Documentation - Magic Columns for Jira

Magic Columns is a backend Forge app—there is no issue panel UI. The pipeline runs when a human drags an issue into a configured Magic Column on a board. Follow the steps below per space before enabling that space in the app admin page.

Fetch Info → Risk Analysis → Generate DoD → To Do

Prerequisites

Rovo must be enabled on your organization. Magic Columns uses Forge LLMs (Atlassian-hosted AI) to run its agents. This capability depends on Rovo being active on your Atlassian Cloud site.

Ask your Atlassian administrator to confirm Rovo is turned on under Administration → Rovo. If the option is missing, your site may not yet be included in Atlassian's phased Rovo rollout—see how to check Rovo availability. Without Rovo, the AI pipeline cannot process issues.

1. Add workflow statuses

Step 1 — Create statuses (exact names)

In your space, open Space settings → Work types → [your work type] → Edit workflow and add these statuses. Spelling and capitalisation must match exactly:

Fetch Info
Risk Analysis
Generate DoD
To Do (skip if you already use this name)

2. Assign the workflow to the space

Confirm the work type on your board uses the workflow that contains the Magic Column statuses. If you rely on a shared workflow scheme, add these statuses only where you intend to run Magic Columns—avoid adding them to every space by default.

3. Connect workflow transitions

Step 2 — Required transitions

After each AI agent completes, the app transitions the issue to the next status. Your workflow must allow these paths:

Your intake status (for example Backlog or Open) → Fetch Info
Fetch Info → Risk Analysis
Risk Analysis → Generate DoD
Generate DoD → To Do
To Do → your normal delivery statuses (for example In Progress)

4. Map statuses to board columns

Step 3 — Board column mapping

Open your board → Board settings → Columns. Create one column per Magic status and map each status to its column so teammates can drag cards through the pipeline left to right.

Recommended board order: Fetch Info → Risk Analysis → Generate DoD → To Do → (your delivery columns)
Each column should map to a single matching status name
Place Magic Columns before your regular delivery workflow if you use them as an intake refinement stage

5. Enable spaces in the app

Step 4 — Space allowlist

Go to Jira Settings → Apps → Magic Columns for Jira. Search for spaces, check the ones that should use the pipeline, and click Save spaces.

Spaces that are not enabled are never processed. The app does not affect other spaces on your site.

6. What happens in each column

Column	Agent	Output	Then moves to
Fetch Info	Magic Context	Structured context comment	Risk Analysis
Risk Analysis	Magic Risk	Identified risks comment	Generate DoD
Generate DoD	Magic Refiner	User story + Definition of Done in description	To Do

7. Data residency & LLMs

Magic Columns is built on Atlassian Forge and uses the Forge LLMs API—Atlassian-hosted large language models. Issue summaries, descriptions, and comments from enabled spaces are sent to these models as prompts so agents can enrich each ticket.

On-platform processing: AI requests run entirely within Atlassian's infrastructure. We do not send issue data to third-party AI providers, and we do not operate external backends that receive your Jira content.
Forge guidelines: The app follows Atlassian's Forge platform rules for LLM usage, including the same moderation and acceptable-use checks applied to Atlassian Intelligence and Rovo features. Apps using Forge LLMs are badged Runs on Atlassian, indicating they leverage Atlassian's security, compliance, and scalability controls.
Data residency: Processing stays on Atlassian's platform in line with Forge's governed model access. We do not persist full issue content outside Jira—only your space allowlist is stored in Forge app storage.
No external API keys: You do not need to supply OpenAI, Anthropic, or other third-party AI credentials. Model access is provided through your Atlassian Cloud subscription (Rovo / Atlassian Intelligence).

For more detail, see our privacy policy, security policy, and Atlassian's Forge LLMs documentation.

8. Test the pipeline

Create an issue with a short summary.
Drag it into Fetch Info on the board.
Wait a few seconds—a context comment should appear and the card should move to Risk Analysis.
Repeat through each column until the issue lands in To Do with an updated description.

Important: Only human drags trigger agents. Moves made by the app itself are ignored to prevent infinite loops. Add Magic Column statuses only to workflows for spaces you enable in the admin page.

9. Licensing

In production, Magic Columns requires an active Marketplace subscription. Development and staging environments can use the app without a license for testing.

10. Support

Questions or setup help: support@lndtech.eu

Setup & Usage Guide