Key dates

Date	What happens (per the vendor)
Sep 15, 2026	End-of-support notice published. Migration to Smart Checklist Pro is available.
Dec 15, 2026	Smart Checklist Free reaches end of support. A new major version is released and shows up as an update in your Jira site.
After Dec 15, 2026	The free edition gets no updates, fixes or support. Future Jira compatibility isn’t guaranteed.

Source: the vendor’s announcement, “Smart Checklist Free: end of support on 15 December 2026”. Third-party Marketplace data put Smart Checklist Free at 4,927 installs as of October 31, 2026 (Stanki Guild).

Your three options

	1. Smart Checklist Pro	2. Stay on Free	3. Switch apps
Your data	Kept (vendor migration)	Kept as is	Imported into the new app; originals untouched
Updates & support	Yes	No	Depends on the new app
Cost	Paid. The vendor offers 50% off year one to Free users, and it’s free for sites with ≤10 users.	Free	Varies. Sealstep plans a free tier up to 10 users.
Effort	Low: backup, install, import	None, but don’t approve the major update	Medium: inventory, dry run, import, rewire validators and automation
Good fit when	You like Smart Checklist and want the least change	Short-term only, while you decide	You want a workflow gate, Forge-only data handling or different pricing

Staying on an unsupported app works for a while. But it’s a risk when Jira changes underneath it, and security reviews tend to flag it. Treat option 2 as a bridge, not a destination.

Before anything: take an inventory (15 minutes)

Find issues that have checklists. Smart Checklist stores checklist text in the Jira issue property com.railsware.SmartChecklist.checklist. If an admin set it up, the text is also copied into a Checklists custom field (vendor FAQ). Use JQL on the field (for example Checklists is not EMPTY) if you have it, or a JQL for the projects that used the app.
List your templates. Smart Checklist keeps templates in project properties (com.railsware.SmartChecklist.Templates). Copy the text of the ones you still use. You’ll paste them into the new app’s template editor.
List automation rules and scripts that read or write the issue property or the Checklists field. They need to be changed whichever option you choose. The vendor notes that automations need updating after its own Forge migration, too (vendor page).
Note workflow conditions/validators that depend on checklists, and who relies on checklist progress in dashboards.

Option 1: move to Smart Checklist Pro

The vendor’s path, summarised from its announcement. Follow the original for the exact steps.

In Smart Checklist Free, open Global Settings → Backup Data for Migration to Pro → Create Backup.
Install Smart Checklist Pro from the Atlassian Marketplace.
In Pro, open Settings → Import Checklists → Import from Smart Checklist Free.
Contact the vendor for the first-year discount if it applies to you.

Option 2: stay on the free edition (for now)

The vendor says the free app keeps working after December 15, but unsupported. To keep it, don’t approve the major update when it appears in Settings → Apps → Manage apps, and tell your other Jira admins so nobody approves it by accident. Put a reminder in your calendar to revisit the decision.

Option 3: switch apps, step by step (with Sealstep)

Status, honestly: Sealstep is not yet listed on the Atlassian Marketplace. The importer is built and covered by automated tests against Smart Checklist’s documented markdown format and sample data. It has not yet been run against a live Smart Checklist Free site. That’s why every step below starts with a dry run that changes nothing.

Install Sealstep from the Atlassian Marketplace (once it’s listed) and open Jira settings → Apps → Sealstep Checklists as a Jira admin. Leave Smart Checklist installed for now. Sealstep only reads its data.
Recreate templates. In Templates, click New template → Paste list… and paste a Smart Checklist template’s markdown. Headers, -! required items and details come across. Choose All projects or specific projects, and turn on Auto-apply on create for the issue types that should always get it.
Run a dry run. Open Migrate from Smart Checklist, enter a JQL (start small, like one project), and choose where to read from: the issue property, or a text custom field such as Checklists. Dry run lists every issue with the items and headers found, any warnings (custom statuses, stray lines), and whether a Sealstep checklist already exists. Nothing is written.
Import. Choose what to do with issues that already have a Sealstep checklist (skip, append or replace), then click Import. Sealstep imports in small batches and shows progress. When it finishes, download the Report CSV (one row per issue: imported, skipped or failed, with the reason). Re-running is safe: issues already imported are skipped by default.
Spot-check a few issues. Open the Sealstep panel and compare it with the Smart Checklist panel. Each imported issue’s History records an “Imported N items from Smart Checklist (bulk)” entry, with who ran it and when.
Turn on the Definition of Done gate. In your workflow editor, add the validator “Sealstep – required checklist items finished” to the transitions that matter (usually → Done). Test it on a sandbox issue first.
Rewire search and automation. Replace JQL and dashboards with Sealstep fields: checklistRequiredOpen > 0, checklistProgress < 100, checklistComplete = "true". Point automation rules at the new fields.
Retire Smart Checklist once your team is happy. Uninstalling an app can remove its data, so export or back it up first if you want a copy.

You can also bring a single checklist across by hand: in any issue, open Import in the Sealstep panel, click Load Smart Checklist from this issue (or paste markdown or CSV), check the preview, then import.

Format mapping

Smart Checklist markdown	Sealstep
`- item`	To do
`+ item`	Done
`~ item`	In progress
`x item`	Skipped
`-! item` (any marker + `!`)	Required item Required
`- [CUSTOM STATUS] item`	Mapped by its marker. Common names (DONE, N/A, IN PROGRESS…) are mapped by name. The original label is kept and reported as a warning.
`# Header` … `###### Header`	Section header
`> detail line`	Item details (multi-line)
`---`	Ignored (separator)
`\[escaped\]`	Literal brackets
`- [ ] task` / `- [x] task`, `*` and numbered lists	To do / Done items (generic markdown)

After the migration

Export a CSV of all checklists from Data export and keep it with your migration notes.
Lock the templates that encode policy (DoD, change control), so only admins can rename or remove those items.
Decide whether Skipped should satisfy required items (off by default) and how the validator behaves if it can’t read a checklist (it blocks by default).

FAQ

Will my Smart Checklist data be changed or deleted by Sealstep?

No. Sealstep reads the issue property or field and writes only its own storage and its own sealstep-checklist issue property.

Does Sealstep import Smart Checklist templates automatically?

Not yet. Paste each template’s markdown into the template editor’s “Paste list…” dialog. It takes about a minute per template.

What about checklist history from Smart Checklist?

Prior change history isn’t imported. Sealstep’s sealed history starts at the import, which is recorded as its first event.

How many issues can I migrate?

The dry run reads 50 issues per page, and the import runs in batches of 10 until it’s done. For very large sites, migrate project by project.

I’m on Data Center, not Cloud.

Sealstep is Cloud-only. Our DC → Cloud template packs help you recreate checklists after the move, and the CSV/markdown importer accepts exports from other tools.

Sources

Railsware/TitanApps: Smart Checklist Free: end of support on 15 December 2026 (dates, options, migration steps).
Railsware/TitanApps: Smart Checklist Cloud FAQ (issue property and template storage keys).
Railsware/TitanApps: Automations with Forge App (automation changes after its Forge migration).
Stanki Guild: Jira checklist apps: what to look for (install counts read from Marketplace data, Oct 31, 2026; a competitor’s page).

We checked these pages on November 9, 2026. Vendor plans can change, so check the vendor’s page before you act. This guide is general product information, not legal advice.

Smart Checklist Free ends support on December 15, 2026. Here’s what to do.