Easy Tech TutsHow to Close and Start a Sprint in Jira Easily 2026
By Impran M N
Closing a sprint sloppily can scatter unfinished work and mess up your team's velocity history. This guide walks through completing an active sprint, deciding where leftover tickets go, and starting the next sprint cleanly.
01Review your active sprint board
Open Active Sprints from the left sidebar and check your board columns to see what's actually finished before closing anything.
02Complete the sprint
Click the Complete Sprint button in the top right to open the closure panel and begin wrapping up the iteration.
03Handle incomplete issues
Review the summary of unfinished work and choose whether to send it back to the backlog or roll it into a future sprint.
04Confirm the sprint closure
Click the final confirm button to close out the sprint, which also generates your team's sprint report automatically.
05Start the next sprint
Go to the backlog, locate your next planned sprint, set a goal and dates, and click Start Sprint to move into the new cycle.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to unfinished issues when I close a Jira sprint?
You'll be prompted to choose whether incomplete issues move back to the backlog or roll forward into a future sprint.
Does closing a sprint affect my team's velocity history?
Sprint transitions are designed to keep historical velocity data intact as long as you close the sprint properly rather than deleting it.
Where do I start a new sprint after closing the old one?
Go to the backlog tab, find your next pre-created sprint, set the goal and dates, and click Start Sprint.
Can I set a sprint goal before starting it?
Yes, when starting a new sprint you can add a goal along with the workweek dates before confirming.
Watch the full walkthrough
The same steps, demonstrated on screen from start to finish.
