thimblewrightDateSync documentation
Set-up takes a minute: choose the levels and the date fields, then save.
How the dates are calculated
- A parent's Start date becomes the earliest Start date among its children.
- A parent's Due date becomes the latest Due date among its children.
- Children without a date are ignored. If no child has a date, the parent keeps its current dates. DateSync never clears a date.
- Only fields that change are written, so the issue history shows exactly what moved.
Settings
A Jira administrator opens Jira settings → Apps → DateSync for Jira.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Levels that roll up | Which parents get their dates from their children. Epic is on by default. Turn on the Task level to roll Tasks (and Stories, Bugs …) up from their sub-tasks. Levels above Epic, such as Initiative, appear here when your Jira plan has them. |
| Start date field | The date field DateSync treats as the start. Usually Start date. DateSync never creates fields. |
| Due date field | Usually the system Due date. |
| Only while children are not Done | Off: every child counts. On: children in a Done status are ignored, so the parent follows the open work. If every child is Done, the parent keeps its dates. |
When it updates
DateSync reacts when a child is created, when its start or due date changes, when it moves to another parent, and when it is deleted (and, with the Done rule on, when its status changes). The parent is updated about half a minute later; if that changes the parent's dates, its own parent follows, level by level. Jira itself can deliver change events up to a few minutes late, so a deep chain can take a few minutes.
Many changes at once, such as a bulk edit, are combined into one update per parent.
Dry run
Dry run lists every parent at the enabled levels with its current and computed dates and whether it would change, 50 rows per page, plus totals for all parents. It writes nothing. It lists only the parents you are allowed to see.
Backfill
Backfill applies the computed dates to every parent at the enabled levels, lowest level first so higher levels use the updated values. It asks for confirmation, shows progress and ends with a summary (updated, unchanged, skipped, failed). Only one backfill runs at a time. Changes cannot be undone automatically, so run a dry run first.
Last errors
If Jira refuses a write, for example because the Start date field is not on the parent's screen or the app lacks permission in a project, the parent is skipped and the error appears under Last errors (newest 20) with the issue, field, status and Jira's reason. Temporary Jira errors are retried automatically.
Good to know
- The field must be on the parent's screen. Otherwise that parent is skipped.
- Team-managed projects use their own "Start date" field if they have one, otherwise the field chosen in settings.
- Editing a parent's dates by hand isn't corrected until one of its children changes or you run a backfill.
- Sub-tasks are never parents.
- Levels above Epic need a Jira plan with custom hierarchy levels.
Uninstalling
Uninstall from Jira settings → Apps → Manage apps. Dates already written stay as they are.
Questions? See Support.