Jira AlignOKIARSits on top of Jira. OKIAR has no Jira integration.Jira Align migration: moving the OKR module and leaving the rest
Facts checked October 27, 2026
Jira Align sits on top of Jira and plans work across portfolios, programs and teams. Objectives and key results are one module in it. If that module is all you still use, this guide shows how to get it out. The OKR hub exports a CSV, but leaves out child objectives. The REST API fills that gap if you have a developer. Everything tied to Jira work, such as epic and story progress, stays behind, because OKIAR has no Jira integration.
Steps 1 and 2 hold for any target tool. Steps 3 to 5 are for OKIAR.
Before you start: what you're actually moving
Since April 2025, Atlassian has sold Jira Align only inside the Strategy Collection. The pricing page prices the bundle, so dropping Jira Align is usually a contract decision before it's a data one.
In Jira Align's OKR model:
- Strategic goals sit at the top and have no team or program increment.
- Objectives belong to a tier (portfolio, solution, program or team) and a program increment.
- Key results hang off an objective or goal. Per the key results article, each has a type (cost or currency, count, percentage, decimal score or NPS), a baseline, a current value, a goal value, an owner and a target completion date.
- Scores run from 0 to 1. An objective's score is the average of its key result scores, unless someone overrode it with a confidence score.
Step 1: Decide how to get the OKRs out
| Route | Who | Format | Covers | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OKR hub Export | Users with access to the OKR hub | CSV | Objectives and their key results at the tier you're viewing | Child items and their key results are left out |
| REST API 2.0 | A developer with an API token | JSON | Goals, objectives, key results, teams, users, program increments | Needs scripting |
| Key result reports | Anyone on the objective | On screen | A progress graph per key result | No file |
The OKR hub CSV
Jira Align's OKR hub article lists Export among the hub's controls: "Export objectives and key results as CSV files to use outside of Jira Align or share them with stakeholders. (Child items and their key results are not included in the export.)" Open the hub from an objectives page with the Objectives Tree button, set your filters, then export.
One workaround we haven't tested: set the Objective tier filter to each level in turn and export each one. You'd then stitch the files together and rebuild parent links yourself. The article doesn't list the CSV's columns, so check the headers first.
The REST API
The API 2.0 guide lists Goals, Objectives and Key Results as resources you can read. Tokens come from your Jira Align user profile, or from Atlassian if your site signs in through Atlassian Guard. The API applies the same permissions as the screen, so a token from someone with portfolio-wide access sees the most. Calls are limited to 600 per 60 seconds from one IP address. Your instance's own Swagger page, at /rest/align/api/docs/index.html, lists the fields. A developer can walk from strategic goals down through every tier, which the CSV can't do.
Step 2: Check the hierarchy before you move it
Before you plan the move, line up your files and check:
- Objective counts per tier match what the OKR hub shows.
- Every child objective has a parent. If you used the tier-by-tier CSV workaround, this is where links go missing.
- Key result owners still work for you. Jira Align defaults the owner to whoever created the key result.
- Note which objectives were scored by overriding with a confidence score, so nobody mistakes the override for the calculation.
Other destinations
Our Jira Align alternatives page compares six options. Staying near Jira? Read the 
Oboard migration guide and the 
Atlassian Goals migration guide. Atlassian Goals has no bulk upload, so goals would be typed in there.
Step 3: Set up the OKR layer in OKIAR
OKIAR's import, per the sign-up guide, reads spreadsheets, CSV, PDF, Word, text and Markdown files up to 5 MB as well, so the API output can go straight in. Import helps map people, teams and parent links for you to review and produces a draft you check before accepting.
- Start a free account with no card. OKIAR's beta has no seat limit, which matters if your Strategy Collection seats were the cost problem.
- Upload this program increment's objectives, either the CSV or the API file. Split it if it passes 5 MB.
- Check each draft objective and key result.
- Turn portfolios, programs and teams into OKIAR teams, then invite people as Admin, Manager, Contributor or Viewer.
- Put strategic goals at the top and nest tier objectives under them.
- Enter each key result's baseline as its start value, plus current value, goal and unit.
- Weight key results where some count for more. OKIAR supports weighting, where Jira Align averaged scores equally.
- Connect Slack and walk each program lead through the result.
Where each Jira Align field goes in OKIAR
| Jira Align | OKIAR | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic goal | Top-level objective | Goals with no objectives under them |
| Objective, by tier | Objective nested under its parent | Missing links between tiers |
| Portfolio, solution, program, team | Teams | Too many teams for an OKR-only setup |
| Program increment | Period: a quarter or a fiscal-quarter label | PIs that don't match quarters |
| Key result type: count, percentage, cost or currency | Unit: count, percentage or currency | Currency codes |
| Key result type: decimal score or NPS | A count key result with a direction | NPS can be negative |
| Baseline, current and goal value | Start, current and target value | Baselines never set |
| Key result owner | Owner; extra owners optional | Creators left as owners |
| Target completion date | The period's end date | Results due mid-period |
| Objective score (0 to 1) | Progress and pacing status | Overridden scores |
| Confidence score override | A 0 to 10 confidence score in each check-in | Different scale |
| Check-in notes | Archive; new notes go in OKIAR check-ins | History in the API |
| Aligned work (epics, features, stories) | Not carried | Progress from Jira |
All 13 fields shown.
Statuses compared
Jira Align objectives have a status field with nine values, defined in its status descriptions. OKIAR works status out from pacing, explained in the objective docs, and owners can override it.
| Jira Align | OKIAR |
|---|---|
| On Track | On track (pacing 0.7 and up) |
| At Risk | Behind (0.4 to 0.69) or At risk (under 0.4), from pacing |
| Off Track | At risk |
| Pending | Not started |
| In Progress | Pacing decides |
| Completed, Missed | Closed |
| Canceled | Abandoned |
| Paused | No match; close it or keep it open |
Step 4: What stays in Jira
Jira Align shows work progress next to each objective: accepted epics, features and stories. OKIAR has no Jira integration, so none of that follows. Owners report progress themselves in check-ins, or an AI assistant does it over OKIAR's MCP server, which can update a key result's current value and file check-ins. MCP can create objectives, key results and KPIs, and it follows each user's role and team.
For chat, OKIAR has Slack and Telegram. It has no Teams app.
Step 5: A lighter check-in than PI planning
- Give each team a check-in day and template.
- Owners share progress, confidence on a 0 to 10 scale, and blockers, by voice or text.
- Program leads read the weekly summary instead of building status slides.
- Insights shows pacing trends once a few weeks are in.
See the weekly check-in template for five prompts.
Run your next quarter in OKIAR
Free during beta, with no credit card.
Frequently asked questions
Can I export OKRs from Jira Align?
Yes, from the OKR hub, as CSV. The export leaves out child objectives and their key results, so use the REST API if you need the whole tree.
Does Jira Align work progress come across?
No. Epic, feature and story progress comes from Jira, and OKIAR has no Jira integration.
How do Jira Align scores map to OKIAR?
Scores from 0 to 1 become progress, and OKIAR sets status from pacing. Confidence moves into check-ins on a 0 to 10 scale.
Does OKIAR migrate the data for us?
Migration help is available if you want it. You can also run the export, upload and review yourself.
What does OKIAR cost?
The beta is free, with no card and no caps on objectives, key results, KPIs or members. It has no set end date, and all Okiar is already live today. Pro is shown as "TBD/seat/month".
Running strategy reviews outside Jira too? Read the 
ClearPoint migration guide.
Rebuild this quarter's OKRs in OKIAR, free during beta
No credit card, no caps on objectives, key results, KPIs or team members. Goal import reads your Jira Align CSV or API file.