If you need to perform maintenance while Jira is still running, or if you're preparing to migrate to a new site, you can put your instance into read-only mode to limit what users can do. Your users can still search, view, and browse issues, dashboards, and reports, but they can't create or change issues.

Read-only mode was built to remove the manual, error-prone workarounds admins previously relied on during a migration or upgrade — such as reassigning every project to a read-only permission scheme, or running REST API scripts that many enterprise security teams block. It gives you a single, reversible switch instead.

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What read-only mode does

When read-only mode is enabled, Jira denies write operations for regular users, agents, portal customers, and non-system project administrators, while leaving all read operations available. A global banner tells everyone that the instance is temporarily locked.

Key characteristics:

• System administrators are exempt. They keep full write access so they can fix migration or upgrade blockers without turning the mode off for everyone.

• It's instantly reversible. A single toggle turns it on or off — there's no per-project change to make or revert.

• It's informational for users. A sticky, non-dismissable banner appears on every page, and you can set a custom message and an estimated end time.

はじめる前に

• You need the Jira System Administrator global permission to enable or disable read-only mode.

• The action is WebSudo-protected — you'll be asked to confirm your password (secure administrator session).

• Decide whether background processes that write data — for example automation rules, incoming mail handlers, and third-party apps — need to be paused separately. Read-only mode does not stop all of these automatically. See Troubleshooting and the detailed blocking reference.

読み取り専用モードを有効化する

1. Go to Administration (⚙) > System.

2. In the sidebar, under Advanced, select Read-only Mode. (Direct link: <your-base-url>/secure/admin/EditReadOnlyMode.jspa)

3. Turn on the Enable read-only mode toggle.

4. (Optional) In Banner message, edit the message users will see. The default is "Jira is currently in read-only mode for maintenance."

5. (Optional) Set an Estimated end time and time zone. This is shown to users as "Expected to return to normal operations at …". It's informational only — it does not turn read-only mode off automatically.

6. Use the User preview to check how the banner will look in a web browser and in the mobile app. Mobile view will be released shortly.

7. Select Save.

Read-only mode takes effect immediately across the cluster.
 
 

Turn off read-only mode

1. Go to Administration (⚙) > System > Advanced > Read-only Mode.

2. Turn off the Enable read-only mode toggle.

3. Select Save.

Normal write access is restored immediately. If you paused automation rules, mail handlers, or apps before the maintenance window, remember to re-enable them.

Turn read-only mode on or off using REST

Read-only mode can be scripted through the REST API. This is the same operation the admin screen performs.

Check the current status (available to any licensed user, so apps and integrations can adapt):

GET /rest/api/2/readonly-mode

 {
  "enabled": true,
  "message": "Jira is currently in read-only mode for maintenance.",
  "endTime": "2026-06-30T18:00",
  "timeZone": "Asia/Beirut"
}

Enable or disable it (System Administrator + WebSudo required):

PUT /rest/api/2/readonly-mode
Content-Type: application/json
{
  "enabled": true,
  "message": "Jira is locked for a migration cut-over.",
  "endTime": "2026-06-30T18:00",
  "timeZone": "Asia/Beirut"

• enabled is required. message, endTime, and timeZone are optional — omit a field to leave it unchanged, or send an empty string to clear it.

• The endpoint returns 403 for non-system-administrators and 400 if enabled is missing.

What users see

While read-only mode is on:

• A sticky global banner appears at the top of every page. Users can't dismiss it. It shows your message and, if set, the estimated end time.

• Edit, create, transition, comment, and other write controls fail or are hidden. Users can still search, view issues, open dashboards, and run reports.

• Mobile app users see an equivalent "Read-only mode active" notice. Mobile will be released shortly.

一般的な使用例

• Migrating from Data Center to Cloud. Lock the instance during the cut-over window (typically 24–72 hours) so data doesn't drift while the migration runs. A small group of admins, migration partners, and Atlassian staff can keep the System Administrator access they need.

• Upgrading Jira. Freeze user changes during a pre-upgrade backup or an upgrade window to guarantee data integrity.

• Infrastructure maintenance. Keep Jira available for viewing during database, storage, or network work while preventing new writes.

アプリの互換性

Not all apps (also known as plugins or add-ons) are automatically compatible with read-only mode, and some may continue to allow writes while it's enabled. Apps that write through Jira's standard project-permission checks are blocked automatically; apps that write directly (through managers, background jobs, event listeners, or their own REST endpoints) need to be updated by their vendor.

If you rely on an app during a maintenance window, confirm with the vendor whether it respects read-only mode. Vendors can find integration guidance in Making your app compatible with read-only mode.

トラブルシューティング

Confirm whether read-only mode is currently on. Go to Administration > System > Advanced > Read-only Mode, or call GET /rest/api/2/readonly-mode.

Find out who turned it on or off, and when. Turning read-only mode on or off is recorded in the Jira audit log — the same place other administrator configuration changes (such as scheme or general-configuration changes) are captured. Go to Administration (⚙) > System > Audit log and look under the General configuration category. Each toggle is recorded as:
 
 
 

 This gives you an accountable, retained record of who changed read-only mode and when — useful when reconstructing a maintenance timeline or investigating why the instance is (or isn't) locked. Audit log entries keep being written even while read-only mode is active (audit logging is a protected operation).

Additional log signals. For deeper troubleshooting, each state change is also written to the Jira application log (atlassian-jira.log) at INFO level:
 

Read-only mode enabled by user 'jsmith' Read-only mode disabled by user 'jsmith'

And because the toggle is a WebSudo-protected admin action, the corresponding request appears in the HTTP access log:
 

PUT /rest/api/2/readonly-mode GET /secure/admin/EditReadOnlyMode.jspa

Users report they can still change some data. This is expected for certain paths. Read-only mode is enforced at the project-permission layer, so it does not block system administrators, some global-permission actions (such as bulk change and shared filter/dashboard edits), or background processes such as automation rules and mail handlers. If you need a fully frozen dataset (for example, during a migration cut-over), disable automation rules and incoming mail handlers separately. See Understanding read-only mode: what it blocks and what it doesn't for the full list.

A backup or export won't complete. Exports (XML backup) are safe to run in read-only mode — they only read from the database. A full XML import, however, wipes and restores the database regardless of read-only mode, and is inherently destructive; don't treat read-only mode as protection against it.

関連記事

• Understanding read-only mode: what it blocks and what it doesn't

• Making your app compatible with read-only mode