Automation

Checklists for Jira creates custom fields which can be used with Jira automation to automatically execute Jira actions (i.e. transition a work item) in response to changes on the checklist; or to automatically add or update a checklist in response to changes on a Jira work item.

Sample Automation Rules

Add a Second Template When Work Item Created

Add Checklist Based on a Custom Field Value

Add Label When a Given Checklist Item Completed

Append Checklist Item(s) on Work Item Transition

Apply Checklist Template

Apply Template to New Subtask

Change Item to Custom Status on Transition

Close Work Item when Checklist Completed

Create Checklist from Email Request

Create Checklist Item from Dropdown Selection

Create Work Items with Checklists on a Schedule

Disable Checklist on Newly Created Projects

Reopen Work Item when Checklist becomes Incomplete

Replace Checklist Items on Work Item Transition

Reset Checklist Daily

Send Slack Message with Checklist Progress

Transition Work Item When an Indicated Checklist Complete

Transition Work Item when a Given Item is Complete

Validate Checklist Complete - Team Managed Projects

Limitations

If an automation rule references the Checklist Text field, the Sync checklists to Custom Fields global setting must be enabled for the rule to function. After enabling the Sync checklists to Custom Fields setting, the sync may take a few hours up to a full day, to complete, depending on the size of your instance. Please allow adequate time before using the field in automation rules.
Jira Service Management currently includes Automation and Legacy Automation. The examples on these pages refer to Automation.
The Default Checklist feature is not compatible with automation rules that use the Work Item Created trigger. Both actions depend on Jira’s Work item created notification and an order of operations error may occur.
When creating automation rules in Team-managed projects, you need to add Checklists custom fields to the project before they can be referenced in an automation rule.

Adding Checklists Custom Fields to a Project

In team-managed projects, you need to add the Checklists custom fields to the project before you can reference those field in automation rules. To add the fields to a project:

Navigate to Project settings > Fields.
Click Add field.
Type checklist in the search box and use the check boxes to select the fields. It is recommended that you add the Checklist Completed, Checklist Progress, Checklist Progress % and Checklist Text fields to the project. (The Checklist Content YAML field and the Checklist Template field have been deprecated.)
Click Add 4 fields.

Copying Checklist Text

If you need a to reference the text of a checklist in an automation rule, copy the contents of the checklist editor.

Using Checklists with Jira Automation Smart Values

Smart values allow you to access and edit Jira data with automation rules. Smart values can be used in both rule conditions and rule actions.

Smart values for issue fields take the form of double curly brackets, “issue” and the name of the issue property you want to access. So {{issue.key}} returns the issue key and {{issue.summary}} returns the summary.

In team-managed projects, to ensure that Checklists smart values work correctly, add the Checklists custom fields to the project before creating automation rules.

The smart values for checklist Custom Fields are:

Custom Field	Smart Value	Possible Use
Checklist Completed	`{{issue.Checklist Completed}}`	In a trigger to test if an a checklist has become complete, or incomplete In a condition to test if an a checklist is complete, or incomplete
Checklist Progress	`{{issue.Checklist Progress}}`	In a trigger to test if progress has been made on a checklist In a condition test if a checklist has reached a certain level of completion
Checklist Progress %	`{{issue.Checklist Progress %}}`	In a trigger to test if progress has been made on a checklist In a condition test if a checklist has reached a certain level of completion
Checklist Text	`{{issue.Checklist Text}}`	In a trigger to test if the checklist has been changed In a condition to test if the checklist contains a particular item, mentions a particular user, or if a particular checklist item has been completed In an action to update the content of the checklist – it references the current content of the checklist, allowing you to append additional items.
Checklist Text (view-only)	`{{issue.Checklist Text (view-only)}}`	In an action to add a read only copy of the checklist to a comment or email, or other text field

You can test that your smart values are correct by setting up a manually triggered rule and using the Log action. After running the rule, you’ll be able to see what the smart value returns in the rule’s audit log.

Learn More About Jira Automation Smart Values:

Finding Custom Field IDs

One of the most common actions you’re likely to use in automation is editing a work item. When you select the Edit work item action, you’ll be prompted to select the field(s) to be edited from a dropdown list. In the event that the field you are editing is not listed in the dropdown, you can still set its value using JSON. In this case, you will want the Custom Field ID.

Checklist Custom Fields

To find the ID of the custom field:

Log in as a Jira Administrator.
Go to Jira Settings > Issues > Custom fields.
Search for the indicated custom field.
Click the More menu (…) and select Edit Details.
Copy the URL of the page. The URL will end with the ID number of the custom field.

Custom fields can be duplicated by some errors or rare scenarios. If you are experiencing issues with accessing custom fields, make sure you are referencing the custom field that is currently used by Issue Checklist.

More Jira Automation Resources

Basic Jira Automation Documentation	Advanced Automation Documentation	Other
Jira Automation Triggers Jira Automation Conditions Jira Automation Actions	Advanced Editing Using JSON Smart Values Rovo Agents in Automation	Jira Automation Playground Regex 101 Regex Cheat Sheet