FAQ
This page covers the questions that come up most often during the first few weeks of using Foundation. If something here doesn’t match what you’re seeing, check the other troubleshooting pages linked at the end, then reach out to your site admin.
What is a lens?
Section titled “What is a lens?”A lens is a saved, hierarchical view of Jira issues. Think of it as a structured folder of work — you decide which issues go in it, how they’re grouped, what columns are visible, and who can see it. Lenses do not modify Jira; they organize it.
Is Foundation changing my Jira data?
Section titled “Is Foundation changing my Jira data?”Only when you explicitly edit it. Inline editing, bulk edits, and the Rovo agent all go through the standard Jira REST API as you. Removing a row from a lens does not delete the underlying Jira issue. Deleting a Jira issue is something you still do in Jira.
Why can’t my teammate see the rows I can see?
Section titled “Why can’t my teammate see the rows I can see?”Almost always a Jira permission difference. Foundation filters every row through the viewer’s Jira BROWSE permission, so two people with the same lens access can legitimately see different sets of rows. See Permission errors.
Why is my Sync Agent not running?
Section titled “Why is my Sync Agent not running?”Check the Sync Agents panel in the lens. Each agent shows its last run and any errors. Common causes: the JQL references a field that no longer exists, the agent’s author lost access to a project, or a rate-limit window hit. See Data not syncing.
Why do I see a rate limit message?
Section titled “Why do I see a rate limit message?”Jira Cloud enforces an API point budget. Foundation runs on Tier 2 (per-tenant), which gives most sites comfortable headroom, but very large Sync Agent runs can still spike. The message goes away within an hour as the budget refreshes. Admins can watch usage on the Monitoring dashboard.
Why is the grid slow on my biggest lens?
Section titled “Why is the grid slow on my biggest lens?”The MVP caps lenses at roughly 1,000 issues. Beyond that the grid stays functional but scroll and edit can feel sluggish. Split one large lens into focused smaller ones — for example, by quarter, by team, or by fixVersion. See Performance & limits.
Why does my search return nothing when I know the issue is there?
Section titled “Why does my search return nothing when I know the issue is there?”A quick filter or sort is probably still active from earlier. Clear filters from the Inspector’s Filters section, or check the filter chips above the grid. If search itself isn’t matching, remember that summary search is case-insensitive but matches substrings — try a shorter, simpler term.
Can I undo a delete or bulk edit?
Section titled “Can I undo a delete or bulk edit?”There is no in-app undo. For Jira-backed changes, use Jira’s own history (every issue has a full activity log). For Flex Items, recreate manually. When in doubt, export the lens to CSV before running a destructive bulk action.
Does Foundation work in Jira Data Center?
Section titled “Does Foundation work in Jira Data Center?”Not today. Foundation is Cloud-only and built on Atlassian Forge. If you’re on DC and planning to move, use the Import DC Export path in the Import Hub to bring your structured data along.
Can I have private lenses?
Section titled “Can I have private lenses?”Yes. A lens with no shared grants is visible only to its owner. Share deliberately using the Share dialog — see Grant access.