Jira Release Assistant

Jira Release Assistant is a local-first VS Code extension for planning and running release cherry-picks from Jira release boards and Bitbucket-linked work.

It helps release managers collect Jira tickets, map them to development work, review what will be included, group related tickets, cherry-pick locally, handle conflicts, and generate a release summary. The extension is designed for teams that prepare release branches from an existing local Git workspace.

What It Does

• Loads one or more Jira release board URLs.
• Finds ticket-linked branches and pull request work from Jira development data.
• Supports manually added branches or specific commits.
• Builds a release scope review with tickets, manual additions, and development audit data.
• Supports grouped no-commit cherry-pick flow and legacy merge-commit cherry-pick flow.
• Lets you review and adjust release commit groups before building the cherry-pick plan.
• Runs local Git cherry-picks and tracks progress through the queue.
• Helps inspect conflicts, skipped commits, grouped commits, and release summary output.
• Stores Jira credentials in VS Code Secret Storage.

Safety Model

The extension works against your local repository only.

• It does not push to a remote.
• It does not create pull requests.
• It does not deploy code.
• It requires a trusted VS Code workspace because it runs local Git commands.
• It stores tokens in VS Code Secret Storage, not in workspace files.

You stay responsible for reviewing the final branch, running tests, pushing, and opening the pull request through your normal release process.

Typical Flow

1. Open the release repository in VS Code.
2. Check out the already-created release branch.
3. Open Jira Release Assistant from the Activity Bar.
4. Configure Jira email and API token.
5. Start a new release.
6. Paste one or more Jira release board URLs, or add at least one manual branch or commit.
7. Select the development branch and destination branch.
8. Load the release scope.
9. Review development audit, Jira tickets, manual additions, and grouping.
10. Build the cherry-pick plan.
11. Cherry-pick the queue locally, resolving conflicts when needed.
12. Generate the release summary.

Walkthrough

Start From The Assistant Home

Open Jira Release Assistant from the Activity Bar. From the home screen you can start a new release, resume an active release session, or open the setup guide.

Configure The Release Source

Paste one or more Jira release board URLs, or use manual branches and commits when a release item is not discoverable from Jira. Select the development branch, destination branch, and optional scan settings before loading the scope.

Review The Release Scope

The scope review shows the loaded Jira tickets, development audit, manually added work, and the release readiness summary. This is the release-manager pass for checking whether the planned release matches the work you expect.

Group Related Tickets

Manual grouping is the default. Keep tickets separate unless they need to move together, or use smart grouping suggestions to review same-file dependency candidates before building the cherry-pick plan.

Run The Cherry-Pick Queue

The commit plan gives you a focused local execution queue. Cherry-pick one item at a time, stage a group until conflict, or stage all groups until the first conflict. Conflict handling stays local and visible.

Generate The Release Summary

At the end of the run, generate PR markdown with included tickets, release placeholders, and branch cleanup notes. Complete Release resets the assistant state after the local release work is done.

Release Processes

Grouped No-Commit Flow

This is the default flow. The assistant collects non-merge commits from approved pull request anchors, applies them with no commit, and commits each release group together. You can keep each ticket separate or group related tickets into one release commit.

Legacy Merge-Commit Flow

This flow keeps the older process of cherry-picking merge commits from the development branch one by one. It is useful for teams that release by replaying approved merge anchors directly.

Requirements

• VS Code with a trusted workspace.
• A local Git repository.
• Jira Cloud API access.
• Jira issues linked to development work where possible.
• Bitbucket branch and pull request links available through Jira development data.

Extension Settings

• jiraReleaseAssistant.jiraBaseUrl: Default Jira Cloud base URL.
• jiraReleaseAssistant.bitbucketBaseUrl: Bitbucket API base URL.
• jiraReleaseAssistant.defaultDevelopmentBranch: Default branch used to find release work.
• jiraReleaseAssistant.defaultDestinationBranch: Default destination branch used for comparison.
• jiraReleaseAssistant.conflictSuggestionLookbackDays: Lookback window for optional missing-work suggestions.
• jiraReleaseAssistant.sessionStorageMode: Where release session files are stored.
• jiraReleaseAssistant.sessionStorageDirectory: Custom session storage directory.

Privacy

• No telemetry.
• No remote push capability.
• Jira API tokens are stored with VS Code Secret Storage.
• Release sessions are stored locally according to your configured session storage mode.
• Webviews use a Content Security Policy.

Known Limitations

• Jira and Bitbucket access depends on what Jira exposes through development data.
• Manual review is still required before pushing or opening a release pull request.
• Conflict suggestions are advisory and should be reviewed by a developer.

License

This extension is released under the MIT License.