Forge modules are essential for filling functionality gaps within Jira, allowing developers to extend Jira’s capabilities beyond its standard user interface (UI) functions.
Forge Modules vs. Standard Jira Features
Standard Jira features, such as working on projects, using dashboards and filters, adding comments, assigning tickets, and generating reports, are typically accessed through the Jira UI. The core purpose of Forge modules is to provide developers with a way to add extra functionality to specific sections of Jira.
Application Examples
Forge modules enable developers to perform specific actions or create custom interfaces within Jira. Examples discussed include:
- Board Action: Used to build an app that automatically starts and ends sprints.
- Jira Admin Page: Allows for creating configuration pages to capture user input for an app.
- Jira Backlog Action: Can be used to trigger functions from the backlog view.
- Other modules used by developers include
issue glanceandissue activity. Theissue panelmodule is a simple example that displays a panel when a button is clicked, allowing for showing information or taking user input.
Forge modules are not limited to Jira; they are also available for other Atlassian products like Confluence, Bitbucket, and Compass.
Recommendations for Beginners
For those new to Forge app development, the onboarding process requires consulting the necessary application programming interface (API) documentation and module documentation from Atlassian for manifest instructions.
Beginners should begin with simple tutorials, such as the "Hello World" application. Recommended straightforward modules to start with include:
- Issue Panel: This is a great way to easily get started with Forge app development.
- Issue Glance: Used to display information on an issue itself.
- Dashboard Gadget: Used to display a report or a chart on the dashboard
