Sharing a Filter
This guide explains how to share a saved Jira filter as a public link. Recipients get a live, read-only table of the filter's results — no Jira account needed.
Unlike sharing a single Work Item or a board, a filter link shows many Work Items across any number of projects, chosen by whatever JQL your saved filter contains. Because of that, filter sharing has one extra requirement the other two do not: your Jira administrator must first approve which projects may be shared this way.
Before You Start
Three things must be in place:
| Requirement | If it is missing |
|---|---|
| An active app licence | "Sharing filters requires an active licence." |
| Permission to share filters | "Your administrator has not given you permission to share filters." |
| At least one approved project | "Your administrator has not approved any projects for filter sharing yet." |
When any of these is missing, the Share a filter button is greyed out and a warning icon appears next to it. Click the icon for a breakdown of what you can and cannot share right now — Work Items, boards and filters are listed separately, each with its own status and reason.
The rest of the page still works normally. You can view, copy and revoke links you already have, including Work Item and board links, which are governed by their own separate permissions.
The last requirement catches most people out. Filter sharing is off until an admin approves at least one project — this is deliberate, not a misconfiguration. See Configuration.
You also need a saved filter in Jira. The app does not create filters; it shares ones that already exist. Any filter you can see in Jira (your own, your favourites, or one shared with you) can be shared.
Step 1: Open the App
Filter links are not created from a Work Item or a board — they have their own page.
In the Jira top navigation, open Apps → Share Public Link.
This is the My share links page. It lists every public link you have created — Work Items, boards and filters together — and is where you come back to copy, edit or revoke them.
Click the ? button in the page header at any time for a short summary of the three kinds of sharing and where each is created from.
Step 2: Click "Share a filter"
The button sits in the top-right of the page. If it is disabled, check the three requirements above.
Step 3: Configure the Share
A dialog appears with four groups of settings.
Name
A label for your own use. It identifies the link in your list and in the administrator's overview — recipients never see it. If you leave it empty when picking a filter, the filter's name is used.
Saved filter
Pick the filter to share. The list shows filters you can see in Jira, searchable by name.
Columns
Choose which fields appear as columns in the table. All standard Jira field types are supported, including custom fields.
Columns appear in the order you select them, so pick them in the order you want them read. The Work Item key is always the first column and cannot be removed.
Work item detail view
Recipients can click any row to open the full Work Item. These sections control what that detail view includes, and are all off by default:
| Option | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Attachments | Files and images attached to the Work Item |
| Comments | All comments on the Work Item |
| Linked work items | Work Items linked via "relates to", "blocks", etc. |
| Sub-tasks | Child Work Items |
With all four off, the detail view still shows the Work Item's core fields — summary, description, status, priority, assignee and so on.
Viewer controls
Allow CSV export decides whether recipients can download the results as a spreadsheet. It is off by default: reading rows on screen and walking away with a file of them are different kinds of exposure, so it is a deliberate choice rather than something the table grants for free.
Then, for each column you chose, two switches decide what recipients can do with it:
| Switch | Effect |
|---|---|
| Searchable | The column is included when a recipient types in the search box |
| Sortable | Recipients can click that column's header to sort by it |
Only text fields can be made searchable — the switch is disabled for anything else, with a tooltip saying why. This is a Jira limitation: the search runs as a JQL "contains" query, which Jira only accepts on text fields.
Recipients can always find a Work Item by typing its key (for example PROJ-123), even when nothing is marked searchable.
Security
Optional, and recommended:
- Password — recipients must enter it before any content loads. Send it through a different channel from the link itself.
- Link expires — the link stops working on a date or after a fixed period. See Link Expiration.
Your administrator may have set a default expiry, in which case it is already filled in, and may have capped the maximum lifetime.
Step 4: Share the Link
Save the dialog and the link appears in your list. Use the Copy button on its row, then send it via email, chat, or any other channel.
To see the full URL, click Edit on the row — the dialog shows it in full with Copy Link and Open Link buttons.
What Recipients See
A read-only table of the filter's results, with:
- The columns you chose, in your order, with the Work Item key first.
- A search box — narrows results by the fields you marked searchable, and always accepts a Work Item key.
- Sortable column headers — for the columns you marked sortable. Clicking again reverses the direction.
- Load more — results arrive 50 at a time.
- Export CSV — only if you enabled it. Downloads the chosen columns for every result, not just the rows currently on screen.
- A detail view — clicking any row opens the full Work Item, including whichever sections you enabled.
Recipients cannot create, edit, transition or comment on anything. The view is strictly read-only.
How Many Results a Link Returns
Results load 50 at a time, up to a maximum set by your administrator (1000 by default). When a link hits that ceiling, the page says so and stops offering Load more.
If your filter matches more Work Items than the cap, narrow the filter — a shared link is not a bulk export tool.
Projects a Link Can Reach
This is the most important thing to understand about filter sharing.
Whatever JQL your saved filter contains, the app restricts every shared filter to the projects your administrator has approved. The two are combined, so a filter matching Work Items in an unapproved project simply returns nothing for those Work Items.
A worked example. Your administrator has approved SUPPORT and DOCS. You share a filter whose JQL is:
project IN (SUPPORT, FINANCE) AND status != Done
Recipients see only the SUPPORT Work Items. Nothing from FINANCE is returned, and no error is shown — those Work Items are simply not part of the result.
This holds even if someone edits the filter afterwards to point at a different project. The approved list is the boundary, and only an administrator can change it.
Managing Your Links
Everything happens from Apps → Share Public Link:
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Copy the link | Copy button on the row |
| Open the link | Open button on the row — opens in a new tab |
| Change columns, password or expiry | Edit on the row |
| Revoke the link | Revoke on the row, then confirm |
Revoking takes effect immediately and cannot be undone. Anyone holding the URL loses access at once.
Clicking a row's name opens the underlying saved filter in Jira, which is useful when you want to check or adjust what a link is exposing.
FAQ
Why is the "Share a filter" button disabled?
One of the three requirements at the top of this page is not met. Click the warning icon beside the button: it lists Work Items, boards and filters with the status of each, and names the reason — no licence, no permission, or no approved projects. The last is the most common — ask your administrator to approve at least one project.
Being unable to share filters does not stop you sharing Work Items or boards. Those are controlled by separate permissions, and any links you already have stay listed and usable on this page.
Can I share the same filter twice with different settings?
Yes, and this is the main difference from Work Item and board sharing. A filter can carry as many links as you like, each with its own name, columns, password and expiry. This lets you give one audience a summary view and another a fuller one, from the same filter, and revoke either independently.
Can I share a filter someone else owns?
Yes, as long as you can see it in Jira. The link you create belongs to you — it appears in your list, and only you (and administrators) can edit or revoke it.
What happens if the saved filter is deleted?
The link stops showing results and reports that the filter no longer exists. The link itself is not deleted automatically, so revoke it once the filter is gone.
Can recipients see Work Items I cannot see myself?
Possibly, yes — and this is worth understanding. The app reads Work Items with its own app-level access rather than yours, bounded by the administrator's approved projects. So a shared filter can return Work Items inside those approved projects that you personally would not be able to open in Jira.
This is why the approved-projects list exists, and why administrators should keep it to projects whose contents are safe to share externally.
Can I edit a colleague's filter link?
No. Your list shows only links you created. Jira administrators can see and revoke every filter link on the site from Jira Settings → Apps → Share Public Link → Shared Filters.
Is the shared table live?
Yes. Every time someone opens the link, the filter is run again. There is no cached snapshot, so recipients always see current data — including Work Items added to the filter's results after you shared it.