What an Epic Is and Why You Need One
An epic in Jira is a container for related work that is too large to finish in a single sprint. Think of it as a folder that holds multiple smaller tasks — called stories or issues — that all work toward the same goal. If you are managing a project to redesign a website, the epic might be "Website Redesign," and inside it would live individual stories like "Update navigation menu," "Redesign homepage," and "Create new contact form."
Epics exist because real work rarely fits into a two-week sprint. A single epic might take three months or longer to complete, and breaking it into smaller pieces lets your team see progress week to week instead of waiting months for one massive task to finish. Epics also help you group related work so stakeholders can see what belongs together and how much of the epic is done.
Key Takeaways
- An epic is a large body of work broken into smaller stories, and you create it by opening Jira, clicking Create, and selecting Epic as the issue type.
- Every epic needs a clear name, a description of what done looks like, and an optional due date so your team knows the scope and timeline.
- After you create the epic, you add stories to it by creating new issues and linking them to the epic in the Link Issue section.
- Jira's board view shows you how many stories are in an epic and how many are finished, so you can track progress without opening each story individually.
Opening Jira and Starting a New Epic
Log into your Jira account and look for the blue Create button in the top navigation bar. Click it, and a dialog box will open asking you what you want to create. In the Issue Type dropdown, scroll down until you see Epic, then select it. This tells Jira you are creating a container for work, not a single task.
The Project field should already be set to the project you are working in. If it is not, click the dropdown and choose the correct one. Jira will not let you create an epic in a project you do not have permission to edit, so if you cannot see your project in the list, ask your project administrator to add you.
Filling in the Epic Name and Description
The Epic Name field is where you write what this body of work is about. Keep it short and clear — "Website Redesign," "Mobile App Launch," or "Payment System Upgrade" are good examples. The name appears on your board and in reports, so other people need to understand at a glance what the epic covers.
The Description field is where you explain what success looks like. Write what the epic will accomplish, who it benefits, and any constraints the team should know about. For example: "Redesign the customer dashboard to improve load time and add real-time notifications. Must be compatible with Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Target completion: end of Q2." A clear description prevents confusion later when someone asks whether a particular story belongs in this epic.
The Due Date field is optional but useful. If you know when this epic needs to be done, enter that date. Jira will warn you if stories inside the epic are due after the epic's due date, which helps catch scheduling problems early.
Adding Stories to Your Epic
After you create the epic, you need to populate it with stories. You can do this two ways: create new stories and link them to the epic, or link existing stories that are already in Jira. Most teams do both — some stories already exist from earlier planning, and new ones emerge as the team breaks down the work.
To create a new story and add it to the epic, click Create again and select Story as the Issue Type. Fill in the story name and description the same way you did for the epic. Then scroll down to the Link Issue section and click Link. In the dialog that appears, select "is part of epic" from the dropdown, then type or search for the epic you just created. Jira will link the story to the epic automatically.
To link a story that already exists, open that story and scroll to the Link Issue section. Click Link, select "is part of epic," and search for the epic name. The story will now appear inside the epic.
Viewing Your Epic and Tracking Progress
Click on the epic name to open it. You will see a list of all the stories inside it, along with their status — whether they are To Do, In Progress, or Done. At the top of the page, Jira shows you a progress bar: how many stories are finished out of the total. This gives you a quick view of how much of the epic is complete without opening each story individually.
The board view also shows epics. If your team uses a Kanban or Scrum board, you can filter by epic to see only the work that belongs to a specific epic. This is useful when you want to focus on one large goal and ignore everything else for a sprint or two.
Editing and Closing an Epic
If you need to change the epic name, description, or due date after you create it, click the epic to open it, then click the Edit button. Make your changes and click Save. You can edit an epic at any time, even after stories have been added to it.
When all the stories in an epic are marked Done, you can close the epic. Click the epic to open it, then click the Transition button (or the status dropdown, depending on your Jira setup) and select Done. Closing an epic does not delete the stories inside it — they stay in Jira for your records. You can reopen a closed epic if you discover more work that belongs to it.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The most common mistake is creating an epic that is too small. If an epic will take one or two sprints to finish, it probably should be a story instead. Epics are for work that spans multiple sprints or months. If you create too many tiny epics, your board becomes cluttered and you lose the benefit of grouping related work.
Another mistake is forgetting to link stories to the epic. You can create an epic and create stories, but if you do not link them, Jira will not know they belong together. The epic will appear empty on your board, and you will lose the ability to track progress. Always check the Link Issue section when creating or editing a story.
A third mistake is writing a vague epic description. "Improvements" or "New features" does not tell anyone what the epic is actually for. Spend two minutes writing a clear description that explains what the epic accomplishes and why it matters. Your team will thank you when they are trying to decide whether a new story belongs in this epic or a different one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create an epic inside another epic?
No. Epics are the top level of grouping in Jira. Stories go inside epics, but epics do not nest inside other epics. If you need to group multiple epics together, use a feature called Initiatives (available in some Jira plans) or create a label that applies to multiple epics.
What happens to stories if I delete an epic?
The stories remain in Jira, but they are no longer linked to the epic. They become orphaned stories with no epic parent. You can link them to a different epic or leave them unlinked. Deleting an epic does not delete the work inside it.
Can multiple teams work on the same epic?
Yes. An epic is just a container, so any team member with access to the project can add stories to it or work on stories inside it. If multiple teams are working on the same epic, make sure the description is clear about who owns which stories.
How do I know if my epic is too big?
If an epic will take more than three or four months to finish, consider breaking it into smaller epics. If stories inside the epic have no relationship to each other, they probably should not be in the same epic. A good epic is focused enough that you can explain it in one sentence.