Set up a development environment (FREE)

The following are required to install and test the app:

A Jira Cloud instance. Atlassian provides free instances for development and testing.
A GitLab instance available over the internet. For the app to work, Jira Cloud should be able to connect to the GitLab instance through the internet. For this we recommend using Gitpod or a similar cloud development environment. For more information on using Gitpod with GDK, see the:
- GDK in Gitpod video.
- GDK with Gitpod documentation.
You must not use tunneling tools such as Serveo or ngrok. These are security risks, and must not be run on developer laptops.

Jira requires all connections to the app host to be over SSL. If you set up your own environment, remember to enable SSL and an appropriate certificate.

Install the app in Jira

To install the app in Jira:

Enable Jira development mode to install apps that are not from the Atlassian Marketplace:
1. In Jira, navigate to Jira settings > Apps > Manage apps.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the Manage apps page and click Settings.
3. Select Enable development mode and click Apply.
Install the app:
1. In Jira, navigate to Jira settings > Apps > Manage apps.
2. Click Upload app.
3. In the From this URL field, provide a link to the app descriptor. The host and port must point to your GitLab instance.
  
  For example:
```
https://xxxx.gitpod.io/-/jira_connect/app_descriptor.json
```
4. Click Upload.
If the install was successful, you should see the GitLab.com for Jira Cloud app under Manage apps. You can also click Getting Started to open the configuration page rendered from your GitLab instance.

Note that any changes to the app descriptor requires you to uninstall then reinstall the app.

If the app install failed, you might need to delete jira_connect_installations from your database.