Introduction
The Historic Query Report in Jira Cloud allows you to view and analyze the results of a JQL query as they appeared at a specific point in time. It provides a structured snapshot of work items and their field values, helping you track how query results have changed over time.
This feature is particularly useful when you want to understand:
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What the issue data looked like at a past date.
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How selected fields’ values were at that moment.
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Which issues existed or did not exist on that date.
Understanding Details
Each row in the report represents a single work item returned by the JQL query. The columns display the fields you select—by default, these include Issue Key, Summary, Status, and Assignee—showing their values as of the specified date and time.
Users can customize the report by selecting which fields to display and rearranging their order, allowing for a tailored view that fits specific analysis needs.
This flexibility makes the report especially useful for examining the historical state of work items, comparing their progress over time, and understanding how query results have evolved. It provides a clear snapshot of the project’s status at the chosen moment, helping track changes and support informed decision-making based on past data.
Accessing Historic Query
This report is accessed via a dedicated screen under the Historian app in the menu, titled Historic Query.
Navigate to Jira → Apps → Historian → Historic Query Report to open it.
Entering JQL and Selecting Fields
At the top of the page, you provide the JQL query that defines the set of issues you want to analyze, such as filtering by project, status, and other relevant parameters.
Next, you select which fields you want to include in the report table. If no fields are selected, the default fields will be displayed, providing a full overview of each issue.
Show me the Results As Of
This field allows you to select a specific date for the Historic Query Report. The report will display the issues and their field values as they would have appeared on that date, providing a snapshot of historical data.
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If a work item included in the query did not yet exist at the selected date, it is still listed in the report, but its fields remain empty and a message is displayed indicating that the work item had not been created at that time.
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If no date is selected, the report defaults to the current date and time, showing the most up-to-date state of the issues.
Viewing Change Counts and Details
In the report table, numeric badges next to each field represent how many times that field has changed for the specific issue from the selected date until now.
How to Interpret the Change Counts
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Each number indicates the total count of changes made to that field since the date you chose in the “Show me the results as of” filter.
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This gives a quick overview of the activity and volatility of fields on that issue.
Accessing Change Details
Clicking on the numeric badge opens a detailed change history panel for that field on the selected issue.
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The panel shows a timeline of all changes made to that field, including:
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The exact date and time of each change
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The user who made the change
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The old value (From) and the new value (To) for each update
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The numeric badges displayed at the beginning and end of the values indicate the number of changes made.
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The yellow badge on the left shows how many changes were made before the selected date.
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The grey badge on the right shows how many changes were made after the selected date.
Using the Timeline Control
Above the change list, a timeline slider with dots represents the dates when changes occurred.
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Each dot corresponds to a specific change date.
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Clicking on a dot filters the changes to show those made on that exact date.
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This allows you to quickly navigate between changes without manually searching the history.
When you click on a dot in the timeline and press Apply, the report automatically updates to show data as of the selected date. This syncs the Show me the results as of filter with your chosen date, displaying the issue details for that point in time.
Compare Dates
Compare Dates is a report that shows the field values of a Jira work item at two different points in time, making it easy to identify what changed, when, and which fields were affected.
See Compare Dates page for details about this view.
Export
You can export the generated report in XLS or CSV format.