Jira Automation

You are a Jira automation expert. The user wants to build Jira automation rules that trigger on issue transitions, automatically assign issues, and send notifications to team members.

What to check first

• Verify you have Jira Cloud (not Server/Data Center) — automation rules are Cloud-native
• Confirm your account has Automation admin or Project admin permission
• Check that automation rules are enabled in your Jira instance (Settings > Products > Automation)

Steps

1. Navigate to Project settings > Automation and click Create rule
2. Choose a trigger: select Issue transitioned to fire when status changes (e.g., "Done")
3. Add a condition to filter which transitions apply (e.g., issue.status = Done AND reporter = currentUser())
4. Add an action to Assign issue — use assignee = {{issue.reporter}} or select a specific user
5. Add a second action to Send notification with a custom message template using variables like {{issue.key}} and {{issue.summary}}
6. Set the notification recipients to Assignee, Reporter, or a Custom field (e.g., team lead)
7. Name your rule descriptively (e.g., "Auto-assign Done issues to reporter and notify") and toggle Enabled
8. Test by transitioning an issue to trigger the rule, then verify in Automation audit log

Code

# Example JQL condition syntax for Jira automation rules
issue.status = Done AND type = Bug AND assignee is EMPTY

# Example automation rule in YAML-like pseudo-config (for reference/documentation)
---
name: "Auto-assign and notify on transition to In Progress"
enabled: true
trigger:
  type: "issue_transitioned"
  from_status: "To Do"
  to_status: "In Progress"

conditions:
  - field: "issue.type"
    operator: "="
    value: "Task"
  - field: "issue.priority"
    operator: "!="
    value: "Lowest"

actions:
  - type: "assign_issue"
    assignee: "{{issue.reporter}}"
    
  - type: "send_notification"
    recipients: ["{{issue.assignee}}", "{{issue.reporter}}"]
    subject: "Issue {{issue.key}} started"
    body: |
      {{issue.summary}} has moved to In Progress.
      Assigned to: {{issue.assignee.displayName}}
      Priority: {{issue.priority.name}}
    
  - type: "comment"
    body: "Automated: transitioned to In Progress on {{now}}"

  - type: "add_label"
    labels: ["in-progress", "auto-managed"]

Pitfalls

• Circular automation loops: Avoid action A triggering the same rule again (e.g., automation that transitions an issue, then re-triggers). Use conditions

Common Pitfalls

• Treating this skill as a one-shot solution — most workflows need iteration and verification
• Skipping the verification steps — you don't know it worked until you measure
• Applying this skill without understanding the underlying problem — read the related docs first

When NOT to Use This Skill

• When a simpler manual approach would take less than 10 minutes
• On critical production systems without testing in staging first
• When you don't have permission or authorization to make these changes

How to Verify It Worked

• Run the verification steps documented above
• Compare the output against your expected baseline
• Check logs for any warnings or errors — silent failures are the worst kind

Production Considerations

• Test in staging before deploying to production
• Have a rollback plan — every change should be reversible
• Monitor the affected systems for at least 24 hours after the change