jira_clone
A simplified Jira-style issue tracker built with React and Node, meant as a code example.
- Stars
- 11.1k
- Forks
- 2.1k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- JavaScript
- Last update
- 2.4 years ago
- Type
- App
No commits in over a year — check for forks or alternatives before adopting.
What it is
This is a simplified clone of Jira, the project and issue tracking tool, built with a React front end and a Node/TypeScript API backed by PostgreSQL. The author describes it as a showcase project rather than a product, intended to show how a modern React codebase can be organized. It includes a live demo and uses Cypress for end-to-end tests.
- Run the app locally against a PostgreSQL database and explore how it is built
- Read the client and API code to see functional React components with hooks and no Redux
- Run the Cypress end-to-end test suite against a separate test database
- Fork the repository as a base for your own issue tracker experiment
Great for
- React developers who want to study a real-world, non-trivial codebase
- Developers learning how a React client pairs with a TypeORM and PostgreSQL API
- Developers who want a starting point to fork and extend a Jira-like app
- Students looking at project structure, custom UI components, and end-to-end testing with Cypress
Not ideal for
- People who need a production-ready Jira replacement, since the README lists missing migrations, proper authentication, accessibility, and unit tests
- Anyone who wants to submit changes upstream, since the author states they will not accept pull requests
- Beginners with no Node, PostgreSQL, or React experience, since setup involves a database and environment file configuration
How to get it
- 1
Clone and build from source
You'll need: PostgreSQL · Node.js
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/oldboyxx/jira_clone.gitInstall dependencies
npm run install-dependencies - 2
Run it
- Install PostgreSQL and create a database named jira_development.
- Create a .env file in /api by copying /api/.env.example and filling in your database username and password.
- Start the API with cd api && npm start.
- Start the client with cd client && npm start in another terminal, then open http://localhost:8080/.
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Read the client and api folders separately, since the README links to each as its own part of the code.
- Use the Cypress tests in client/cypress as a reference for end-to-end testing.
- Follow the README's notes on migrations and authentication as a checklist before adapting it for real use.
- Run the test API with npm run start:test against a jira_test database to execute the Cypress suite.
Downloads
Strengths
- The README describes a clear, relatively small structure intended for learning
- Uses modern React with functional components and hooks and a custom webpack setup
- Released under the MIT license, so forking and reuse are permitted
Trade-offs
- The README states it lacks migrations, real authentication, full accessibility support, and unit or integration tests
- The author says they will not accept pull requests, so improvements stay in forks
- Auth is effectively automatic for any visitor to the API, which the README itself flags as a placeholder
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| jira_clone (this) | 11.1k | App | intermediate | 2.4 years ago | React developers who want to study a real-world, non-trivial codebase |
| react-admin | 27k | Framework | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers building internal admin panels or back-office tools on top of an existing API |
| wekan | 21.1k | App | intermediate | 4 days ago | People who want a self-hosted kanban board and keep their own data |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.