Mirror vs import
The two ways to bring existing work into Laya — a live mirrored board or a native imported copy — and when each is the right choice.
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There are two ways to bring existing work into Laya: mirror a board so it stays live in its source tool, or import items as native Laya rows you own. They solve different problems, and you can use both together.
Mirroring: a live projection
When you mirror a board through the connect flow, Laya streams a live, editable projection of it — the funnel describes it as "Laya keeps it there and streams a live, editable mirror — nothing is migrated." The source tool remains the system of record. Laya keeps a durable, synced copy of each item so the board opens instantly, edits in Laya write straight back to the provider, and provider-side changes flow in through sync.
Mirrored boards appear under the Connected tab on your workspace home and carry a Mirrored badge. Removing one deletes only Laya's synced copy — the source board is untouched, and you can re-mirror it at any time.
Importing: a native copy you own
Importing creates real, native Laya issues from external items. There are two import paths:
- The Jira import wizard — a five-step wizard (Select, Configure, Map users, Confirm, Running) reached from a Jira connection's Manage page. It copies issue fields (type, status, assignee, priority, labels), descriptions, comments as issue notes, attachments into Laya's own storage, sprints, parent/subtask links and epics. Imported rows are tagged Migrated from Jira.
- Master boards — the master-board composer imports selected items from any connected provider (Jira, Azure DevOps, monday.com, GitHub, GitLab) as native issues on one combined board, tagged with their origin (for example "Migrated from Monday.com"). See Master boards.
Both import paths include a Map users step that pairs external users with Laya members, so assignees carry over correctly. Unmapped users keep their external display name on the item but are not assigned in Laya. See People and assignee matching.
Honest comparison
| Mirror | Import | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the work lives | In the source tool; Laya holds a live, synced copy | In Laya, as native issues you own |
| System of record | The source tool | Laya (the link back to the source keeps syncing a field subset) |
| What is copied | A synced copy per item — title, status, assignees, dates, links and similar display data | A full native copy; the Jira wizard also copies descriptions, comments, attachments, sprints, parents and epics |
| Editing | Fully editable in Laya; every edit writes through to the provider | Fully editable in Laya; a per-provider subset of fields pushes back to the source |
| Removal | "Remove mirrored board" deletes only Laya's synced copy; re-mirror any time | Imported issues are ordinary Laya issues and survive a disconnect |
| Best for | Teams staying in their current tool | Adopting Laya as the source of truth, or composing master boards |
When each is right
- Mirror when the owning team keeps working in the source tool and you want visibility and light editing from Laya.
- Import via a master board when you want one combined, natively organised view over several sources while the sources stay live.
- Import via the Jira wizard when you are moving work into Laya for good and want full copies including comments and attachments.
Email support@laya.net — include what you expected, what happened, and a link to the affected board or item so we can help quickly.