Import & exportImport from Jira, export story points back

SmartPlanning imports files, not API connections. That sounds old-fashioned, but it has real advantages: it works with every tracker, with self-hosted Jira behind a VPN, and without asking an administrator to approve an app. The file is read in your browser; only the tasks you choose are added to the room.

1. Export the tasks from your tracker as CSV or Excel — one sprint, one filter, one epic.
2. Open the session window in your room and click the Import icon next to the task counter.
3. Drop the file — or paste cells copied from a spreadsheet. Supported: .csv .tsv .txt .xlsx .xls .ods, up to 10 MB.
4. Check the columns. Exports from Jira, Azure DevOps, YouTrack and Linear are recognised automatically; for anything else, pick the title column and, optionally, the key, description, estimate and link.
5. Tick the tasks and add them. Up to 200 tasks per import.

What happens to your tasks

• Keys become chips. Every task keeps its key — PROJ-123 — next to the title, and it links back to the tracker when a link is known.
• Already estimated tasks start unticked. If the file has story points for a task, or the same task is already in the session, it’s left out unless you tick it.
• Descriptions are optional. Untick Import descriptions if your tickets are long; very long ones are trimmed to 5,000 characters.

Menu names change from release to release; the paths below are current as of October 2026.

Jira Cloud

1. Open Filters → Search work items (or View all issues) and switch to JQL. Select the tasks to estimate, for example:
   project = PROJ AND sprint in futureSprints() ORDER BY Rank
   or only the unestimated ones: project = PROJ AND "Story Points" IS EMPTY AND statusCategory = "To Do"
2. Make sure the list shows Key, Summary and, if you like, Description and Story Points.
3. Click Export (top right) → Export CSV (current fields) or Export Excel CSV.
4. Drop the file into SmartPlanning. Fill in Jira address once (https://yourcompany.atlassian.net) — every key becomes a link to its issue. The address is remembered in your browser.

Team-managed projects call the field Story point estimate; both names are recognised. Exports in other interface languages — for example Russian “Ключ задачи” and “Тема” — are recognised too.

Jira Data Center and Server

1. Open Issues → Search for issues and run your JQL.
2. Click Export → CSV (Current fields), or Excel (Current fields).
3. Drop the file into SmartPlanning. The “Excel” file Jira Data Center produces is really an HTML table with an .xls extension — that’s fine, it’s read as is.

Because nothing connects to your Jira, it doesn’t matter that it sits behind a VPN.

Azure DevOps

1. Go to Boards → Queries and run a query for your iteration, for example Iteration Path = @CurrentIteration + 1.
2. Use Column options to show ID, Work Item Type, Title and, optionally, Story Points and Description.
3. Open the ⋯ menu → Export to CSV.
4. Drop the file into SmartPlanning — Azure DevOps export is detected and the ID becomes the task key.

Google Sheets and Excel

Two ways. Download the sheet — File → Download → Comma-separated values (.csv) or Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) — and drop it in; workbooks with several sheets let you choose the sheet. Or simply select the cells and paste them into the import dialog: copied cells keep their columns, so a pasted table goes through the same column matching as a file. A single column of titles turns into one task per line.

YouTrack, Linear and others

Export the issue list as CSV — YouTrack and Linear exports are recognised automatically. For any other tool, export or copy a table with at least a title column and match the columns by hand; it takes ten seconds.

When the session is done, open the task window (the full list of the session’s tasks) and click the Export icon next to the task counter. Choose CSV or Excel. Export is available to the facilitator.

The file contains one row per task, in session order:

• Columns: Key, Title, Link, Final estimate, Status, Votes, Average, Median, Consensus — plus one column per estimation argument with its average score. Votes come from the final round of each task; ☕ marks a coffee card.
• Excel keeps links clickable and sizes the columns. CSV is UTF-8, comma-separated — the format trackers import most reliably.
• Skipped and unestimated tasks are included with their status, so the file is a complete record of the meeting.

A few tasks: click through

Open the Excel export. Every key is a link — click it, type the number into Story Points, close the tab. For up to ten tasks this is the fastest way.

A whole session: bulk edit by value (recommended)

A session rarely uses more than four or five distinct estimates, so you only need that many bulk edits:

1. Sort the export by Final estimate and copy the keys of all tasks with the same value.
2. In Jira, search with JQL: key in (PROJ-12, PROJ-31, PROJ-40)
3. Choose ⋯ → Bulk change (Jira Data Center: Tools → Bulk change), select all, Edit, tick Story Points, enter the value, confirm.
4. Repeat for the next value: 3, 5, 8…

Jira’s CSV importer: possible, but careful

Jira can also update existing issues from a CSV file, but it’s easy to get wrong: you need admin rights, the issue key must be mapped correctly, and fields you leave out of the file may be reset. If you go this way, test on two or three issues first. For most teams the bulk edit above is safer and just as quick.

Azure DevOps

Run a query with ID In (1201, 1205, 1210), select the work items, right-click → Edit, set Story Points and save — again, one pass per value. Azure DevOps can also update existing work items from a CSV that includes the ID column (Boards → Work items → Import from CSV).