Major Atlassian Data Center upgrades: what you need to know
Earlier this year, Atlassian announced the launch of Jira 10, Confluence 9, and Bitbucket 9 for Data Center. General access versions of Jira, Confluence and Bitbucket are now available. These are major upgrades with significant platform changes engineered towards improved security for Atlassian Data Center customers.
Since these are major upgrades with some large platform changes, we wanted to pull together everything you need to know about how these versions may impact you as a ScriptRunner user.
Key information
Security improvements
Significant platform changes engineered towards improved security for Atlassian Data Center customers
Check app compatibility
Check timelines before upgrade: a compatible ScriptRunner version for Jira is not yet be available
Known breaking changes
Please check best practice recommendations for upgrading to staging environment and review guides to breaking changes
Help is available
Reach out to support or a ScriptRunner partner for assistance
Rollout recommendations
There are significant changes between the Atlassian platform that current versions of Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket are built on (the current Platform) and the platform that Jira 10, Confluence 9 and Bitbucket 9 are built on (the incoming Platform) and deciding when and how to upgrade to these major versions should not be taken lightly.
To reduce the risk of disruption for your organisation, here are some recommendations:
- Downgrading is not possible, so check that compatible versions of your essential apps (not just ScriptRunner!) are available before proceeding with any upgrade.
- Do not roll out directly onto your live production instance without first testing in a staging environment. The likelihood of breaking changes increases significantly across major upgrades, making testing essential to avoid production incidents.
- Develop a robust testing plan. Again, the likelihood of breaking changes increases significantly across major upgrades: thorough testing reduces the risk of production incidents.
- Take backups in case you encounter any issues with your upgrade.
Enlist the help of an Atlassian Partner to assist with managing this transition if required.
Timelines: compatible versions may not be ready immediately
Although ScriptRunner has been historically successful at getting new-platform compatible versions into your hands within one release cycle (two weeks) of Atlassian general access releases for Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket, we have proceeded more cautiously with setting release dates for ScriptRunner versions that are compatible with Jira 10, Confluence 9 and Bitbucket 9 respectively.
If your instance or your colleagues' work heavily depends upon ScriptRunner, it is not advisable to upgrade these major Atlassian versions right away.
Projected timelines
We understand that upgrades mean planning in downtime, potentially out-of-hours, and notifying your users in good time to minimise disruption. Because these platform upgrades represent significant changes and to help you plan successfully for your upgrades, we are being conservative with the estimates that we provide.
Here's how ScriptRunner readiness is currently shaping up.
If your organisation's best practice dictates moving to the latest version within a set time frame, please bear with us: launching compatible versions is the highest priority for our Data Center teams.
Table last updated: 13th September 2024
| Product | ScriptRunner release |
|---|---|
| Jira 10 | Compatible version with known issues expected 18th September |
| Confluence 9 | Compatible version available now |
| Bitbucket 9 | Compatible version available now |
Breaking changes and upgrade process
There are significant API changes between the current Atlassian Platform and the new, incoming Platform, and whilst we have worked to identify and mitigate their impacts, there may be breaking changes for your ScriptRunner scripts as a result of declared or undeclared API deprecations or updates.
To support Atlassian's efforts in improving security, the way that Script Fragments are managed inside ScriptRunner products is also changing. More guidance about the process of how to prepare and transfer your Script Fragments will be available here when ready.
For large changes like this, especially when adopting early release versions, we always recommend first rolling out on a staging instance to test for issues before completing the full upgrade for any user-facing instances.
Can I tell in advance if my scripts are affected?
We have created guides to known breaking changes, as well as how you can update your code.
- ScriptRunner for Bitbucket guide
- ScriptRunner for Confluence guide
- ScriptRunner for Jira guide [Coming soon]
This covers deprecations that have been publicly documented by Atlassian, but there remains a risk of changes made to APIs that are not covered by this documentation. It is for this reason that testing on a non-production instance is highly advised.
If you need further help or encounter problems updating your scripts in line with new APIs, please reach out to our support team.
If you're staying on Jira 9, Confluence 8 and Bitbucket 8 for now
If you are remaining on older versions and planning to upgrade to Jira 10, Confluence 9 or Bitbucket 9 at a later date, please note that–due to the large differences between Atlassian's current Platform and the incoming Platform–we are not currently able to support backwards compatibility for future releases of ScriptRunner.
This means that new functionality and features are not likely to make it into future releases compatible with Jira 9, Confluence 8 or Bitbucket 8, but this is a decision that we will revisit once we have achieved compatibility across the ScriptRunner suite.
Critical bug fixes and security patching will however receive backwards compatibility across ScriptRunner for all supported versions of Jira, Confluence and Bitbucket, in alignment with Atlassian's support end of life policy.
Further guidance from Matt Doar
Read Matt's blog Get ready for major Atlassian Data Center upgrades over on The Adaptavist Group website.