Mergewell documentation
Public knowledge base source (https://greatwork.company/apps/mergewell).
What Mergewell does
Mergewell merges duplicate Jira work items and Jira Service Management requests into the one you keep (the target). For each duplicate it copies the description and comments, files, links and labels; adds its watchers, reporter and request participants so they keep getting updates; leaves a note and a Duplicate link on both sides; and closes the duplicate with the resolution Duplicate. Every merge has a preview first and Undo for 24 hours after.
Every step runs as you, with your Jira permissions.
Where to find it
- On a work item: "..." menu > Merge duplicates. Choose "Merge duplicates into this one" (similar items from the project are suggested) or "Merge this into another work item".
- In a service project: sidebar > Merge duplicates. Pick a queue to see groups of requests that look like the same problem.
- Anywhere: Apps > Mergewell. Find duplicates with any JQL, merge by key, and see your merge history.
- Admins: Jira settings > Apps > Mergewell.
Merging, step by step
- Pick the work item to keep and the duplicates (up to 20 at once by default).
- Choose what to copy. Defaults: one combined comment per duplicate, description, files, links, labels, watchers, people, close the duplicate, tell JSM customers.
- Press Preview. Check the table, the yellow "Check these first" box and the "Undo cannot reverse" box.
- Press Merge and keep the window open until it finishes (usually seconds; large files take longer). If you close it, open Apps > Mergewell > History and press Continue.
The switches
| Switch | What it does |
|---|---|
| Comments: combined | One comment per duplicate (split only if very long), each original shown with its author, time and whether it was an internal note. Watchers of the target get one email, not one per comment. |
| Comments: one by one | Each comment copied separately with "Originally by NAME on DATE, from KEY". |
| Copy the description | The duplicate's description arrives as an internal note on the target. |
| Copy attachments | Files up to your admin's size limit (default 20 MB). Larger ones are listed in the preview and stay on the duplicate. |
| Copy links | Links from the duplicate to other work items are recreated on the target. |
| Add labels | The duplicate's labels are added to the target. |
| Add watchers | The duplicate's watchers start watching the target. |
| Keep people informed | The duplicate's reporter and request participants become request participants on a JSM target, or watchers on any other target. |
| Close the duplicates | A Done transition that needs no extra fields, with resolution Duplicate when your site has it. |
| Tell JSM customers | A public reply on the duplicate: "We are handling this together with a matching request, KEY, and you have been added to it". Only posted when the customer really is on the target. |
| Keep public replies public | Off by default: on a JSM target, copied public replies become internal notes so one customer never sees another's messages. Turn on when the duplicates come from the same customer. |
Things Mergewell is careful about
- Mentions in copied comments become plain text, so copying a thread does not notify everyone in it again.
- Restricted comments (group or role) keep their restriction. If the target's project does not have that role, the comment is not copied and the step says so.
- Internal notes from a JSM request copied into a Jira Software work item: the preview warns that anyone who can see the target can read them.
- If a copy step fails for a duplicate, that duplicate is not closed and its customer is not told. Fix the cause and press Retry failed steps.
- People Jira refuses (for example, not customers of the target's service project) are counted in the step's result; everyone else is still added.
Undo
Open the merge (right after merging, or from History) and press Undo merge. Available for
24 hours by default (admins can set 1 to 168 hours), to the person who merged and to Jira
admins. Undo removes the copied comments and notes, files, links, labels, watchers and
participants the merge added, the Duplicate link and the mergewell mark, then reopens each
duplicate and adds a short "merge undone" note to it.
Undo cannot:
- unsend emails Jira already sent (to watchers, added people, and customers who got the public reply);
- erase Jira's own History entries;
- remove a comment someone edited after the merge (it is kept and listed);
- reopen a duplicate someone moved after the merge (it is left where they put it);
- always return to the exact old status: if the workflow has no transition straight back (common from Resolved), Mergewell uses the reopen transition and tells you where the item landed.
Finding merged items
Every merged duplicate carries an issue property, searchable with JQL:
mergedInto = HELP-12.
Admin settings
- Who may merge: empty means anyone; or pick groups (Jira admins can always merge). If a group is deleted, the admin page says so.
- Undo window, file size limit, duplicates per merge.
- Defaults for the switches.
- Audit log of every merge and undo, with a CSV view.
Limits
- Sub-tasks and child work items stay on the duplicate (the preview does not move them).
- Field values (custom fields, due dates, priority) are not merged.
- Copied comments are posted by you, because Jira does not let an app post as someone else.
- Up to 1,500 steps in one merge; use "combined" comments or fewer duplicates beyond that.