Overview

Effective November 22nd, 2025, Atlassian has begun enforcing stricter rate limits on API tokens. Since the standard Spira-to-Jira DataSync relies on these API tokens to authenticate and move data, this change can directly impact the stability of your integration if not managed correctly.

Here is a breakdown of what changed, how it affects your synchronization, and what you can do to ensure smooth operation.

What Changed?

Atlassian has implemented a detailed Cost and Counter-Based Rate Limiting system. Unlike simple systems that just count requests, this system assigns a "cost" to every API request based on its complexity and resource usage.

Most critically for Spira users, Atlassian announced that API Tokens are now subject to these strict limits.

According to the Atlassian Developer documentation, if your integration exceeds the allowed cost budget (which varies based on your Jira tier and user count), Jira will block further requests and return a HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) error.

How This Impacts Spira DataSync

The Spira DataSync service connects to Jira Cloud using the Jira Login (Email) and Jira API Key you configured in the integration settings. This means your synchronization traffic is attributed to that specific user account.

If your Spira instance attempts to sync a large volume of requirements, incidents, or tasks in a short burst, you may trigger these limits.

Potential Symptoms

If the rate limit is hit, you may notice the following behaviors:

  • Partial Sync Failures: Some tickets update successfully, while others fail to sync.

  • Error Logs: In Spira’s System > Event Log, you may see error messages referencing HTTP 429 or "Too Many Requests."

  • Delayed Updates: If the Spira DataSync service encounters these errors, it may have to wait (back off) before retrying, leading to a lag between a change in Jira and its reflection in Spira.

Action Plan: How to Mitigate Rate Limiting

To prevent your integration from hitting these walls, we recommend the following best practices:

1. Dedicate a "Service User" for Syncing

Do not use a personal user account (e.g., bob@company.com) for the integration. If "Bob" is clicking around in Jira while the DataSync is also running under his API token, the combined "cost" will hit the limit much faster.

  • Best Practice: Create a dedicated Jira user (e.g., spira-sync@MyCompany.com) and generate the API token for that specific account. This isolates the integration traffic from human traffic.

2. Limit the Scope of Data

If you are syncing every issue in your Jira history, you are wasting your "API budget" on old data.

  • In the Spira DataSync configuration, reduce your project scope to only sync active versions/releases.

  • Ensure you are not syncing unnecessary artifacts (e.g., if you only need Bugs, don't sync Requirements).

  • Only use the Reset Sync feature occasionally when you need to onboard a new Jira project with lots of historical data.

3. Monitor the Event Log

Keep an eye on System Administration > System > Event Log.

  • Filter for "JiraDataSync".

  • If you see 429 errors, it is a confirmed sign that you need to reduce your volume immediately.

4. Check "Per-Issue" Write Limits

Atlassian also enforces limits on how often a single issue can be updated (e.g., 20 updates per 2 seconds).

  • Avoid automated workflows that trigger "loops" (e.g., Spira updates Jira -> Jira Automation updates field -> Spira updates back). These loops will instantly trigger the write-limit lock on that specific issue.

For more technical details on the limits, you can read the official Atlassian Rate Limiting Guide.

Tired of Atlassian's Policy Changes?

If you are dissatisfied with the recent changes from Atlassian:

If like many of our customers you are tired of the constant price changes and service changes, you are welcome to switch to the Inflectra platform today and have customer delight in every interfaction. With our Spira platform you have unlimited named users, projects, API calls, storage, support tickets, plugins, test management, reporting, analytics and many other things that you have pay separately for with Atlassian.

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