How can I create custom fields at the project level so that they are also visible in the UI?

[Gaurav Oberoi]

For better tracking of my projects, I want to create custom fields at the project level (not tied to any work item or issue type). These fields should be:

• Visible in the project’s UI (so they can be viewed and edited directly on the project screen).

• Accessible via API calls for reporting and integration purposes.

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Gaurav Oberoi 

Welcome to the Atlassian community.

Jira doe not offer that type of functionality natively.

There are third party apps that might work for you:

Projectrak - Take control of your projects in Jira | Atlassian Marketplace 

Project Properties for Jira Cloud

Project Properties & Attributes for Jira

Advanced Project Properties

I have not used any of those so I cannot say definitively if they meet your requirements.

[Gaurav Oberoi]

Does these 3rd party app, provides APIs? I need to populate and read these values programmatically as well.

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Gaurav Oberoi 

As I said, I have not used any of those apps. I don't know the answer to your question. 

You can review the documentation supplied by each app vendor to find out if it meets your requirements, or contact their support teams to ask that question. Documentation links and support contact information are provided in the Atlassian Marketplace listing for each app, which are the links I provided in my response above.

[Jira Admin]

Thanks for your response.

[Kar Atlassway]

Hi @Gaurav Oberoi ,

Jira doesn’t currently support custom fields directly at the project level , fields are always tied to issues .
For API-based tracking, you can use project properties, which store key value data but don’t appear in the UI.
If you need fields visible and editable in the project screen, you’ll need a Marketplace app like Projectrak .

Regards

Karim

[Jira Admin]

Thanks for your response, Properties again are available via APIs but cant be seen on Jira UI. Again we would be dependent on 3rd party app for solution, its better to go for custom field 3rd party app instead of properties i guess unless those custom fields are not operatable via APIs.

[Carl Bidwell]

In Jira you can’t technically create a custom field that exists only inside one project, they’re always global. The good news is you can control where they show up so they feel project-specific. The way to do this is by adjusting the field context so it only applies to your chosen project(s) and issue types. Then, add that field to the specific screens used in that project. This keeps it clean and avoids cluttering other projects with fields that don’t belong there.

For most teams, that setup works well and gives the impression of project-level fields without introducing confusion elsewhere. If you want even more control, like hiding fields from certain groups or adding extra logic, Marketplace apps can help fill that gap.

There’s a related thread that dives into the same challenge here: https://community.atlassian.com/forums/Jira-questions/How-to-create-custom-letting-services-fields-while-creating-projects/qaq-p/2761416

[Jira Admin]

This link also confirms that we cant have custom fields at project level. The rest it talks about using shared project, but the base project itself cant have custom field that can be reflected to other copied projects. SO even with shared project there is no solution and no such setup work for most who are looking for custom field solution at project level.
Thanks for response.

[Nancy B_]

In Jira, you can create a global custom field and then limit its scope to specific projects by configuring a new context under "Contexts and default value." This allows you to specify which project(s) and issue types the field applies to. While the field remains technically at the issue level, this approach ensures it only appears in the selected projects and issue types and are configurable to be shown and hidden in the project screens. Additionally, you can set default values and define options specific to each context. Each custom field has a unique ID, which can be used with the REST API for reporting or integrations. Hope this helps.