Atlassian Jira Service Desk

Introduction

This guide tells you how to authenticate the Atlassian Jira Service Desk connector in Swimlane.

The connector supports two authentication methods:

HTTP Basic Authentication (Username and API Token) – Recommended for Atlassian Cloud.

HTTP Bearer Authentication (Bearer Token) – For environments using OAuth 2.0 bearer access tokens.

You will generate an API token (or obtain a bearer access token), collect the required credentials, and configure the connector in Swimlane.

Prerequisites

Atlassian Access Requirements

You must have permissions to:

Access your Jira Service Management (Jira Service Desk) instance.

Generate Atlassian API tokens (for Basic Authentication), or

Create and use OAuth 2.0 applications (for Bearer Authentication).

Access the Jira Service Desk REST APIs.

Required Credentials

For HTTP Basic Authentication

During setup, you will collect:

Jira Service Desk URL

Username (Atlassian account email)

API Token

For HTTP Bearer Authentication

During setup, you will collect:

Jira Service Desk URL

Bearer Access Token

Atlassian Setup

HTTP Basic Authentication

Take the following steps to generate an API Token:

Navigate to Account Settings.

Select Security.

Under API Tokens, click Create API Token.

Enter a label for the token.

Click Create.

Copy and securely save the generated API token.

This token is displayed only once.

Take the following steps to collect the Jira Service Desk URL:

Copy your Jira instance URL from the browser.

Example:

https://company.atlassian.net

Use this value as the url during connector configuration.

Connector Configuration in Swimlane

HTTP Basic Authentication

From the left-hand navigation pane, click ORCHESTRATION and click Assets.

Asset homepage opens.

Click the plus icon to open the Configure your Connector Asset window.

Select Atlassian Jira Service Desk from the Asset type list.

Select Jira Service Desk HTTP Basic Authentication.

Fill in the Asset Settings and Asset Input as shown:

Field	Description	Required/Optional
url	Jira Service Desk instance URL	Required
username	Atlassian account email	Required
password	Atlassian API Token	Required
verify_ssl	Enable/Disable SSL Verification	Optional
http_proxy	Optional proxy configuration	Optional

Fields with * marks are required.

Click Create.

HTTP Bearer Authentication (OAuth 2.0)

Take the following steps to obtain a Bearer Access Token:

Create an OAuth 2.0 application in the Atlassian Developer Console.

Configure the required OAuth scopes for Jira Service Management.

Complete the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow.

Exchange the authorization code for an access token.

Copy and securely save the Bearer Access Token.

Refer to the Atlassian OAuth 2.0 documentation for detailed application registration and authorisation steps. After obtaining the Bearer Token, take the following steps in swimlane:

From the left-hand navigation pane, click ORCHESTRATION and click Assets.

Asset homepage opens.

Click the plus icon to open the Configure your Connector Asset window.

Select Atlassian Jira Service Desk from the Asset type list.Select Jira Service Desk HTTP Bearer Authentication.

Fill in the Asset Settings and Asset Input as shown:

Field	Description	Required/Optional
url	Jira Service Desk instance URL	Required
token	OAuth 2.0 Bearer Access Token	Required
verify_ssl	Enable/Disable SSL Verification	Optional
http_proxy	Optional proxy configuration	Optional

Fields with * marks are required.

Click Create.

Troubleshooting

Authentication Failed (401 Unauthorized)

Verify that:

The API token or bearer token is valid.

The username is your Atlassian account email (for Basic Authentication).

The token has not expired or been revoked.

Permission Denied (403 Forbidden)

Verify that:

Your account has permission to access Jira Service Management APIs.

The OAuth application has the required scopes.

Your user account has permission to access the requested service desk.

Unable to Connect

Verify that:

The Jira Service Desk URL is correct.

Your Jira Cloud instance is reachable.

Firewall or proxy settings allow HTTPS traffic.

SSL Errors

If SSL verification fails:

Verify that the Jira instance uses a trusted SSL certificate.

Confirm that any proxy is not intercepting SSL traffic.

Disable verify_ssl only for testing if permitted by your organization's security policy.

Result

You have successfully authenticated the Atlassian Jira Service Desk connector in Swimlane.

Sources

Atlassian API Token Management https://support.atlassian.com/atlassian-account/docs/manage-api-tokens-for-your-atlassian-account/

Atlassian OAuth 2.0 (3LO) Documentation https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/oauth-2-3lo-apps/

Atlassian Jira Service Management REST API Documentation https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/service-desk/rest/