I’m trying to understand the key differences between the regular JIRA API and JIRA Align API. Can someone explain what JIRA Align API is used for and in what scenarios I should choose it over the standard JIRA API?
I’m particularly interested in:
The main purpose of JIRA Align API
What REST endpoints are available
Where I can find official documentation
Use cases where JIRA Align API is more suitable
I’m working on a project that involves integration with Atlassian tools and want to make sure I’m using the right API for my needs. Any guidance or examples would be really helpful.
jira align is like a lvl up from standard jira api, meant for managing enterprise portfolios while normal jira just focuses on issues/projects. align helps with strategy, roadmaps, and OKRs. check out dev.atlassian.com for align docs, but beware they aren’t as detailed as the regular jira ones.
Here’s the key difference: JIRA Align API targets enterprise strategy stuff, while regular JIRA API handles day-to-day tasks. Align gives you endpoints for portfolio management, strategic themes, and cross-team dependencies that don’t exist in standard JIRA. Regular JIRA API is great for creating issues and updating workflows, but Align connects your work to business goals. I’ve integrated both - you want Align when you’re managing multiple teams and need visibility into capacity planning and strategic alignment. The REST endpoints cover program increments, features, capabilities, and team metrics. Basically everything for scaled agile frameworks. Standard JIRA API is still better for automating individual projects and manipulating issues. Fair warning though - Align’s documentation is pretty limited compared to regular JIRA, but it’s getting better.
I’ve worked with both APIs, and here’s the key difference: scope and data models. Regular JIRA API deals with project-level stuff - tickets, sprints, workflows. JIRA Align API sits way above that, handling strategic planning and portfolio visibility across multiple teams and products. The data structures are totally different. Standard JIRA gives you issue objects with assignee, status, etc. Align gives you epics mapped to business objectives, investment themes, and program increment planning data. Authentication works differently too since Align usually needs higher-level org access. If you’re building something to track how individual stories roll up to quarterly business goals or manage dependencies between product teams, Align’s your answer. For most integration projects though, standard JIRA API covers what you need.