How to Automate Atlassian Cloud Admin Data Export (No API Required)

Introduction

Atlassian Cloud Admin (admin.atlassian.com) is used to manage users, products, permissions, and organization settings across Jira, Confluence, and other Atlassian Cloud products. While Atlassian offers APIs and SCIM, browser automation provides a powerful solution for bulk user operations, permissions and group management, and org settings migration when direct API access is limited or when admins rely on the admin portal UI.

Why Use Browser Automation for Atlassian Cloud Admin?

• Limited API Access: Atlassian admin APIs have restricted scopes for many bulk and UI-only operations
• Bulk Users: Invite, deactivate, or update users in bulk; sync from HR when API or directory sync is limited
• Permissions: Manage product access, group membership, and admin roles across Jira, Confluence, and other products
• Org Settings Migration: Copy or migrate organization settings, security policies, and product config between orgs or after restructure
• Portal-Only Features: Many admin and audit views are only available through the web console
• Cross-Product: Apply changes across Jira, Confluence, Trello, and other products in one workflow
• Compliance and Audit: Export user and permission data for access reviews and governance

Setting Up Atlassian Cloud Admin Automation

Here's how to automate bulk users, permissions, and org settings in Atlassian Cloud Admin using browser automation:

import { chromium } from 'playwright';

const response = await fetch("https://api.anchorbrowser.io/api/sessions", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "anchor-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    'headless': false,
    'proxy': { 'type': 'residential', 'country': 'US' }
  }),
});

const { id } = await response.json();
const connectionString = `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY&sessionId=${id}`;

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(connectionString);
const context = browser.contexts()[0];
const ai = context.serviceWorkers()[0];
const page = context.pages()[0];

await page.goto("https://admin.atlassian.com");

await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
  prompt: 'Log in to Atlassian Cloud Admin using the provided credentials. Complete SSO or MFA if required and wait for the admin home to load.'
}));

Use Case 1: Bulk Users

Invite, deactivate, or update users in bulk from the admin portal:

const runBulkUserOps = async (page, ai, action, users) => {
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Navigate to User management (or Directory) in Atlassian Cloud Admin'
  }));
  
  if (action === 'invite') {
    await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
      prompt: `Invite users: open Invite users, add emails or CSV. Set product access and groups as specified. Send invites.`
    }));
  } else if (action === 'deactivate') {
    await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
      prompt: `For each user to deactivate, find the user, open actions, and deactivate. Do not delete unless specified.`
    }));
  } else {
    await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
      prompt: `Update users: find each user, update product access or group membership as specified. Save.`
    }));
  }
  
  await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
  return { action, completedAt: new Date().toISOString() };
};

Use Case 2: Permissions

Manage product access, groups, and admin roles:

const updatePermissions = async (page, ai, criteria) => {
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Navigate to Product access (or Groups / Permissions) in Atlassian Cloud Admin'
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: `Select product: ${criteria.product || 'Jira'}. Update group membership or access for: ${criteria.target || 'specified groups/users'}. Apply and save.`
  }));
  
  await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
  
  const summary = await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Return a short summary of what was updated: product, groups, count. As JSON: { product, groupsUpdated, count }.'
  }));
  
  return { ...JSON.parse(summary), updatedAt: new Date().toISOString() };
};

Use Case 3: Org Settings Migration

Copy or migrate organization settings and security policies between orgs:

const migrateOrgSettings = async (page, ai, criteria) => {
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Navigate to Organization settings (or Security / Policies) in Atlassian Cloud Admin'
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: `Extract current settings: security policies, SAML/SSO config (no secrets), product settings. Return as structured JSON.`
  }));
  
  const settings = await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'Return the extracted settings as JSON. Omit passwords and secrets.'
  }));
  
  if (criteria.targetOrg) {
    await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
      prompt: 'If switching org or applying to another context, navigate there. Apply the same policy and setting values where applicable.'
    }));
  }
  
  return {
    settings: typeof settings === 'string' ? JSON.parse(settings) : settings,
    migratedAt: new Date().toISOString()
  };
};

Exporting Users and Audit Data

Export user list and access data for audit and compliance:

const exportAdminData = async (page, ai, exportType) => {
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: exportType === 'users'
      ? 'Navigate to User management. Use Export or list all users. Wait for CSV/Excel download.'
      : 'Navigate to Audit log or Reports. Set date range. Export audit data. Wait for download.'
  }));
  
  const download = await page.waitForEvent('download', { timeout: 20000 }).catch(() => null);
  return download ? await download.path() : null;
};

Best Practices for Atlassian Cloud Admin Automation

• Security: Use least-privilege admin accounts and secure credential storage
• Bulk Users: Add delays between bulk invite/deactivate to respect rate limits
• Permissions: Audit current access before bulk permission changes
• Org Settings Migration: Export source settings first; never copy secrets; test in a staging org when possible
• Error Handling: Retry on session timeout; log which users or settings were processed
• UI Updates: Atlassian admin UI changes periodically; keep prompts and flows maintainable
• Compliance: Align exports and automation with access governance and audit requirements

Handling Authentication

Atlassian Cloud Admin typically requires an org admin account and often SSO or MFA:

const handleAtlassianAdminAuth = async (page, ai, credentials) => {
  await page.goto("https://admin.atlassian.com");
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: `Enter email ${credentials.email} and password, then sign in. If redirected to SSO, complete SSO login.`
  }));
  
  await ai.evaluate(JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'If MFA is required, complete the challenge. Wait for admin home to load.'
  }));
  
  await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
};

Resources

• Anchor Browser Documentation - API reference and guides
• Anchor Browser Playground - Try browser automation in your browser

Conclusion

Browser automation provides a flexible alternative to API access for Atlassian Cloud Admin. By using intelligent browser agents, you can automate bulk user operations, permissions and group management, and org settings migration directly from the admin portal. Whether you need to sync users from HR, update product access at scale, or migrate organization settings after a restructure, browser automation enables efficient admin workflows when API access is limited or when admins work in the UI.

Start automating your Atlassian Cloud Admin workflows today.