This article applies to: JIRA Client
Problem
JIRA can be configured to send compressed HTTP replies if web client understands them. When a compressed reply is sent, it should be declared as such with a HTTP header.
The problem is that when sending a compressed reply, JIRA with Apache Coyote HTTP server sometimes "forgets" to mark the reply as compressed. This leads to client trying to process packed bytes as an original text (XML, for example), which, in turn, lead to application errors.
Packing the content is done via Accept-Encoding and Content-Encoding HTTP headers. Technical specifications can be found in RFC 2616
Workarounds
If you experience this problem, the workaround would be to disable HTTP compression. This can be done in either of two ways:
You need to disable compression either on the server, or on the client. There's no need to disable compression on both ends.
Disable HTTP compression in JIRA
This is the preferred way, since other people using the same server may experience the same issue. Access to JIRA adminitration is required.
- Open Administration | General Configuration page.
- Turn "Use gzip compression" option to OFF
Disable HTTP compression in JIRA Client
That way JIRA client will not tell the server that it accepts compressed replies, which should make the server send plain replies. In JIRA Client 1.x, this can be done with a disable.http.compression command-line option.
- Stop JIRA Client if it is running.
- Create a file named jiraclient.properties in the installation directory (for example: C:\Program Files\JIRA Client\jiraclient.properties). Edit this file if it exists.
- In jiraclient.properties, place or add a single line:
disable.http.compression=true
- Start JIRA Client and check if the problem is still there
For more information on command-line options and how to use them, see old wiki. (That article is about Deskzilla, but it applies to JIRA Client as well.)
TBD: move command-line reference and docs to the new KB