How do I export Jira stories to CSV?

Export Jira stories to CSV from advanced issue search: open Filters → Advanced issue search, scope the results with a filter or JQL, then click Export → Export Excel CSV. Boards and backlogs have no export of their own, so whatever view you start from, the path runs through issue search.

The rest of this guide covers the choices that actually matter: which of the two CSV options to pick, how to reproduce a board or backlog as a query, which fields to include, and the limits that surprise people on large backlogs.

Which Jira export option should I use?

Pick Export Excel CSV (current fields) when your search columns are already set up, and Export Excel CSV (all fields) when you don’t want to think about columns. “Current fields” exports exactly the columns visible in your search results, which keeps the file small and readable. “All fields” exports every field on the issue, including every custom field your admins have ever added; the file is wide and messy, but nothing is missing.

If you’re feeding the CSV into another tool, “all fields” is the safer default. Column mappers can ignore noise; they can’t recover a field that was never exported.

How do I export a board or backlog?

Recreate the board’s contents as a search, because the board itself has no CSV export. A board is just a saved filter with columns, so the query is usually one line. For a scrum backlog in an e-commerce project, this JQL reproduces it in rank order:

project = SHOP AND issuetype = Story AND statusCategory != Done ORDER BY rank

To export exactly what a specific board shows, open the board’s settings, copy its saved filter query, and paste that into advanced issue search. Sprint scoping works the same way: add sprint in openSprints() to the query.

Which fields should the export include?

Four fields carry everything a reviewer, a spreadsheet, or a scoring tool needs: Issue key, Summary, Description, and your acceptance criteria field. The first three are standard. Acceptance criteria are the catch: most Jira sites store them in a custom field, and some teams write them inside the description instead. Check one exported row before you export the whole backlog; if the criteria column is empty but the stories have criteria, they’re living in the description and you’re already covered.

Everything else (story points, labels, components, assignee) is optional. Include what your downstream use needs and nothing more.

What are the export limits?

Jira Cloud caps each CSV export at 1,000 issues. Larger backlogs need paging: sort by key or created date and export in slices, for example project = SHOP AND key > SHOP-1000 for the second thousand. Two other quirks worth knowing: Jira exports the description as plain text, so rich formatting flattens, and dates export in your profile’s locale format, which spreadsheet tools sometimes misread. Neither affects the text fields that matter for story quality.

What can I do with the export?

A CSV backlog is the fastest way to review story quality outside Jira, because you can see a hundred descriptions at once instead of clicking through issues one at a time. It’s also the fastest way to try Vindex: drop your exported CSV on the Jira overview page and get INVEST quality scores on your stories in about 30 seconds, no account needed. The upload is deleted automatically after 24 hours.