Jira Sprint Name Character Limit

The cap is in the interface, not the database

This is the part that surprises people who go looking for a workaround. The sprint name column in Jira's database is sized at 255 characters — the 30-character restriction lives in the UI layer alone, which is why the open request to raise it notes that the change would be technically straightforward.

That request, JSWCLOUD-17483, has been sitting at Gathering Interest with 128 votes and no resolution. The Data Center equivalent is JSWSERVER-16256. Both ask for roughly 60–70 characters. Neither has moved.

Practically: you cannot get a longer sprint name through the interface, and the constraint is not one you can raise from the admin settings. Plan the name around 30.

Your board prefix spends the budget first

Teams that prefix sprints with a board key or a number — TEAM-1 Refactor and Pray — are not working with 30 characters. They are working with 30 minus the prefix, and the prefix is charged before the name begins.

TEAM-1 is seven characters, which leaves 23. S12 is four, which leaves 26. That second figure is where this site's tightest preset comes from: 26 characters, leaving room for a short prefix and nothing more. If your convention is longer than four characters, the preset is one number at the top of the script block in index.html.

The generator shows a live character count on every name it issues, and can filter the whole corpus to either threshold before it offers you anything.

Put the long version in the sprint goal

The sprint goal is a separate field and is not subject to the name's cap. If the name has to be short, that is the place for the sentence explaining what the sprint is actually for — which is arguably what the goal field was for in the first place.

It also means the name does not have to carry information. Once the goal is written down properly, the name is free to be Must Be DNS.