Switching · Approval Flow
Switching from Approval Path to Approval Flow
Approval Flow for Jira 3.0.0 is the production version (30 October 2026). Last updated 20 October 2026. On the Atlassian Marketplace.
Open approvals: one dry run and one import. Past history: export, paste, dry run, import. The other app is only read, never changed, the dry run writes nothing, and every import run can be undone.
What moves
#- The people Approval Path still waits for, read from the work items: choose On the work items (read in place), Approval Path, a JQL and Also carry over pending approvals; one dry run and one Import create the open requirements in Approval Flow.
- The activity history from Approval Path's Activity tab (CSV download), as labelled imported history. Check in the dry run that the person column is the one who decided. This part is built from Approval Path's documentation and has not yet been tried with a real Activity export; carrying over open approvals was tried on 17 October 2026 on our own test site with a test build.
What does not move
#- Approval Path's approval path definitions: they are not readable by other apps. Set them up with Approval Flow's policies, stages and rules.
Before you start
#For the history, download the CSV from Approval Path's Activity tab.
How
#In Jira settings, Apps, open Switch to Approval Flow. For open approvals, choose On the work items, Approval Path, a JQL and carry-over; for history, choose In an exported file (CSV), Approval Path, and paste the file. Click Dry run, then Import.
Optional: Also carry over pending approvals turns the people still pending into a Required Approval Flow requirement on that work item, so in-flight approvals continue here. With All of the pending people, every one of them must sign; the dry run says how many requirements it will create.
Run both side by side
#Approval Flow never changes Approval Path. Try one project first. Imported records appear on each work item under Imported history, marked "Imported, not verified by Approval Flow", with the app, the import run, who imported them and when. They are history, not sign-offs: they do not satisfy a requirement, the workflow gate, the Approval status field or the certificate, and the Approval Flow audit chain records that the import happened, not the decisions themselves.
Roll back
#Every import run can be undone from the same page. Importing the same data again adds nothing twice. Requirements created by carry-over stay after an undo, so in-flight approvals are not lost.
Who can do it
#Jira administrators, in every edition.
More on Approval Flow: documentation, comparison with other apps.
Common questions
#Does the import change Approval Path?
No. Approval Flow only reads what Approval Path left behind and never changes it, so both apps can run side by side while you compare.
Can I see what will be imported before anything is written?
Yes. Every path starts with a dry run that writes nothing and shows what would be imported and what would be skipped.
Can I undo an import?
Yes. Every import run can be undone, and running the same import again adds nothing twice.
Do imported approvals count as sign-offs?
No. They are kept as labelled imported history and never count as a sign-off, toward the workflow gate or in the approval certificate.
Who can run the switch?
Jira administrators, in every edition.
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