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Remove vs. delete

Foundation separates two very different actions:

  • Remove from lens — takes a row out of the lens. The Jira issue stays untouched.
  • Delete issue — deletes the Jira issue itself, permanently.

Both actions live in the row’s right-click menu (and the bulk actions toolbar when multiple rows are selected). Reading this page before you click either will save you a lot of trouble.

Remove from lens

Section titled “Remove from lens”

Use this when a row doesn’t belong in the lens anymore — the work is out of scope, assigned to a different program, or you pulled it in by accident. The Jira issue is unaffected.

  1. Right-click the row (or select multiple rows for a bulk action).
  2. Choose Remove from lens.
  3. Confirm.

The row disappears from the grid. You can always add the issue back later with + Add issue. If the lens has a Sync Agent whose JQL matches the issue, the row will reappear on the next sync — you may need to narrow the JQL to keep it out.

What stays: Jira issue, its fields, its links, its history. What goes: The row’s position in this lens’s hierarchy.

Delete issue

Section titled “Delete issue”

Use this when the Jira issue itself is garbage — duplicate, obsolete, mistakenly created. This is a Jira-level action that calls Jira’s delete API.

  1. Right-click the row (or select rows for a bulk action).
  2. Choose Delete issue.
  3. Read the confirmation dialog. It tells you the issue key, summary, and that the action is permanent.
  4. Confirm.

The row disappears from every lens it’s in, and the issue is gone from Jira.

You need Delete Issues permission in the Jira project. If you don’t have it, Foundation shows an error and no deletion happens.

Flex Items

Section titled “Flex Items”

Flex Items don’t exist in Jira, so the delete-vs-remove distinction doesn’t quite apply.

  • Remove from lens on a Flex Item deletes the Flex Item (it only existed in this lens anyway).
  • By default, the Flex Item’s children move up one level. You’ll be asked to confirm.

Bulk actions

Section titled “Bulk actions”

Selecting multiple rows and using the toolbar’s Remove or Delete button applies the action to every selected row. A confirmation dialog lists everything that will be affected. Review it carefully before confirming.

Accidents happen

Section titled “Accidents happen”

If you removed a row and want it back, re-add it with + Add issue or let a Sync Agent re-pull it.

If you deleted an issue and need it back, your only recourse is the Jira admin area — and in most Jira Cloud editions, deleted issues can only be restored by Atlassian Support within a limited window. Act fast, but better: don’t delete unless you’re sure.

Section titled “Related”