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Lockwise documentation

How to lock an issue, what happens when someone else edits it, and how admins control it.

Lockwise is in development. These docs describe the first version as built and tested on a test site. Details may change before release.

What Lockwise does

Lockwise lets one person check out a Jira issue while they work on it: a contract under review, a release being prepared, audit evidence being collected. While the issue is locked, changes to its protected fields by anyone else are undone, and both people are told why.

Lock an issue

  1. Open the issue and find the Lockwise panel.
  2. Select Lock issue.
  3. Enter a reason, such as “Contract under legal review”. Everyone will see it.
  4. Choose how long: 1 hour, 4 hours, 1 day, 3 days or 1 week, up to the project’s maximum.
  5. Select Lock.

The panel now shows Locked, who holds the lock, the reason, and when it expires.

To lock an issue you need the Edit issues permission.

Extend or unlock

  • Extend: the holder selects Extend and picks a new duration. The lock keeps its original start time.
  • Unlock: the holder selects Unlock. Only the holder can unlock.

When someone else edits a locked issue

If anyone other than the holder changes a protected field:

  1. Lockwise puts the old value back within a few seconds, exactly as it was, including formatting in the description.
  2. Jira emails the holder and the person who made the change, saying what was undone and why.
  3. The change is recorded in the audit log.

Changes the holder makes are kept and become the new baseline.

Custom fields that Lockwise can put back exactly can be protected too. Select lists, checkboxes, date pickers, user pickers and multi-user pickers have been tested.

Fields that can’t be put back exactly, such as attachments, links, comments, status, sprint and rank, are never changed by Lockwise. If someone changes one on a locked issue, the holder is told and it is logged as “could not be undone”.

The hourly cap

If the same issue keeps being changed, Lockwise stops after 3 undos in an hour (admins can set 1–20). It then tells the holder and leaves the issue alone for the rest of the hour, so it never gets into an edit war with a person or an automation rule.

Expiry

Every lock has an end time. About an hour before it, the holder gets a reminder. When it passes, the lock is released automatically and the holder is told. Locking again extends it.

Force unlock (project admins)

Project admins see Force unlock on any locked issue. It asks for a reason, removes the lock, and tells the previous holder who removed it and why.

Project settings (project admins)

Open Project settings → Lockwise.

Setting Default What it does
Protected fields Summary, Description, Priority, Assignee, Due date Changes to these are undone. Only fields Lockwise can put back exactly are offered, including many custom fields.
Longest lock allowed 72 hours Between 1 and 720 hours
Undo cap per hour 3 Between 1 and 20
Let Jira Automation and other apps change locked issues Off When on, changes by automation and apps are kept
Read-only mode Off See below

Find locked issues with JQL

lockwiseHolder = currentUser()
project = ABC AND lockwiseHolder is not EMPTY

Audit log

In Project settings → Lockwise, select Show audit log as CSV. Copy the text into a file ending in .csv to open it in a spreadsheet. It lists every lock, unlock, force unlock, expiry, reminder and undone change, with time, person and detail.

Blocking workflow transitions

Lockwise includes a workflow condition, “Lockwise – only the lock holder can transition”. A Jira admin adds it to transitions in a company-managed workflow; while an issue is locked, only the holder sees those transitions. Everyone else doesn’t see them in the status menu, and they come back when the lock ends.

To add it:

  1. Open the workflow in the workflow editor and select the transition, such as the one into Done.
  2. Under Rules, select + next to Restrict transition.
  3. Choose Lockwise – only the lock holder can transition, then Add.
  4. Select Update workflow.

Read-only fields

With read-only mode on, these protected fields show as read-only in the issue view for everyone except the holder: Summary, Description and Priority. Jira doesn’t yet let apps make Due date or Assignee read-only there, so those stay editable, but changes to them are still undone.

This uses a Jira feature that is still in preview, so the list may grow.

What Lockwise stores

What Where
The lock: holder, holder’s name, start, end, reason An issue property called lockwise on the issue
A copy of the protected fields’ values while the issue is locked Forge app storage in your Atlassian site. Deleted when the lock ends.
Project settings Forge app storage
Audit log entries Forge app storage
Short-lived counters (recent undos, handled changes) Forge app storage, expiring after hours

Lockwise runs on Atlassian Forge and sends no data to any server outside Atlassian. It never deletes your issues or their content. It only puts field values back.

Known limits

  • Undo happens after the change. Jira has no way for an app to stop an edit before it happens, so for a few seconds the changed value is visible.
  • Comments, attachments and links aren’t protected in this version.
  • Team-managed projects get the undo layer only. Workflow conditions are for company-managed projects.
  • Cloning a locked issue doesn’t copy the lock. Lockwise removes it from the clone.
  • Jira Cloud only.

Need help?

Email support@tidybitapps.com.