Change username

[Carsten Beck-Astrup]

I need to change the username for some users, which can not be changed using the admin interface. I have database access (Oracle). Which tables should i look into for making this change?

We use JIRA 4.4.5 (and are upgrading to 5.2.x soon on our server).

Note: Is there a reason for not chaging the username?

Kind regards

Carsten

[Vishnukumar Vasudevan · Accepted solution]

You can easily change username using the script runner plugin. Ref : https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/com.onresolve.jira.groovy.groovyrunner

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

That doesn't really "rename" it, but it'll have the desired effect.

I'd highly recommend it on it's own merits, but I have to recommend it again over messing with the database. The reasons for not changing a username are simple - it's used as a primary piece of information in many places and it's a nightmare to edit them. I think I worked out you need to hit up to 18 places (different columns in different database tables). It also potentially messes up audit trails

[JohnA]

Hi Carsten,

I really wouldn't recommend that you change the username through the database because there are too many places that it can go wrong, so that really isn't the way to go. So, by far the safest and most reliable method is to perform the steps outlined below:

1. Create an XML Backup
2. Execute a global find and replace for the username
3. Restore JIRA with the new backup

However, as you are upgrading to 5.2 soon this be the perfect oppotunity to change the usernames at the same time, (assuming you perform the upgrade using the XML export/import route). Essentially the process I'm suggesting would require that you configure a new instance of 5.2, export your data from the current instance and process it as described above, then import it into the newly installed instance of 5.2.

Once the data has been transferred and the usernames have been fixed, you can follow the instructions in this document to restore your configurations from the old to the new instance: https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/JIRA/Upgrading+JIRA+Manually#UpgradingJIRAManually-3.PerformingtheUpgrade

Unfortunately this is the only reliable solution I can suggest to you at this time, although we do have an open feature request to ask that our developers provide the in-app functionality to change usernames in JIRA, so I would suggest that you watch/vote/comment on that ticket to make our developers aware of your interest in this functionality, (you might also find some user solutions in that ticket but I can't recommend any of them): https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRA-1549

You can also see this knowledge base article, which documents a solution that involves creating a new user with the desired username and then using the bulk change function to change the assignee and reporter but this solution won't allow you to change the username for any comments, filters, dashboards, notifications etc: https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/JIRA/Changing+Usernames+in+JIRA

All the best,
John