Find files across Jira
Use Attachment Explorer to search issues, filter by metadata, switch to JQL, select files, save personal folders, download, export, preview, or delete where Jira permissions allow.
Overview
One app for daily attachment work and admin governance
Attachment Architect has two layers. Users get a live Attachment Explorer, issue-level attachment panels, personal folders, bulk actions, and rich file preview. Admins get manual scans, Mission Control, analytics, security signals, duplicate candidates, storage hygiene views, exports, audit history, settings, and review-first cleanup controls.
Attachment workbench
Search attachments across Jira, open issue-scoped attachment lists, preview supported file types, run OCR on images, download files, organize personal collections, and export current results.
Governance console
Build the attachment index, monitor storage, inspect risky or stale files, review duplicate candidates, export scan data, audit actions, and configure activity panel, security scanning, threshold, OCR publishing, and reset settings.
Quick start
Start with the path that matches your role
- Open Apps > Attachment Explorer.
- Use Basic filters or switch to JQL mode.
- Click an attachment to preview supported file types.
- Select files with click, Ctrl/Cmd + click, or Shift + click.
- Add selected files to personal folders, download them, export results, or delete where permissions allow.
- Open Jira settings > Apps > Attachment Architect.
- Start or review a manual scan from the Scans page.
- Open Mission Control for KPIs and scan status.
- Review Security Risks, Duplicates, Storage Hygiene, and Frozen Dinosaurs.
- Export scan data or delete selected files only after review.
Entry points
Where to find Attachment Architect in Jira
| Entry point | Who can access | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Admin Console | Jira admins | Jira settings > Apps > Attachment Architect |
| Attachment Explorer | Licensed Jira users | Apps menu > Attachment Explorer |
| Attachments Panel | Users with issue access | Jira issue sidebar > Attachments |
| Attachment Activity | Users with issue access, when enabled and relevant | Issue context > Attachment Activity |
For users
Attachment Explorer
Attachment Explorer is a live attachment search tool available to licensed Jira users from the Apps menu. It fetches results through paginated Jira REST API calls and respects Jira permissions.
Basic and JQL search
Use visual filters for project, status, assignee, issue type, created date, issue text, filename, file category, and size. Switch to Advanced mode for raw JQL input, saved Jira filters, validation, and direct query editing.
Live Explorer safety limits
Explorer limits broad result windows to protect Jira and Forge performance. When results are limited, the app shows a warning and offers Fetch Next Batch where more results are available.
Desktop-style selection
Click selects one row. Ctrl/Cmd + click toggles individual files. Shift + click selects a range. Selection tracks file IDs so it survives sorting and filtering.
Personal folders
Folders are personal attachment collections, not shared folders and not Jira storage folders. Each user can create up to 20 folders with up to 500 files per folder.
Bulk actions
Select files to download, add to folder, delete with confirmation where Jira permissions allow, or clear selection. Multiple-file download opens a ZIP packaging flow.
Export current results
Export the current Explorer results for review, handoff, or offline analysis.
Issue view
Attachments Panel and Attachment Activity
Attachments Panel
A compact attachment viewer on the Jira issue. Filter by filename, file type, and size. Preview supported files, select multiple attachments, download, add to folders, delete where allowed, refresh the list, or expand into the full Explorer filtered to the issue. Issue Panel deletion is capped at 100 selected files.
Attachment Activity
A conditional issue context panel for deletion transparency. It appears when the issue has Attachment Architect activity and the admin setting for the activity panel is enabled.
Preview
14 specialized browser-based file viewers
Attachment Architect previews supported Jira attachments in the browser. Files can be opened from Explorer, the Issue Panel, nested archive previews, and issue-scoped preview flows. Unsupported or oversized files show a limited state instead of pretending they can be rendered.
| Viewer | File types | Max size | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image Gallery | jpg, jpeg, png, gif, bmp, svg, webp, ico | 15 MB | Lightbox, zoom, pan, gallery navigation, OCR |
| Video Player | mp4, webm | 100 MB | HTML5 player, gallery navigation |
| PDF Viewer | 15 MB | Page rendering, zoom, page navigation | |
| Word Viewer | docx | 15 MB | Document rendering with styles, tables, images |
| Excel Viewer | xlsx, xls, ods | 15 MB | Sheet tabs, headers, search |
| PowerPoint Viewer | pptx, ppsx | 50 MB | Slide-by-slide rendering |
| CSV / TSV Grid | csv, tsv | 15 MB | Spreadsheet grid, column sorting, virtualization |
| Code and Text | 80+ extensions plus special filenames | 10 MB code / 20 MB logs | Syntax highlighting, search, line numbers, word wrap, copy |
| Audio Player | mp3, wav, ogg, m4a, aac, flac, opus | 100 MB | Waveform, ID3 tags, lyrics, playback controls |
| Email Viewer | eml | 15 MB | Headers, body, attachment list |
| Certificate Viewer | pem, crt, cer, der, p7b, p7c, key | 1 MB | Subject, issuer, validity, serial number, algorithm |
| Markdown Viewer | md, markdown | 5 MB | Rendered Markdown, code highlighting, tables |
| Map / Geo Viewer | kml, kmz, geojson, gpx | 5 MB | Offline SVG map, feature table, Google Maps links |
| Archive Inspector | zip, tar, gz, tgz | 500 MB | Virtual file browser, nested preview, byte-range fetching |
Important limits
Legacy .doc is not supported by the Word viewer. Video preview supports MP4 and WebM, not MOV, AVI, or MKV. Archive preview supports ZIP, TAR, GZ, and TGZ, not RAR or 7z.
Live text
OCR for image previews
OCR is available for image files such as jpg, png, gif, bmp, and webp. It runs in the browser using Tesseract.js WebAssembly with bundled offline language data. OCR text is not stored in app storage, and results are cached only in the browser session for performance.
Extract and copy text
Open an image preview, click the OCR text action, review extracted text in the side panel, then copy it to the clipboard.
Make searchable
If admins enable OCR publishing, users can publish extracted text as a structured Jira comment. The app uses one comment per attachment and updates it when text changes.
JQL search after publishing
Published OCR comments make image text searchable with Jira text search, for example text ~ "search term" or the JQL pattern shown by the app after publishing.
For admins
Jira attachment admin console
The Admin Console opens on Mission Control and gives Jira admins the operational view: KPIs, scan status, storage growth, risk signals, duplicate candidates, stale files, exports, audit history, and settings.
Mission Control
Shows total attachments indexed, storage consumed, security risk count, duplicate count, scan status, and last scan time.
Action Center
Includes Security Risks, Duplicates, Storage Hygiene, and Frozen Dinosaurs. These are review surfaces for governance and cleanup, not automatic deletion flows.
Deep Analytics
Storage Velocity, By Project, By User, By File Type, By Age, and Zombie Projects help admins understand where attachment storage grows and where cleanup may be useful.
Operations
Scans, scan history with deltas, CSV/ZIP export, Audit Log, activity panel toggle, security scanning settings, stale-file thresholds, OCR publishing settings, permissions guidance, and Danger Zone reset.
Audit Log
Tracks app actions such as scans, settings changes, and admin cleanup events. Normal user deletes from Explorer or the Issue Panel run through Jira permissions and are not duplicated as Admin Console audit events.
Index build
Scanning builds the admin attachment index
A scan builds a metadata-focused attachment index in Forge SQL. It powers dashboards, analytics, duplicate candidate grouping, storage hygiene scoring, security signals, heat index calculations, scan history, and exports.
Start from the Scans page
Admins start scans from Operations > Scans. The scan builds the metadata index used by Mission Control and admin reports.
Progress and cancellation
Scans show progress, can be cancelled at safe checkpoints, and pause respectfully when Jira or Forge rate limits ask the app to slow down.
Large sites
Large Jira instances use a two-phase approach: collect issue metadata through JQL pagination, then fetch attachment details per issue. Very large sites may take longer to scan.
Licensing
Trial and active licenses get full access
| License state | Access | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Trial | Full access | All features are available during the time-limited trial. |
| Active | Full access | All features are available. |
| Inactive | Read-only | Browsing and viewing remain available. Destructive actions such as attachment deletion are blocked. |
The app checks license state on page load, retries network failures, and falls back to inactive as a safe default if checks fail.
Permissions
Permissions and data access
Attachment Architect uses Jira and Forge permissions for Explorer, previews, scans, analytics, OCR publishing, and cleanup workflows.
read:jira-work
Reads Jira issue and attachment metadata for Explorer, Issue Panel, previews, scans, analytics, admin reports, and exports.
read:jira-user
Shows user names in filters, attachment metadata, uploader information, audit history, and admin analytics.
write:jira-work
Supports confirmed attachment deletion and optional OCR publishing to Jira comments.
Also supports optional security warning comments and app-managed Jira properties used by configured workflows.
storage:app
Stores app settings, folder metadata, scan indexes, audit/activity metadata, scan/export data, and operational app data.
Attachment Architect does not silently delete attachments. Cleanup actions require confirmation, respect Jira permissions, and destructive actions are blocked for inactive licenses.
Trust
Security and privacy
Attachment Architect is built on Atlassian Forge. Scans store attachment metadata in Forge SQL. Attachment content may be accessed only for workflows such as preview, OCR, download, archive inspection, or security-signal scanning. File preview and OCR are browser-based; supported preview content is not sent to external servers.
OCR publishing and real-time security scanning are optional admin-configured workflows. When real-time scanning is enabled and findings are detected, the app may add a Jira issue warning comment. Security signals are review assistance, not a DLP replacement. Admins should review findings before taking action.
Boundaries
Known limitations
- Users only see attachments allowed by their Jira permissions.
- Deletion requires Jira delete permission and active trial or paid licensing.
- Preview works only for supported file types and size limits.
- OCR works on image files and depends on image quality and browser performance.
- OCR publishing must be enabled by an admin and requires comment permission.
- Duplicate candidates are review surfaces. Admins should inspect candidates before cleanup.
- Security signals can produce false positives and are not DLP.
- Real-time security scanning is optional and may add warning comments when enabled.
- Large Jira sites may require longer scan time.
- The Admin Audit Log tracks app actions such as scans, settings changes, and admin cleanup events. Normal Explorer and Issue Panel deletions are Jira permission-aware user actions and are not duplicated as Admin Console audit events.
Help
Troubleshooting
No data appears in the Admin Console.
Run a scan first, then check the Scans page for status, progress, or errors.
I see permission denied when deleting.
Deletions run as the current user. You need Jira Delete Attachments permission in the project, and the license must be active or trial.
A scan is stuck or slow.
Large instances can take time. If Jira or Forge throttles requests, the scan may pause and continue after the retry window. Avoid repeatedly restarting a paused scan. Factory Reset in Settings can clear scan data for a fresh start when support recommends it.
Preview does not load.
Check the file type and size limit. Some formats are not supported, including legacy .doc, MOV/AVI/MKV video, and RAR/7z archives.
Explorer returns no results.
Check filters, validate JQL in Advanced mode, and watch for the 50,000 issue safety limit on broad queries.
OCR is not working.
OCR works on image files under the preview size limit. It runs in the browser, so large images or low-powered devices can be slower. WebAssembly must be available.
Security risk looks like a false positive.
Treat security results as review signals. Open the source issue, inspect the file context, and decide before action.
Reference
File category reference
Attachment Architect categorizes files for filtering and analytics.
ImagesDocumentsSpreadsheetsPresentations
CodeConfigLogsData
ArchivesVideoAudioDesign
SensitiveEmailDiagramsMaps/Geo
3D ModelsNotebooksFontsOther
FAQ
FAQ
Who can use Attachment Explorer?
Licensed Jira users can open it from the Jira Apps menu. Jira permissions decide which attachments are visible.
Who can access the Admin Console?
Jira admins can access it from Jira settings > Apps > Attachment Architect.
Does Attachment Architect store file contents?
Scans store attachment metadata in Forge SQL. Attachment content may be accessed for preview, OCR, download, archive inspection, or security-signal scanning workflows.
Why does the app need write:jira-work?
For confirmed attachment deletion and optional OCR publishing to Jira comments.
Can users delete attachments?
Yes, only where Jira permissions and licensing allow it. Deletion requires confirmation.
How does duplicate candidate matching work?
The admin duplicate view surfaces likely duplicate candidates based on filename and size, and protects the canonical copy during cleanup. Review candidates before deleting.
What file types can be previewed?
Supported viewers include images, video, PDFs, Word .docx, spreadsheets, PowerPoint, CSV/TSV, code and text, audio, EML email, certificates, Markdown, geo files, and archives.
Can OCR make screenshots searchable?
Yes, if an admin enables OCR publishing. Users can publish extracted image text to a Jira comment and then search it with JQL.
Is security scanning a DLP replacement?
No. It provides review assistance and security signals, not a dedicated DLP system.
Can admins export results?
Yes. Users can export current Explorer results, and admins can export scan data.
Support
Get help
When contacting support, include the Jira site URL, the page you were on, what you clicked, the exact error message, approximate time and timezone, browser, and operating system.