JiraExpense

apprentice level complete!

Inspiration

I wanted to build something simple but useful that fits into my everyday life. I'm a current undergraduate studying CS and I'm also working on computational research. I already use Jira to track a lot of research related tasks / issues. So I thought it would be cool to also keep track of small project expenses such as cost of GPU hours, equipment, or any random costs that come up during development. I didn’t want to open a spreadsheet, so I built an expense tracker right inside Jira.

What it does

I used Atlassian Forge and followed the Issue panel app path. The UI is built using the Forge UI Kit, and I used Forge’s storage API to save the expense data.

Each expense entry includes a name and amount set by the user. When users open the panel, they can quickly add a new expense and see a running list with a total at the bottom.

How we built it

I started by generating a new forge app using the issue panel template. I used the UI Kit components to create the form and list layout. For storing expenses, I used the Forge storage API and handled backend communication using the resolver and invoke.

The app was tested locally using forge tunnel, and once it was working correctly, I deployed it using forge deploy and installed it in my development Jira instance.

Challenges we ran into

Understanding how to deploy my changes and have them reflect online.
Figuring out how to update the list after adding a new expense took some trial and error.
I had to spend some time understanding how forge’s storage API structures data.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I’m proud that I was able to build and ship a working Jira app, especially as a first-timer on the platform. It’s simple, but useful and something I’d actually use. Being able to create a real tool that lives inside Jira was a great feeling.

What we learned

This was my first real experience using forge, and I learned a lot about how it handles storage, UI, and backend logic. It was cool seeing how fast you can build something functional with everything hosted and managed for you. I also learned how to debug and test forge apps locally, and how the different parts of the app (UI, backend, storage) connect together.