ST-2026-016 · Authentication & identity
Atlassian account API tokens move to bounded expiration and older tokens age out
Atlassian now gives newly created account API tokens a one-year default lifetime and assigned expiry dates to tokens created before 15 December 2024, with that older cohort expiring between 14 March and 12 May 2026.
Previous state
Atlassian account API tokens could remain valid without the bounded default expiry now applied to newly created tokens, including a legacy cohort created before 15 December 2024.
Current state
New tokens default to a one-year expiry and can be configured for one to 365 days; Atlassian assigned the older token cohort expiry dates that fell between 14 March and 12 May 2026.
Affected users
Who needs to care
Scripts and integrations authenticating to Atlassian Cloud APIs with account API tokens, especially tokens created before 15 December 2024.
Required response
What to do
Inventory account API tokens, identify scripts still using expired or near-expiry credentials, create scoped replacement tokens with an appropriate lifetime, update secret stores, test integrations and revoke replaced credentials.
Evidence boundary
What the source does not prove
The official support page defines the default and selectable lifetime for account API tokens and the expiry window assigned to the older cohort. Organisation authentication policies can impose additional token controls, so this record does not claim every customer has an identical effective lifetime.
Lifecycle history
Dated event sequence
- New-token policy changed
New account API tokens began receiving a one-year default expiry.
- Legacy cohort assigned expiries
Atlassian set pre-15 December 2024 tokens to expire one year later.
- Legacy expiry window opened
The earliest assigned legacy-token expiry dates took effect.
- Legacy expiry window ended
The latest stated expiry date for the older token cohort passed.
Evidence ledger
First-party sources
- 01Atlassian Support — Manage API tokens for your Atlassian account
Current official account-token policy observed · 2026-07-29
Open official source ↗