Atlassian Plugin Configuration Guide

This guide explains how to configure the ActivityPulse Atlassian plugin to fetch activity data from Jira and Confluence.

Prerequisites

Atlassian Cloud account (Jira and/or Confluence)
Account with access to the projects/spaces you want to track
API token for authentication

Overview

The Atlassian plugin uses the Jira and Confluence REST APIs to fetch activity data. This requires:

Jira URL - The base URL of your Jira instance
Jira Email - Your Atlassian account email
Jira API Token - An API token for authentication
Confluence URL (Optional) - The base URL of your Confluence instance
Confluence Credentials (Optional) - Separate credentials if different from Jira

Step 1: Create an API Token

1.1 Navigate to API Tokens

Go to Atlassian Account Settings
Sign in with your Atlassian account
Click Create API token

1.2 Create New Token

Enter a Label for the token (e.g., ActivityPulse)
Click Create

1.3 Copy the Token

IMPORTANT: Copy the token immediately. You will NOT be able to see it again.

Store it securely - you’ll need it for ActivityPulse configuration.

Step 2: Find Your Atlassian URLs

Jira URL

Your Jira URL is typically:

Cloud: https://your-domain.atlassian.net

You can find this by:

Opening Jira in your browser
Looking at the URL in the address bar (before any /browse or /projects path)

Confluence URL (if applicable)

Your Confluence URL is typically:

Cloud: https://your-domain.atlassian.net/wiki

Note: For Atlassian Cloud, Jira and Confluence often share the same base domain, with Confluence adding /wiki.

Step 3: Configure ActivityPulse

3.1 Enter Jira Configuration

In the ActivityPulse web interface:

Navigate to Data Sources
Click Add Data Source or edit an existing Atlassian source
Enter the Jira values:

Field	Value	Example
Jira URL	Base URL of your Jira instance	`https://company.atlassian.net`
Jira Email	Your Atlassian account email	`you@company.com`
Jira API Token	API Token from Step 1	`xxxxxxxxxxxx`
Completed-item lookback (days)	How far back to look for resolved issues	`30` (default)

3.2 Enter Confluence Configuration (Optional)

If you also want to track Confluence activity:

Field	Value	Example
Confluence URL	Base URL of your Confluence	`https://company.atlassian.net/wiki`
Confluence Email	Email (or leave empty to use Jira email)	`you@company.com`
Confluence API Token	API Token (can use same as Jira)	`xxxxxxxxxxxx`

Click Save Configuration

3.3 Completed-item lookback

ActivityPulse takes a daily snapshot of the issues currently assigned to each teammate. A snapshot of open work alone cannot tell you what finished: an issue that stops appearing might have been resolved, reassigned, unassigned — or simply missed by a failed sync.

This setting is how long a resolution stays visible to the sync. Each run also searches for issues that were resolved, or moved into the Done status category, within the last N days, so a completion is recorded from what Jira reports rather than guessed from the issue’s absence.

Defaults to 30 days, accepts 0–90.
It only has to exceed your sync interval, not the longest period you report on. Once a resolution is captured in any snapshot it stays on the issue. 30 days covers a weekly sync with a wide margin.
Set it to 0 to switch the extra search off. Completions are then never observed, so finished issues stop being labeled as resolved and simply show the last status that was seen, dated. Only worth doing if you are working around a rate-limit problem.
Both halves of the search matter: Jira lets an issue reach Done with no resolution set, and lets a resolution be set while the issue sits in another category. ActivityPulse looks for either.

The configuration dialog includes a toggle labelled “Use as issue management system”. It controls whether this provider’s pages — Issue Hierarchy and Jira Worklog — appear in the sidebar.

Defaults to on, so new and existing configurations behave as before.
Turning it off hides both the Issue Hierarchy entry and the Jira Worklog entry under Signals. Data sync continues to run, and direct URLs (/issue-hierarchy/atlassian, /signals/jira-worklog) still resolve and render the pages.
Use this when you have Atlassian configured for sync but prefer to keep its plugin pages out of the sidebar.

3.5 Map Users

For each team member you want to track:

Navigate to Teammates
Edit the team member
In the External IDs section, add their Atlassian identifier
Enter their Atlassian account email or account ID

Data Collected

Jira Activity

The plugin collects:

Issues Created - New issues created by the user
Issues Updated - Issues modified by the user
Issues Resolved - Issues closed or resolved
Comments - Comments added to issues
Worklogs - Time logged on issues

Confluence Activity

If Confluence is configured, the plugin also collects:

Pages Created - New pages created
Pages Updated - Existing pages edited
Comments - Comments on pages
Spaces - Activity within spaces the user has access to

Verification

Test the Connection

In ActivityPulse, go to Data Sources
Find your Atlassian data source
Click Test Connection
A successful test confirms credentials are valid

Verify Data Collection

Click Fetch to trigger immediate data collection
Go to Activities to see fetched activity data
Filter by source type “Atlassian” to see only Atlassian activities

Troubleshooting

”Authentication failed” Error

Verify the email address is correct (case-sensitive)
Ensure the API token is copied correctly (no spaces)
Check that the token hasn’t been revoked
Try creating a new API token

”Forbidden” Error

Verify your account has access to the Jira/Confluence instance
Check that the API token was created for the correct account
Ensure you have permission to view the projects/spaces

”Not found” Error

Verify the Jira/Confluence URLs are correct
For Confluence, ensure you include /wiki if required
Check that the instance is accessible from the network

No Data After Fetch

Verify team members have Atlassian external IDs configured
Ensure users have recent activity in Jira/Confluence
Check the date range for the fetch operation

Rate Limiting

Atlassian Cloud has rate limits on API calls
ActivityPulse handles rate limiting automatically
If issues persist, reduce sync frequency

Security Best Practices

API Token Management

Use dedicated API tokens for ActivityPulse
Regularly rotate API tokens (every 6-12 months)
Revoke tokens immediately if compromised
Store tokens securely using a password manager

Account Permissions

The API token inherits the permissions of the account that created it
Consider using a dedicated service account for ActivityPulse
Grant minimum necessary permissions to the account

Network Security

Atlassian Cloud always uses HTTPS
For Data Center/Server: ensure HTTPS is configured
Consider IP allowlisting if available

Multiple Atlassian Instances

If your organization uses multiple Atlassian instances:

Create a separate data source for each instance
Use different API tokens for each instance
Map users to the appropriate instance based on where they’re active

Jira vs Confluence Credentials

You can use:

Same credentials for both Jira and Confluence (most common for Cloud)
Different credentials if needed (e.g., different accounts or permissions)

If Confluence email/token fields are left empty, ActivityPulse will use the Jira credentials for Confluence access.

API Permissions Reference

The API token inherits all permissions of the user account. For ActivityPulse to function properly, the account needs:

Jira

Browse Projects - View issues and projects
View Worklogs - See time tracking data

Confluence

View Pages - Read page content and metadata
View Space - Access space information

No write permissions are required - ActivityPulse only reads data.