How to audit Jira custom fields and clean up the ones nobody uses

Custom fields pile up in Jira Cloud, and nobody knows which are still used. Here is what Jira gives you to audit them and clean up before a migration or before a space reaches its limit, what each tool covers, where it stops, and your options.

Hullspark · updated 2026-10-24

Short answer

How many is too many: Atlassian documents a limit of 700 fields per space. It counts the fields in the field configuration schemes linked to the space, not the whole site [1].
To remove a field: an admin deletes it from the Fields screen. It sits in trash for 60 days and can be restored with its data [2].
To find the unused ones: Atlassian’s delete page describes no usage warning [2]. On Premium and Enterprise, the Site optimizer has a Custom fields page that lists unused custom fields, meaning fields not used in any space, context or screen [3]. On other plans you check by hand.

What Jira gives you out of the box

Jira’s built-in ways to deal with custom fields
Tool	Good for	Catch
Delete and restore a field	Removing a field and getting it back within 60 days, with its data [2]	The page describes no warning or checklist about where a field is used. Deleting removes the field from automations, advanced workflow functions and third-party apps
Data limits and guardrails	The rule for how many fields a space may hold: 700, not counting trashed fields [1]	It is the rule itself. At the limit, admins cannot add more fields to that space until usage drops. Existing configuration keeps working
Site optimizer, Custom fields page (Premium, Enterprise)	Site optimizer > Limits > Fields per space > Review. Lists unused custom fields with type, contexts, screens, last-used date and a recommendation, and has a Move to trash action [3]	Not on other plans. “Unused” means in no space, context or screen. The page does not say it checks filters, boards, dashboards or automation, so check those yourself

An audit routine with the built-in tools

On Premium or Enterprise, start with the Site optimizer’s Custom fields page [3]. Otherwise, list your custom fields from the Fields screen in Jira administration.
Start with fields that are on no screen and have no context; they are the quickest to check.
For each candidate, check whether it is used in saved filters (JQL), board settings and dashboards, then in automation rules, workflow conditions, validators and post-functions. This is the slow step: Jira has no single screen that lists all of these, and a filter search by name does not search the JQL inside the filters.
Ask the field’s likely owner. A field used for a yearly report looks unused for eleven months.
Delete in small batches and write down the date. Use the 60-day window to catch what you missed, because a deleted field is taken out of automations and apps [2].
If you want the data for the record, back up the site first. The delete page recommends this [2].

Where the built-in tools stop

No usage answer without a manual search. Finding references means looking through filters, boards, dashboards, automation and workflows yourself.
The limit is per space, so the site total misleads. A field counts once for every space whose schemes include it [1]. Check each space under Settings > Work items > Field configuration schemes, where you can see a scheme and the spaces linked to it. Atlassian has enforced the limit since March 2026 [1].
No record of what you cleaned. Jira keeps a deleted field for 60 days, but not your reasons or the evidence for each one.
The audit goes stale. New fields keep arriving after you finish.

One option: our own app

I make a Jira Cloud app for the finding step, Field Sweep by Hullspark (Marketplace listing) [4]. It is for Jira administrators. What it does, as the current code and the product page describe it:

One scan, three groups. It reads your saved filters, boards and dashboards and sorts every custom field into Can clean up, To review, or nothing found. A field is Can clean up only when the scan found no filter, board or dashboard reference, it is on no screen, no other field shares its name, and Jira shows no recent value change. The no-change period is a setting, 365 days by default.
The evidence for each field. The Fields tab shows screens, contexts, last-used date and the saved filters, boards, quick filters and dashboards that use it. Fields that share a name are marked. You can export the result as a CSV and exclude field IDs from the candidates.
Fields per space (in the current code). The Overview shows each space’s count against the 700 limit, busiest first, with a warning from 90%. Spaces on a field scheme get the count of that scheme (system fields included; Atlassian does not say whether those count). Spaces without one, such as team-managed spaces, get an estimate marked as such.
Move to trash, after a review. For up to 25 fields at a time it re-checks each field with Jira and shows the screens it leaves and about how many work items hold a value. You tick the boxes it asks for, then confirm. It needs a scan from the last 24 hours. Jira calls this Delete, so the 60-day window applies, and you restore from the Moved to trash tab.
A list of what it could not read. A gap is never shown as zero.

It does not read automation rules, workflow conditions, validators and post-functions, dashboards not shared with the scanning administrator, or swimlanes and card layout. Check those yourself before you move a field. It never deletes a field for good.

See it on the Atlassian Marketplace Product page with FAQ

Questions

Is there a limit on how many custom fields Jira Cloud allows?

Atlassian documents 700 fields per space, counting the fields in the field configuration schemes linked to that space. It says there is no site-wide cap, and a field counts once for each space whose schemes include it. Trashed fields do not count.

What happens to a custom field I delete in Jira?

Jira does not remove it at once. It is tagged for deletion in 60 days and taken out of automations, advanced workflow functions and third-party apps. A company-managed field also leaves screens and configurations. Until then you can restore it from the Deleted fields tab, and its data comes back with it.

Does Jira tell me which custom fields are unused?

Atlassian’s delete page describes no usage warning. On Premium and Enterprise, the Site optimizer lists custom fields used in no space, context or screen. It does not say it checks filters, boards, dashboards or automation. On other plans you check by hand.

Does Field Sweep delete fields?

Not by itself. A scan only reads. After a review, a Jira administrator can move up to 25 fields at a time to Jira's trash and restore them from the Moved to trash tab. Jira, not the app, deletes them for good after 60 days.

Does Field Sweep read automation rules and workflows?

No. It does not read automation rules, workflow conditions, validators and post-functions, dashboards not shared with the scanning administrator, or swimlanes and card layout. The Overview lists these gaps so you can check them by hand before you move a field.

Does Field Sweep need a Premium or Enterprise plan?

No. The Site optimizer does, but Field Sweep is a Forge app for Jira Cloud and is free for up to 10 users, with a 30-day free trial for larger sites. The Fields list, CSV and moving fields to trash need a license. Current pricing is on the Marketplace listing.

What I have not verified

I read the Jira claims on this page from Atlassian’s documentation on 2026-10-24. I did not re-test each one on a live site, and Atlassian changes plans and screens.

The app description comes from its current code and product page. I have not confirmed that the fields-per-space view is in the version the Marketplace serves today. I make no claim about the columns of Jira’s own Fields screen. I have not tested other vendors’ apps and name none; read their listings.

Sources

[1] Atlassian Support: Data limits and guardrails (Jira): https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/data-limits-and-guardrails/
[2] Atlassian Support: Delete or restore a field: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/delete-or-restore-a-field/
[3] Atlassian Support: Optimize your custom fields: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/optimize-your-custom-fields/
[4] Atlassian Marketplace listing of the app (fetched 2026-10-24): https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/439033528

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