Easy Tech TutsHow to Add an Epic in Jira
By Impran M N
Epics give you a way to organize a big body of work into one container that stories and tasks can roll up to. This guide walks through creating your first epic and getting it ready to hold related issues.
01Open the create issue screen
Click the create button from anywhere in Jira to open the new issue form.
02Select Epic as the issue type
Change the issue type dropdown from Task or Story to Epic before filling in the details.
03Name the epic clearly
Give it a short, descriptive summary since this name will show up as a label on every linked issue.
04Fill in optional epic details
Add a description, color, or due date if your team uses those fields to track the epic's scope and timeline.
05Save and link issues to it
Create the epic, then start attaching existing or new stories and tasks to it from their issue detail view.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an epic and a story?
An epic is a larger body of work that groups multiple stories and tasks together, while a story is a single unit of user-facing work.
Can I convert an existing task into an epic?
Not directly, since epic is a distinct issue type; you'd typically create a new epic and move the related work under it.
Do epics have their own workflow?
Epics can follow their own workflow status, separate from the individual stories and tasks linked to them.
Is there a limit to how many issues an epic can hold?
There's no hard limit, but very large epics are usually broken down further for easier tracking.
Watch the full walkthrough
The same steps, demonstrated on screen from start to finish.
