Rule Kit for Jira Workflows

Six workflow rules for Jira Cloud that you set up in forms, with no script or expression language to learn: three validators that can stop a transition, and three post functions that change the work item after it.

Setting up a rule

Open the workflow of a company-managed project in Jira's workflow editor.
Select a transition and add a rule. Rule Kit's six rules are in the list.
Fill in the form and save it, then publish the workflow.

Every rule has an optional precondition: a JQL query that limits the rule to the work items that match it, for example issuetype = Bug. To cover several cases in one rule, use OR inside the query. A work item that does not match is left alone and, for a validator, is let through.

The form checks your JQL with Jira when you save, so a misspelt field or function is caught then rather than at the next transition.

JQL validator

Stops the transition unless the work item matches a JQL query, or, in “must not match” mode, unless it does not match. For example: only let a story move to Done when"Story point estimate" is not EMPTY.

You can write the message the user sees when the transition is stopped.

Linked work items validator

Stops the transition unless the work items linked in the way you choose are in the right status. For example: a work item cannot be closed while anything that blocks it is still open.

Pick up to 10 link types and directions, such as “is blocked by”. A symmetric type such as “relates to” covers both directions.
Choose whether all, none or at least one of those work items must be in the status.
Statuses are chosen by category: To Do, In Progress, Done. An optional JQL filter narrows which linked work items count.
If there are no linked work items, “all” and “none” let the transition through, and “at least one” stops it.

The message shown when the transition is stopped does not list the linked work items' keys.

Parent/child validator

The same check for a work item's direct children (at any level: subtasks of a story, work items under an epic) or its parent. For example: an epic cannot be closed until all its children are done, or a subtask cannot start while its parent is still in To Do. Children of children are not included.

Add or remove labels

After the transition, adds the labels you list to add and removes the ones you list to remove. Labels that are not in the rule are left alone. Changes usually appear a few seconds after the transition.

Add or remove watchers

After the transition, adds or removes watchers: the user who made the transition, the assignee, the reporter, or up to 20 users you pick by name. If the same person is both added and removed, adding wins. Other watchers are left alone.

Run actions in order

Runs up to 10 steps, one after another, after the transition. Each step sees what the steps before it did.

Text: set, add to the end of, or add to the start of the summary, the description or a single-line text field.
Create a linked work item in the same project, of the same or a chosen type, linked to the transitioned one.
Labels and watchers, as in the rules above.

Text can use these placeholders: {key}, {summary},{issuetype}, {status}, {project} and{created} (the key of the work item an earlier step created).

If Jira is briefly unavailable, the rule tries again and continues from the step that failed; earlier steps are not repeated. If Jira does not answer a request to create a work item or to add text, the rule stops there rather than risk doing it twice. Work items the rule creates are marked, and their own Create transition skips create steps, so a rule cannot keep creating work items in a loop.

Known limits

Company-managed projects only. Team-managed projects are not supported.
New workflow editor. The validators can only be added in Jira's new workflow editor, which is the default in Jira Cloud.
About half a second per validator. Each validator on a transition adds about 0.5 s while Jira checks it.
Notifications. Every change a post function makes is a normal Jira change and sends the usual notifications.
A child added seconds ago may be missed by the parent/child validator, because Jira's search catches up shortly after.
Watcher rules need the app's permission to manage watchers. The default permission scheme gives it; if it was removed, that person is skipped. If watching is turned off in Jira, the rule does nothing.
Link types are specific to a site. If a workflow is moved to another site, a linked work items rule that names a link type that does not exist there stops the transition until it is edited.
When the app's license is not active, rules pause: validators let every transition through and post functions do not change work items. Settings are kept.

Privacy

The app runs on Atlassian's platform, sends nothing outside Atlassian and has no storage of its own. Details are in the privacy policy.

Support

Write to muhammedsaidcakir@msclabs.tr. Monday to Friday, 09:00–18:00 Istanbul time (UTC+3); we aim to reply within 48 hours on working days. Please include your site's address and, if a rule is involved, the transition and the work item key.

Rule Kit for Jira Workflows is made by Muhammed Said Çakır (MSC Labs), Kütahya, Türkiye. Our general contact page is İletişim (in Turkish).