Link issues to Baseline

In the Baseline app, adding issues to a specific baseline is an essential part of tracking progress and maintaining control over changes. The following guide outlines how users can add issues to one or more baselines directly from the issue view in Jira.

There are two ways to link issues to a baseline:

  • From a Jira issue — link a single issue to one or more open baselines directly from the issue view. See Linking an Issue from the Issue View below.

  • From a Baseline — bulk-add multiple issues to a single baseline using Basic search, JQL, or saved Jira filters. See Adding Issues from the Baseline Page below.

Linking an Issue from the Issue View

  • Navigate to the Issue Page

    • To begin, navigate to the Jira issue page for the issue you would like to link to a baseline.

  • Click the "Linked Baseline(s)" Button

    • On the issue view page, locate the “Linked Baseline(s)” button.

  • Select the Desired Baseline(s)

    • A dropdown menu will appear listing all the available baselines that have the status Open. The baselines are filtered by project, and only baselines that are open and active will appear in this list.

    • You can select one or more baselines to link this issue to. This allows flexibility for an issue to be tracked across multiple baselines if necessary.

  • Click "Link to Baseline(s)"

    • Once you’ve selected the baseline(s), click the Link to Baseline button.

    • After a successful operation, you will see a confirmation message indicating that the issue has been added to the selected baseline(s).

  • Verify on the Baseline Home Page

    • You can navigate back to the Baseline Home to see the newly added issue within the selected baseline(s). The issue will now appear in the Issue Table under the relevant baseline, displaying key information such as:

      • Issue ID (Jira Issue Key)

      • Issue Summary

      • Assignee

      • Unlink Option (for open baselines)

  • Once the issue is linked to an open baseline, it will appear in the Issue Table of the respective baseline's home page.

  • If the baseline is later committed or completed, the issue will no longer be unlinkable, and its state will be frozen, reflecting the status at the time of commitment. Additionally, for committed baselines, users can view a snapshot of the issue as it appeared when the baseline was locked.

Adding Issues from the Baseline Page

In addition to linking from an individual Jira issue, you can add one or many issues to a baseline directly from the baseline's own page — useful when you want to bulk-add a set of issues instead of linking them one at a time.

On a baseline's detail page, go to the Linked Issues section and click Link issues.

Note: This button is only available for baselines that are still in draft. Once a baseline is committed or completed, it can no longer be modified, and the button will be disabled with the tooltip: "Committed or completed baselines cannot be modified to add new issues."

A panel opens with three tabs — Basic, JQL, and Filters — each offering a different way to find and select issues. All three are automatically scoped to the baseline's project, so you can only add issues that belong to it.

Basic Mode

Use this mode to quickly find and add a small number of issues by key or text.

  1. Type an issue key or keyword into the "Select or search issue(s) to link" field.

  2. Matching issues from the project appear as you type — select one or more using the checkboxes.

  3. If an issue has subtasks or child issues, an expand arrow (▸) appears next to it. Click it to view and select its children individually. (Up to 50 child issues are shown at a time; if there are more, a note reading "Showing first 50 child issues" is displayed.)

  4. Selecting a parent issue does not automatically select its children — expand it first if you want to include specific children.

JQL Mode

Use this mode to select issues matching a custom JQL query.

  1. Switch to the JQL tab.

  2. Enter a JQL query in the editor (field and function autocomplete is available as you type).

  3. Your query is automatically restricted to the current baseline's project — shown as "Scoped to project <PROJECT KEY>" below the editor — so issues from other projects will never be returned, even if your query doesn't explicitly filter by project.

  4. Press Enter or click the search icon to run the query.

  5. Matching issues appear in a results list showing the total count (e.g., "42 issues found").

  6. Select the issues you want to add from the results.

Filters Mode

Use this mode to reuse an existing saved Jira filter instead of writing JQL from scratch.

  1. Switch to the Filters tab.

  2. Use the search box to find a filter by name. The list includes:

    • Six built-in filters: My open issues, Reported by me, Open issues, Created recently, Updated recently, and Resolved recently (the "recently" filters cover the last 30 days)

    • Your starred Jira filters

    • Filters you own that aren't starred

  3. Click a filter to run it. Results are shown the same way as JQL mode — total count, a 100-issue preview list, and the "Scoped to project" restriction applied automatically.

  4. Select the issues you want to add from the results.

Once you've selected issues in any of the three modes, click the Link issues button in the footer (it updates to show your selection, e.g. "Link 15 issues").

  • For large selections, issues are added in batches; a progress indicator (e.g. "Linking 100 / 350…") is shown while this completes.

  • On success, a confirmation message appears (e.g. "15 issues linked to baseline."), and the panel closes.

  • If some issues fail to link, you'll see a message indicating how many succeeded, and you can retry to link the rest.

Once linked, the issues appear in the baseline's Issue Table just like issues linked from the issue view, and follow the same rules — they remain unlinkable while the baseline is open, and become frozen/read-only once the baseline is committed or completed.