  Extragalactic globular clusters (GCs) are key objects for studying the
history of galaxies. The arrival of wide-field surveys such as the Javalambre
Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) offers new possibilities for the
study of these systems. We perform the first study of GCs in J-PLUS to recover
information about the history of NGC 1023 taking advantage of wide-field images
and 12 filters. We develop the semiautomatic pipeline GCFinder that detects GC
candidates in J-PLUS images and can also be adapted to similar surveys. We
study the stellar population properties of a sub-sample of GC candidates using
spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. We find 523 GC candidates in NGC
1023, of which $\sim$300 are new. We identify subpopulations of GC candidates,
where age and metallicity distributions have multiple peaks. By comparing our
results with simulations, we report a possible broad age-metallicity relation,
evidence that NGC 1023 experienced accretion events in the past. The dominating
age peak is at $10^{10}$ yr. We report a correlation between masses and ages
that suggests that massive GC candidates are more likely to survive the
turbulent history of the host galaxy. Modeling the light of NGC 1023, we find
two spiral-like arms and detect a displacement of the galaxy's photometric
center with respect to the outer isophotes and center of GC distribution
($\sim$700 pc and $\sim$1600 pc, respectively), which could be the result of
ongoing interaction between NGC 1023 and NGC 1023A. By studying the GC system
of NGC 1023 with J-PLUS we showcase the power of multi-band surveys for this
kind of study and find evidence of a complex accretion history of the host
galaxy.
