How to Import JIRA data in Power BI

Generate API Token

To access JIRA data using REST API call you need to generate an API Token in your Atlassian account. Follow the steps mentioned below to generate API Token:

1. you can directly login to the JIRA Atlassian Cloud site with your credentials, and redirect to the JIRA Atlassian Cloud Account's Profile Page for generating an API Token.
2. Click API tokens, then Create API token.
   

   Generate API Token - Step - 1

3. Create API Token - Give Label name to your API token which you are generating now
   

   Generate API Token - Step - 2

4. Use Copy to the clipboard, and paste the token into your or elsewhere:

   Note:  * For security reasons it isn't possible to view the token after closing the creation dialog; if necessary, create a new token. * You should store the token securely, just as for any password.

   

   Generate API Token - Step - 3

5. If you forgot API token, then you can Revoke your old API token and create new API token OR you can create multiple API tokens too.
   

   Generate API token - Step - 4

Now we have successfully generated an API token. Let´s start with an example. In this example, we will show how to read Tasks/Issues data from JIRA and store that data into a SQL table with SSIS.

About JIRA REST API

JIRA On-premises and Cloud Version both offers REST API. Here are some examples of JIRA REST API. For reading JIRA REST API data we will use JIRA REST API Search method which returns data in JSON format. Search API support use of JQL Syntax to filter issues. If you don't specify JQL parameters in /search endpoint then all issues will be returned. Check this link to learn how to build JQL for JIRA REST API Call. If you don't have JIRA hosted instance yet but still want to try REST API Examples on public JIRA Server then try below URL (Its official JIRA site which lists their own issues). For example, try to copy below URL in a browser and hit enter.

https://jira.atlassian.com/rest/api/2/search?jql=project=JRASERVER

Step-by-Step: Import JIRA data using REST API 

Now once you have API token in the JIRA Atlassian Cloud website we can move to ODBC JSON Driver Configuration Part. For this example purpose you can use the following URL:

https://YOUR-DOMAIN.atlassian.net/rest/api/2/search?startAt=0&maxResults=100&jql=project=MYPROJECT

hence, your-domain is your Atlassian Cloud account’s domain name (we are using zappysys2.atlassian.net). Therefore startAt is the index of the first item returned in the page of results. And another maxResults is the maximum number of items that can be returned per page. Above all, each API endpoint may have a different limit for the number of items returned, and these limits may change without notice. (For more See this JIRA API Documentation for Pagination)

Create ODBC – Zappysys JSON Driver Data Source

1. To do this, we will first open the ODBC Data Source : Select 64-Bit for 64bit apps and 32bit if your app / process doesnt support 64bit.
   Windows ODBC Data Sources
2. Click on Add button in User DSN Tab and then select JSON Driver from the driver list and click on Finish button to Create a new JSON Driver.
   ODBC User DSN Tab: Add new Driver Screen
3. Now it's time to connect with JIRA. Let's use JSON Driver Data source with the following URL. Change domain with your own domain.

   https://{yourdomain}.atlassian.net/rest/api/2/search?startAt=0&maxResults=100
   

   ODBC JSON Driver: Enter Request URL
4. It is time to configure the Other Settings. Select HTTP Connection Type from the Connection Type drop-down and Click on Click to Configure Link to Configure the Connection Manager.
   JIRA REST API Connection - Use ZappySys JSON Driver HTTP Connection
5. Now, we are going to set Pagination related configurations for JIRA Search request. Page number indicator must be startAt and maxResults value in URL must match with Increment By (i.e. 50)
   ODBC JSON Driver - JIRA request Pagination Configurations Settings
6. After adding pagination parameters let's add JQL= search parameter to get specific data. Here we are searching the data by Project name and status. You can find more information about JQL on this link: Search JIRA like a boss with JQL Here is example JQL search query for Public JIRA site. Replace jira.atlassian.com and project JRASERVER with your own values.

   https://jira.atlassian.com/rest/api/2/search?jql=project=JRASERVER
   https://jira.atlassian.com/rest/api/2/search?jql=project=JRASERVER AND status=Open
   https://jira.atlassian.com/rest/api/2/search?jql=project=JRASERVER AND status in (Open,Done)
   https://jira.atlassian.com/rest/api/2/search?jql=project=JRASERVER AND status=Open order by lastViewed DESC

   Search using JQL parameter
7. Click on Select Filter to set the Filter.
   ODBC JSON Driver for JIRA API: Select Filter
8. You are done with the Configurations, Click on Test Connection to test the Connection.
   ODBC JSON Driver - Test Connection
9. After that select the table from where you want to get data.
   JSON Driver: Create Query of JSON data
10. Click on the Preview Data button to preview the data.
    Preview issues table data
11. And that’s it, Now we will move forward to the next Phase.

Build your Own JQL Search queries for JIRA Issue

In previous sections we saw some basic JQL queries to search JIRA Issues using API call. Now lets look at how to build such queries using online UI (Think like a query builder). from JIRA.

1. JIRA has its own public Issue repository which you can browse any time by going here https://jira.atlassian.com/issues/
2. Now try to change filter settings for search criteria (E.g. change Project, Status etc)
3. You will notice when you make change your URL keeps changing too. From that URL you can extract ?jql=xxxxxxx  part and use it as template for your own JIRA API search queries.

For more information check how to build JQL for JIRA REST API Call.

In the previous section, we configured and added the ZappySys drivers in the ODBC Driver Administrator with information to connect to REST API. We queried the REST API data in JSON / XML format. Now let's look at how to import REST API data in Power BI using from ODBC connection.

1. Open Power BI Desktop and select the Get data option.
   

   Get data using Power BI

1. Once Get data is clicked, Go to Other and select ODBC.
   

   Import ODBC data source in Power BI

2. After that select ODBC DSN name from the DSN dropdown
3. Now it's time to import data. Basically, there are two modes to import data. Table Mode and Query Mode. Query mode is the most common but we will show you both ways.
4. Import using Power BI Query Mode:  Select your DSN and click Advanced Option to enter custom SQL Query to Import your REST API data. You can use ODBC DSN Data sources Preview tool to generate SQL Query. For example you can enter query like below. If you are not sure use Query builder (Found on Driver Preview Window)

   SELECT * FROM $
   WITH(SRC='https://my-api-url')

   

   Import JSON / REST API data in Power BI using SQL Query Mode

    
5. Import using Power BI Table Mode:  If you don't specify SQL query under advanced options then you may get a chance to select Table name to import and Credentials. If Power BI asks for credentials then select Windows and connect.
   

   Select credentials for ODBC Source

6. Once you enter select table, you can choose Select data to import and click OK (Below screeenshot is for the Table mode import when no SQL specified. You can pick desired table to import)
   

   Select Table to import in Power BI

7. You can also display data in map using Map visualization like below. Press the map and check Address this option will display the addresses in a map.
   

   See Address data in power bi map

   

   Map visualization in Power BI

8. Now, let's display data in Table Format. Select in values more columns and select the data grid to visualize the data.
   

   Select columns in Power BI

9. Once data is displayed, Right click on the data and select Show Data.
   

   Show data in Power BI

10. The data will be displayed
    

    read json information data