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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteIn Jira, an epic groups related stories, bugs, and tasks that together deliver a larger outcome—often work spanning several sprints. Create the epic, attach its child work through the parent field, and use the timeline or backlog to track progress. The exact labels and fields vary by Jira space type and site configuration.
What an epic is in Jira
A story, bug, or task usually represents a single piece of work. An epic groups related work items into a larger body of work that may take several sprints or longer to complete. For example, a product team might use an epic for a major onboarding improvement, with separate stories for account setup, welcome messages, and help content. Atlassian explains epics and how they relate to other work items.
An epic is useful when the team needs a shared outcome that is too large to manage as one work item. Keep its boundaries clear: child items should contribute to the epic’s outcome, rather than merely sharing a team or project.
Create an epic
Choose the creation surface that matches how your Jira space is set up. You need the Create work items permission. Your administrator may have renamed Epic or configured a different work type for larger bodies of work.
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From a software-space timeline
- Open the software space’s timeline.
- At the bottom of the work-items column, select Create Epic (or the configured equivalent).
- Enter the epic’s details and create it. You can add dates now or set them later.
From a team-managed backlog
- Open Backlog.
- Turn on the Epic filter and the Epic panel, if they are not already visible.
- Select + Create Epic and enter the details.
From the global Create menu
- Select Create.
- Choose the configured work type used for larger bodies of work.
- Enter the details and create the work item. If the work type is unavailable, ask a space administrator to add or configure it.
The available steps and labels can differ between space types and configurations. Atlassian’s epic-creation instructions cover these flows.
Add stories, bugs, and tasks to an epic
Each child work item needs the epic as its parent. Use whichever method is available in your space:
- While creating the item: choose a non-epic work type, then set its parent or epic field to the relevant epic.
- From the backlog’s Epics panel: select Create work in epic to create a child item.
- From the timeline: hover over the epic and select + Create work item.
- From a board or backlog item: open the item’s more-actions menu and set its parent.
To remove an item from an epic, move it to the backlog’s work without epics area or clear the parent or epic value in the item details. The control shown depends on the Jira view and configuration. Atlassian’s instructions for adding work to epics describe the available approaches.
Plan and track epic work
Use the timeline for dates and visibility
Set an epic’s start and due dates by dragging its bar on the timeline or editing the epic. These dates communicate the plan; they do not by themselves mean that the child work is complete or that the schedule is guaranteed. The timeline can also be filtered by keyword, assignee, status, label, work type, version, or component. Depending on the view, roadmaps can be shared, exported, printed, or embedded in Confluence. See Atlassian’s timeline guide.
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Review delivery, not just the epic bar
Check the status of the child work and any dependencies regularly. An epic’s dates and summary are most useful when the underlying stories, bugs, and tasks reflect current progress. Close the epic when its child work and intended outcome are complete, following your team’s workflow.
Team-managed spaces, hierarchy, and planning tiers
Team-managed spaces provide backlog and global Create flows, and the parent work type may have a custom name. Standard timeline planning is distinct from advanced planning: Jira Cloud Premium and Enterprise plans can use Advanced Roadmaps to add levels above epics, such as initiatives. The plan’s hierarchy configuration determines which parent levels are available. Atlassian documents how to configure the work-item hierarchy.
When a hierarchy level above epic is in use, a story cannot bypass its configured level to attach directly to an initiative. It must first be in an epic, which can then sit under the initiative. Check the hierarchy configured in your plan before deciding how to structure work.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Should you use Epic Link or Parent?
Atlassian is consolidating work-item relationships around Parent. Existing saved filters that use Epic Link continue to work, but new JQL and work-item searches should use parent. New integrations should follow the current parent model instead of adding new dependencies on Epic Link or Parent Link. Exact field names and availability can vary with site configuration and rollout timing, so verify the fields in the Jira site you use. See Atlassian’s JQL field reference.
Quick Recap
A practical epic workflow
- Define the outcome and boundaries. State what the epic should deliver and what work belongs outside it.
- Create the epic. Use the timeline, backlog, or Create menu available in your space.
- Add the delivery work. Link the relevant stories, bugs, and tasks as children.
- Set dates when they help communicate the plan. Use the timeline dates for roadmap visibility, not as a substitute for updating child work.
- Review progress and dependencies. Keep child-item status current and revisit the plan as work changes.
- Close it against the outcome. Follow the team’s workflow definition when the child work and intended result are complete.
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