Install Jira Server on Windows Step by Step

Honesty before steps. Atlassian ended support for Jira Server on 15 February 2024. No new Server licences are sold, and Server installs no longer receive security patches or bug fixes. Existing Server licences are perpetual — an install you already own keeps running legally, just unsupported.

So who should follow this guide? Teams running a lab or training setup, admins maintaining an existing licensed install, and anyone learning how Jira works before moving to Jira Cloud or Jira Data Center (the self-managed edition Atlassian sells now). Do not build a brand-new production system on an unpatched edition and expose it to the internet. The install below is exactly what the video shows — what you do with it should respect that reality.

1. Download the 64-bit Windows installer (.exe) for Jira Software from Atlassian. Existing customers get older Server releases from their Atlassian account downloads; the current self-managed downloads are Data Center builds, and the install flow is the same.
2. You do not need to install Java or Tomcat separately — the installer bundles both.
3. Keep your licence key ready, or plan to generate a time-limited evaluation licence during setup.

1. Run the .exe as administrator and choose the Custom install so you can see every choice.
2. Installation directory: where the program files go. The suggested default is C:\Program Files\Atlassian\Jira.
3. Home directory: where Jira stores attachments, logs, indexes and configuration. The suggested default is C:\Program Files\Atlassian\Application Data\Jira. If you have a second drive, putting the home directory there is a sensible choice — it will grow.
4. Ports: keep the default HTTP port 8080 unless something else on this machine already uses it.
5. Select Run Jira as a service. This makes Jira start automatically with Windows — without it, Jira only runs while you start it manually.
6. Finish the installer and let it launch Jira.

1. Open http://localhost:8080 in a browser on the server. The first load can take a few minutes while Jira builds its database tables — a slow first start is normal, not a failure.
2. Choose how you will set it up. The quick route uses the built-in database — fine for evaluation, not for production (a separate guide on this site explains why).
3. Enter your licence key, or generate an evaluation licence.
4. Create the administrator account. Use a strong password and note the username — this account is your rescue key later.
5. Set the base URL and, optionally, mail server details. Mail can be configured later, so do not stall the install on it.

1. Log in with the administrator account you just created.
2. Create one sample project and one test issue. If you can create, assign and close it, the install is healthy.
3. Open Administration → System info once and confirm Jira sees the memory and database you expect.

That is the whole install: installer, wizard, first issue. Everything after this — external database, firewall access for your team, SSL, backups — is hardening, and each topic has its own guide linked from this series.