Card Colors
| Where configured | «Board Settings» → «Card Colors» |
| Where visible | Board (detail view) |
| Settings apply to | For the whole team |
Purpose
Make Jira's built-in «Card Colors» rules easier to see by applying a soft background tint across the whole card instead of only the thin strip on the left.
Click the «Fill whole card» toggle above the board to see the difference: a thin colour strip on the left vs. a soft full-card background tint.
How to configure
Where to find settings
- Open your board and go to «Board settings» (gear icon).
- Open the «Card Colors» tab — Jira's standard screen for JQL-based colour rules.
How to configure
- «Fill whole card»: turn on to fill cards with colour across the whole card; turn off to keep only the left strip (standard Jira behaviour).
Your choice is saved as a board property together with the rest of the board configuration.
How to use
- When enabled, each card gets a light background tint in the colour from its Card Colors rule. Jira's left colour strip remains.
- Flagged cards and cards that already have special highlighting (for example WIP-limit warnings) are left unchanged so urgent signals stay visible.
- The setting applies to the entire board.
Usage scenarios
- Readability: Full-card fill makes colour coding easier to see, especially on large boards.
- Works with WIP limits: Cards with WIP-limit warning highlighting are not recoloured, so important signals keep priority.
- Quick rollback: If the fill is distracting, a board admin turns it off in one click and returns to the strip-only look.
Troubleshooting
- Fill not applied: Ensure Card Colors JQL rules exist on the «Card Colors» tab and «Fill whole card» is enabled.
- Flagged cards unchanged: Expected — flagged and specially highlighted cards are skipped.
- Toggle not visible: Check permissions — only board administrators can see and change Card Colors settings.