Weather Gadget

A simple Weather Gadget for Jira, that shows the current weather of selected City and Country using Openweather API

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Project Overview / Description

Weather Gadget is a lightweight Forge-powered app designed to run as a gadget on Jira dashboards. It provides real-time weather updates using the OpenWeather API, giving users a quick and convenient way to check current weather conditions for their chosen location without leaving Jira. The gadget is configurable, allowing users to input a city and country from the settings screen. It's a practical and simple enhancement for Jira dashboards, especially for distributed teams who want contextual weather information relevant to their region.

What it does

  • Displays real-time weather data (temperature, conditions, and icon) from the OpenWeather API.
  • Allows users to configure the gadget by selecting a city and country.
  • Seamlessly integrates into Jira dashboards using Atlassian Forge.
  • Automatically fetches and updates weather information periodically.

How we built it

  • Platform: Atlassian Forge.
  • Frontend: UI Kit for the configuration and gadget display.
  • Backend: Forge resolver functions handle API requests and store configuration data.
  • Weather Data: OpenWeather API provides real-time weather info based on the configured location.
  • Storage: Forge's built-in storage API is used to save user preferences (city and country).
  • Authentication: No user authentication is needed for OpenWeather API as it uses an API key.

Challenges we ran into

  • Managing rate limits of the OpenWeather API, especially with multiple users.
  • Handling different location formats and edge cases (e.g., multiple cities with the same name).
  • UI constraints within Forge gadgets required careful design to display useful info in a limited space.
  • Localization and formatting weather data in a way that’s globally relevant (e.g., Celsius vs Fahrenheit).

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Successfully integrated an external API into a Jira gadget using Forge.
  • Created a user-friendly configuration screen within the constraints of UI Kit.
  • Delivered a polished, functional gadget that adds real value to Jira dashboards with minimal clutter.
  • Learned and leveraged Forge capabilities like storage and scheduled functions.

What we learned

  • Gained hands-on experience with Atlassian Forge and its limitations and strengths.
  • Learned how to work with external APIs in a secure, performant way within the Forge framework.
  • Discovered the importance of clear UI/UX in constrained widget-like interfaces.
  • Understood the nuances of building configurable Forge apps that persist user input effectively.

What's next for Weather Gadget

  • Add support for displaying extended forecasts (e.g., 3-day weather).
  • Let users toggle between Celsius and Fahrenheit.
  • Add weather alerts for severe conditions.
  • Explore multi-location support for distributed teams.
  • Improve UI responsiveness and introduce theming options to match different dashboard styles.

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