The Done column in Jira is the final resting place for work items that have completed their journey. When a task, story or bug reaches its final status it moves into Done to show the team that everything required has been finished. Over time though, especially on busy teams, the Done column can fill up with older items. When too many completed issues remain visible the board becomes crowded and it becomes harder to focus on the active work that truly needs attention. Jira helps solve this by giving teams control over how long completed issues stay on the board.
In the board settings you will find an option that lets you choose how long issues remain in the Done column before they fall off the board automatically. Jira allows several timeframes. You can select one week, two weeks or four weeks. There is also a never option for teams that want to keep every completed item visible. Once a timeframe is chosen Jira begins to remove items from the board once they have aged past the selected limit. They are not deleted or archived. They simply disappear from the board view while still being available in searches, reports and the project itself.
This automatic cleanup is especially helpful for Kanban teams. Because Kanban boards do not reset in the same way Scrum boards do at the end of a sprint, the Done column can easily grow and grow. Without automation someone would need to constantly remove old items, which takes attention away from meaningful work. Allowing Jira to manage this keeps the board light, clean and easy to scan. It supports the Kanban principle of keeping attention on the flow of current work rather than on items that were completed long ago.
The process to configure this is simple. In the board settings you open the column configuration or details page and look for the section related to the Done column. There you select how long completed issues should stay visible. Once saved, the board automatically follows that rule. This ensures that the Done column remains useful and tidy without any manual effort. For example, a team that delivers continuously may choose one week so that only very recent work appears. A team that needs more time to review completed tasks may select a longer period. If a team prefers permanent visibility, the never setting keeps everything in view.
This feature improves clarity across the board. During standups the team sees only what matters. During backlog refinement and planning sessions the Done column shows recent progress rather than months of history. Team members are not distracted by long lists of completed issues and can focus on what is still moving through the pipeline.
Automatic removal of completed work items is a small feature with a meaningful impact. It keeps the board accurate, improves visibility and supports a clean workflow. With a simple configuration, Jira helps teams maintain a clear and focused Kanban board without having to manually manage the Done column.
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