created manually in the source tool.

How are new Trello cards or Jira issues created? If you’ve chosen a one-way flow from Trello to Jira, you’ll see new Jira issues (or tasks) appear any time you create a new Trello card in your connected board.
You can be more precise about which cards should create Jira issues by adding triggers.

Select Add a new trigger to establish your rules for each directional flow.

You can apply custom labels to your issues or cards to be even more precise about what kind of data is shared.

Here’s a basic example of a flow designed to automatically create issues in Jira when a new card is manually created in Trello with a yellow label:

connect Trello with Jira rules

Here’s a more advanced set of rules to demonstrate some of Unito’s in-depth customizability:

example of rules set in Unito for an integration between Trello and Jira specifying which labels for Trello cards will create new Jira tasks automatically
example of rules set in Unito for an integration between Trello and Jira specifying which labels for Trello cards will create new Jira tasks automatically
example of rules set in Unito for an integration between Trello and Jira specifying which labels for Trello cards will create new Jira tasks automatically

In the above example, the user has told Unito to create new Jira issues as tasks based on open (unarchived) Trello cards created after January 1, 2023 in any of the lists mentioned above except for the “discussed/paused,” “New tasks and issues,” “v1,” or “Do not send to Jira” lists.

Those Jira tasks will then be kept in sync with their matching Trello cards based on the field mappings chosen in the next step.

Find out more about setting rules.

Step 4. Choose fields to keep in sync between Jira issues and Trello cards

This is where you can tell Unito which fields in Trello should sync with similar fields in Jira.

When you first open this screen, you’ll be presented with two options. If you select Auto-map, Unito will pre-populate a list of suggested field mappings which you can then adjust. If you know exactly how you want your fields mapped, Start from scratch

Learn more about field mappings between Trello and Jira.

Unito auto map
Your fields will be automatically mapped for two-way updates, but you can adjust them as needed. With a one-way sync between fields, only the destination field will update automatically when you make changes in the source field.

Click + Add mapping to add additional fields to be synced. To do so, click Select a field for each tool, and find the appropriate field to map.

After you’ve chosen a field in one tool, Unito will suggest compatible matches in the second tool when you click on the other drop-down menu. See below for an example:

Trello Jira field mapping selection
Trello Jira field mapping selection
Trello Jira field mapping selection

Selecting the gear icon beside a field will allow you to customize the values or statuses within those fields to further customize your flow.

In our demo, we have told the system to mark Trello cards as non-archived whenever their matching Jira issue is set as “to do” or “done” and vice versa, since this field is set to flow both ways. See below for an example:

connect Trello with Jira field mappings
connect Trello with Jira field mappings
connect Trello with Jira field mappings

Click Confirm when you’re satisfied with your field mappings to proceed.

Find out more about setting field mappings.

Step 5. Save and close

And that’s it! You’ve just synced Trello and Jira in a 2-way integration. Congratulations!

If you’ve followed the steps above, your flow will now: 

  • Create an issue in Jira when a new card is added in Trello and assigned a specific label.
  • Create a card in Trello when a new issue is created in Jira that meets certain criteria related to your Trello labels. 
  • Allow your teams to collaborate between Trello and Jira without having to switch tools, manually copy-paste project details, or request information from the other team about shared work.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know.

Ready for a more advanced Trello Jira workflow?

Here’s a framework you can use to a build a more advanced workflow between Trello and Jira. A workflow is what we call an integration with multiple Unito flows that all work in tandem. Check it out below:

Frequently Asked Questions about Unito’s Jira Trello Integration

Can Unito integrate Jira with Trello?

Yes! Unito can integrate Jira with Trello through our standalone sync platform, or embedded in Trello with our Board Sync Power-Up or our Jira app on the Atlassian marketplace.

How do I sync boards in Trello?

Here’s our guide to sync Trello cards between boards with Unito. Simply connect your boards to Unito, choose a flow direction, set rules, field mappings and launch!

How do I create a Jira ticket from Trello?

You can create Jira incident tickets, known as Jira issues, based on Trello cards by connecting one of your Jira projects and Trello boards to Unito and setting up flow with a one-way flow direction from Trello to Jira. The Jira integration guide above goes into more detail.

How do I power-up Jira in Trello?

Unito’s Board Sync Power-Up enables integrating Jira and Trello with Unito to link Jira issues to your project workflow. Unito supports Jira cloud, Jira Data Center, and Jira Service Management as well as many other incident and project management tools. Simply add the Power Up to your Trello board and create a flow by following the guide above to sync corresponding Trello cards.

How do I import data from Trello to Jira?

You can integrate Trello for importing card data into Jira or another preferred project management software is as easy as connecting your Trello account and Jira project to Unito. The easiest method for getting Trello to Jira is by setting your Unito flow direction to a one way synchronization from Trello to Jira. Then, whenever you create new Trello cards, Unito will create tickets in Jira automatically.

What can Trello sync with?

Unito can sync Jira, Trello, Asana, Wrike, Google Sheets, Airtable, Salesforce, GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Notion, ClickUp, Google Calendar, Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and many others. Here’s a full list of Unito’s integrations for project management tools.

What’s next after you sync Trello and Jira with Unito?