Squad to Zephyr Upgrade Guide
This guide helps teams upgrade from Zephyr Squad to Zephyr. It describes the upgrade paths, the migration process, and the key considerations to plan for. Zephyr offers improved performance, advanced automation, and a modern user experience.
Before you begin
Review the following availability limitations before you plan an upgrade:
Zephyr Squad to Zephyr Essential and Zephyr Squad to Zephyr upgrades are not currently supported on the Atlassian Forge platform.
Migration does not work on Zephyr Squad version 8.2.11 or later.
SmartBear is working to resolve both limitations. If either applies to you, contact SmartBear support to confirm your options before you begin.
Why Upgrade to Zephyr?
Zephyr offers the following:
A consistent, modern experience with AI-powered automation workflows.
A high-performance backend that supports AI-powered features and advanced automation needs.
Support for advanced compliance and automation requirements.
Migration Status
The Squad to Zephyr migration is currently in beta. Because the tool is still in beta, the migration might not be seamless. You might encounter issues during the process, need to repeat steps, or find that some data needs to be reviewed before it is correct. Plan your upgrade with this in mind, and allow time to validate the results before you rely on the migrated data.
Assessment Phase
If you are a new customer planning an upgrade, you go through an assessment phase before your production migration. The assessment confirms that your data can migrate successfully and helps set realistic dates for the production migration.
During the assessment phase, the SmartBear team does the following:
Evaluates your migration eligibility to confirm that your Zephyr Squad configuration and version can migrate.
Performs a test migration of your data.
Review the test migration results with you to identify any issues.
Plan your production migration dates based on the outcome of the test migration.
This assessment and planning process remains in place until the migration tool reaches general availability (GA).
Key Features
Cross-space test management
Test repository
Test case versioning
Test data and parameters
Test plans
Multi-level folder structure
Enhanced reporting
Improved performance
AI-powered no-code automation
Record & play test generation
Test-step suggestions
Data residency and compliance support
Upgrade path to Zephyr Advanced (includes cross-browser testing, parallel testing, email/SMS testing, and 4x more AI test runs)
Check also Product Comparison and Feature Comparison for detailed information.
Upgrade Experience
Upgrading from Zephyr Squad to Zephyr involves:
A dedicated migration UI with:
Project-level migration
Progress tracking and retry options
Migration logs
- The ability to migrate individual spaces
Migration runs space by space, so you can validate each space individually.
App Availability During Migration
Zephyr remains usable during the data migration. The app is not blocked by default, so you can continue creating or modifying data.
Note
Re-running the migration overwrites previously migrated data, and any existing data in Zephyr is also overwritten. Merging and delta migrations are not supported. If you add or update data in Zephyr Squad after a migration and want those changes to appear in Zephyr, you must re-run the migration.
To prevent data inconsistencies, the migration user interface lets you block Zephyr Squad during migration. Blocking is optional, but SmartBear recommends it to protect data integrity.
Environment Options
Production Migration. Fully supported. Zephyr Squad is usable during migration.
Sandbox Migration. Possible, but requires manual setup. Squad data cannot be copied directly from production. Use CSV export/import for test cases and test steps.
Note
The CSV export/import feature supports only importing test cases and test steps. It does not support importing test cycles or test executions.
For detailed, step-by-step guidance on the upgrade process, including UI screenshots and comprehensive instructions, check Upgrade to Zephyr – Step-by-step guide.
Migrated Data
All primary test management entities are migrated, including:
Test cases
Test cycles
Test executions
The following data is not migrated:
BDD data
Test execution history
For full data mapping details, check Data Mapping Reference. For a list of non-migrated data, check Non-migrated Data Details.
Roadmap for Non-Migrated Data
We are actively working to support the migration of currently non-migrated data.
Data Type | Expected Availability |
|---|---|
BDD Data | Q1 2027 |
Test Execution History | Q1 2027 |
We will update this guide as these features become available. Note that the expected availability timelines are subject to change.
You can track and submit feature requests on our Feature Request Portal.
Time and Effort Required to Upgrade
The backend infrastructure and migration process is the same for both upgrade paths.
In Squad to Zephyr, data migration is done space by space, allowing individual validation.
Overall time required will depend on the volume of data and the number of spaces.
The REST application programming interface (API) endpoints in Zephyr differ from those in Zephyr Squad. When you upgrade, you must update your automation scripts to use the new endpoints. For details, see the Zephyr API documentation. For a detailed comparison of API differences between Squad and Zephyr/Essential, see the API Differences Reference.
Pricing and Licensing
Upgrade to Zephyr requires a new license. If there are more than six months left to run on the Zephyr Squad for Jira Cloud subscription, a pro-rata discount is available on request. The discount is in the form of a promo code that you can use to apply to the new Zephyr subscription. You can let the Zephyr Squad license expire.
During the upgrade/UAT phase, we can arrange for dual licensing upon request. We provide a limited free license if you have a paid or commercial license in place. If you have any questions about licenses, feel free to email richard.humphries@smartbear.com.
Register for the Upgrade
If you want to upgrade to Zephyr, create a support ticket with our team. Based on your selected upgrade path, our support team will guide you through the next steps.
See Also
Upgrade to Zephyr – Step-by-step guide
Known Issues and Troubleshooting
If you encounter any problems, feel free to contact our support team.