The Atlassian ecosystem is one of the great features of using Atlassian tools. There are thousands of apps created by third-part developers that implement solutions for an almost unlimited number of business needs. This is a huge strength for Atlassian because no single vendor can satisfy every customer need. That is where third party developers come in, filling the gaps and extending the capabilities to meet both broad and narrow needs.
For a Jira admin, though, this can create an administrative nightmare. How do you know which plugins are used and which ones are languishing unused. When it comes time to renew your licenses, how do you know which plugins should be renewed and which ones should be removed from the system?
Fortunately, for Jira Server, there is a way you can find out which plugins are used to support workflows in the form of conditions, validators and post-functions. You will need access to the database. If you have SQL access, then you are good to go. If you are in an environment where direct SQL access is restricted to the DBA group, there is a free plugin option called Home Directory and DB Browser that you should consider installing. (Note: I have no affiliation with AtlaZon who publishes this plugin). The following screen shots use this plugin.
The SQL that you will need is
This SQL statement joins the workflow table to the plugin version table. it returns a count of how many workflows each plugin is used in. If a plugin is not used in any workflow, nothing will be returned. This should allow you to see what your usage is and whether there are plugins that are workflow oriented that are candidates to be removed.
In my environment, I get the following list. Yours will differ according to what you have installed
You can do the same thing for Custom Fields. Here is that SQL:
Using these two SQL statements should help you to identify which plugins are essential in your workflow and custom field environments.