How to apply a default permission scheme, category and assignee to every new Jira project

Every new Jira project arrives with Jira’s defaults. Then someone opens it to set the permission scheme, the category and the default assignee, and nobody notices the one that was missed. Jira has no setting that makes every new project start the same way. Here is what the built-in routes do, where they stop, and how New Project Defaults for Jira sets these on creation.

Hullspark · updated 2026-10-30

Short answer

No global default. I found no Jira setting that applies a permission scheme, category and default assignee to every new project. Atlassian’s pages now say “space”; older ones say “project”.
Route 1: when a Jira admin creates a company-managed project, the box “Share settings with an existing space” gives the new one the same configuration as a project you choose [1].
Route 2: open each project’s Details page and set the category and default assignee, and switch the permission scheme in the project’s settings [2][3].
Automatic: New Project Defaults for Jira reacts to the project-created event and applies the first matching admin rule.

Open the Spaces menu in the side navigation and start creating a space. Pick a template and choose Company-managed [1].
Enter a name and tick Share settings with an existing space. Choose the source space from the list and create the space [1].
Atlassian lists what is shared: work types, workflows, screens, fields, permissions and notifications [1].

Two conditions from the same page: only Jira admins can create a space this way, and the feature is not available on the Free plan [1]. A warning too: if you change the configuration in one space, it affects every other space that shares it [1]. Permission schemes behave the same way; Atlassian says changes to a scheme apply to all spaces that use it [4].

Route 2: set it by hand on each project

Open the space, then Space settings, then Details.
Atlassian lists the category and the default assignee among the details you can edit; press Save details [2].
For a company-managed project, the category is assigned by a Jira admin [2][3].
The default assignee can only be Unassigned or the space owner [2]. To name a person, change the owner.

Where the built-in routes stop

It depends on someone choosing a source. The share box is a step in the create-space screen. A project created through the API, an import or automation does not go through that step, so it arrives with Jira’s defaults. This is my reading of how the screen works, not a sentence from Atlassian.
The page names six kinds of shared settings, and no more. It does not say that the category or the default assignee is copied [1]. Check a project made this way.
Sharing links the projects. A later change to the shared configuration reaches all of them [1]. That is useful for one family of projects and a trap for projects that should differ.
Nothing tells you which project was missed. I found no Jira screen that lists projects whose scheme, category or assignee differ from your standard.

How New Project Defaults for Jira does it

New Project Defaults is a Jira Cloud app that runs on Atlassian’s Forge platform. Only Jira administrators can open it. Everything below is how the current version behaves.

Rules, first match wins. A rule matches by project key prefix and project type, and sets any of four things: permission scheme, notification scheme, project category and default assignee (Project lead or Unassigned). A setting left blank stays as it is.
On creation. When a company-managed project is created, the app applies the first matching rule. Team-managed projects are skipped. Nothing runs until an admin turns it on and saves rules.
Permission scheme. The permission scheme is written in the background with the app’s own rights, a few seconds after the project is created (tested on a Jira Cloud site: about 12 seconds). If a setting cannot be written, the app records what it could not set and why in the Activity log, and an admin can press Apply on that project.
Preview first. Pick existing projects and press Preview. Each row shows what would change and nothing is written. Apply asks you to confirm, works across pages of projects and shows progress.
Drift report. It scans company-managed projects against your saved rules and lists the ones that differ, with the old and new value. Projects it could not read are listed separately with the reason.
Safe by design. It writes only what differs, so running twice changes nothing the second time. The Activity log keeps the last 100 runs with each step’s result and reason. It runs only on Atlassian’s cloud and sends no data to outside servers.

Available in English and Japanese. Free for up to 10 users.

The app is not on the Marketplace yet — get notified.

Questions

Can I set a default permission scheme for every new Jira project?

I found no such setting in Atlassian’s documentation. The built-in routes are to share settings with an existing project when you create the new one, or to change each project by hand afterwards. New Project Defaults for Jira applies a permission scheme from an admin rule when a company-managed project is created.

Does “Share settings with an existing space” also copy the category and default assignee?

Atlassian’s page lists work types, workflows, screens, fields, permissions and notifications as shared. It does not say that the category or the default assignee is copied, so check a project created this way before you rely on it.

Can the default assignee be a specific person?

Atlassian’s help page says the default assignee can only be Unassigned or the space owner (the project lead). To name a person, you change the owner. New Project Defaults for Jira offers the same two choices: Project lead or Unassigned.

Does it work on team-managed projects?

No. Team-managed projects are skipped. The app works on company-managed projects only.

Sources

Claims about Jira come from Atlassian’s help pages, read on 2026-10-30. Atlassian changes screens and wording.

[1] Atlassian Support: Create a space (Share settings with an existing space): https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/create-a-new-project/
[2] Atlassian Support: Edit a space's details: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/edit-a-projects-details/
[3] Atlassian Support: Add, assign, and delete space categories: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/add-assign-and-delete-project-categories/
[4] Atlassian Support: Manage space permissions: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/manage-project-permissions/

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