Jira jql

Jira Query Language (JQL) — Expert Reference

JQL is Atlassian's structured query language for searching Jira issues (now called "work items"). Every clause is Field + Operator + Value, chained with keywords.

Use this skill when:

• The user asks for help writing or debugging a JQL query
• They need to find issues across projects, sprints, versions, components
• They want to use history operators (WAS, CHANGED) for trend/sprint analysis
• Performance optimization or saved filter design is needed
• They're building automation rules, REST API calls, or dashboard gadgets with JQL

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1. Core Syntax

field OPERATOR value [AND|OR field OPERATOR value ...] [ORDER BY field [ASC|DESC]]

Operators

Operator	Meaning	Example
=, !=	Equals, not equals	assignee = currentUser()
>, <, >=, <=	Comparison	created >= -7d
IN, NOT IN	Set membership	status IN ("To Do", "In Progress")
IS, IS NOT	Null check — only with EMPTY or NULL	assignee IS EMPTY
~, !~	Contains (text search)	summary ~ "login*"
WAS, WAS NOT	Historical value	assignee WAS "jsmith"
WAS IN, WAS NOT IN	Historical set	fixVersion WAS IN ("Sprint 1", "Sprint 2")
CHANGED	Field transition	status CHANGED FROM "Open" TO "Done"

Keywords

Keyword	Purpose
AND	Both conditions must be true (binds tighter than OR)
OR	At least one condition must be true
NOT	Negates a clause
ORDER BY	Sorting — add ASC or DESC (default ASC)
EMPTY / NULL	Used with IS / IS NOT

Precedence

AND binds tighter than OR. A OR B AND C = A OR (B AND C). Always parenthesize OR groups:

-- Correct
(project = A OR project = B) AND status = Open

-- Wrong — reads as project = A OR (project = B AND status = Open)
project = A OR project = B AND status = Open

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2. Available Fields (System)

Common indexed fields that JQL accepts:

project, issuetype, status, assignee, reporter, creator, priority, resolution, resolutiondate, created, updated, duedate, fixVersion, affectedVersion, component, labels, sprint, votes, watchers, workRatio, parentEpic, issueLinkType, statusCategory

Custom fields work by name — quote if they contain spaces: "Story Points".

Pro tip: Prefer IDs over names for project/sprint/version when possible — names change, IDs (project = 1001) don't.

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3. Functions (Complete Catalog)

Date/Time Relative Functions

All accept optional increment strings in (+/-)nn(y|M|w|d|h|m) format. Default unit matches the function's natural period.

Function	Default Unit	Example
startOfDay() / endOfDay()	d	created > startOfDay("-1") = yesterday
startOfWeek() / endOfWeek()	w	due < endOfWeek("+1w") = end of next week
startOfMonth() / endOfMonth()	M	created > startOfMonth("-1") = start of last month
startOfYear() / endOfYear()	y	resolutiondate > startOfYear()
now()	—	Current timestamp
currentLogin()	—	When session began
lastLogin()	—	Previous login

User Functions

Function	Fields	Operators	Behavior
currentUser()	Assignee, Reporter, Voter, Watcher, Creator + custom User	=, !=	Your identity
membersOf("group")	Assignee, Reporter, Voter, Watcher, Creator	IN, NOT IN, WAS IN, WAS NOT IN	Group members. For teams: membersOf(id:<teamId>)
componentsLeadByUser(user)	Component	IN, NOT IN	Omit user = current user
spacesLeadByUser(user)	Project (Space)	IN, NOT IN	Omit user = current user
spacesWhereUserHasPermission(p)	Project	IN, NOT IN	e.g. "Edit work items"
spacesWhereUserHasRole(role)	Project	IN, NOT IN	e.g. "Administrators"

Sprint/Version Functions

Function	Fields	Behavior
openSprints()	Sprint	Active, not yet completed
closedSprints()	Sprint	Completed sprints
earliestUnreleasedVersion(project)	AffectedVersion, FixVersion, custom Version	Earliest unreleased in release order
latestReleasedVersion(project)	Same	Most recently released version
releasedVersions(project)	Same	All released. Omit project for all
unreleasedVersions(project)	Same	All unreleased. Omit project for all

Issue Functions

Function	Syntax	Description
linkedIssues(key, linkType?)	issue in linkedIssues("ABC-44")	Link type optional — e.g. "is blocked by"
parentEpic (field)	parentEpic = DEMO-123	Stories/subtasks in an epic
issueHistory()	issue in issueHistory()	Recently viewed
votedWorkItems()	issue in votedWorkItems()	You voted on these
watchedWorkItems()	issue in watchedWorkItems()	You watch these
updatedBy(user, from?, to?)	issue in updatedBy(jsmith, "-8d")	Updated by user. Rounds < 1d up to 1d

Jira Service Management Functions

Function	Field Type	Effect
approved(), pending()	Custom Approval	Approval state
approver(user), pendingApprovalBy(user)	Custom Approval	Specific approver
myApproval(), myPendingApproval()	Custom Approval	Current user as approver
breached(), running(), paused(), completed()	SLA	SLA state
remaining()	SLA	Compare remaining time
withinCalendarHours()	SLA	Running within calendar
customerDetail("Field", "Value")	Reporter, Organization	Customer attribute search
organizationDetail("Field", "Value")	Organization	Org attribute search
organizationMembers("Org")	Reporter, Assignee	Members of organization

Custom Field Functions

Function	Field Type	Use With
cascadeOption(parent, child?)	Cascading Select	IN, NOT IN
choiceOption(value1, value2...)	Multiple Choice / Dropdown	IN, NOT IN

Use none keyword to search for empty cascade tiers: location in cascadeOption("USA", none).

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4. History Operators (WAS / CHANGED)

JQL can search issue history, not just current state. This is unique to JQL vs SQL.

WAS / WAS NOT / WAS IN / WAS NOT IN

assignee WAS "jsmith"                              -- Was assigned to jsmith at any point
fixVersion WAS "Sprint A"                          -- Was in Sprint A historically
status WAS IN ("In Progress", "Under Review")      -- Was any of these statuses

WAS supports a predicate clause for time bounds:

status WAS "In Progress" DURING (startOfWeek(), endOfWeek())
assignee WAS "jsmith" BEFORE "2024/01/01"
status WAS "Open" BY currentUser()

CHANGED

status CHANGED FROM "Open" TO "Done"                       -- Transition took place
status CHANGED FROM "Open" TO "Done" AFTER -1d             -- Today
status CHANGED TO "Done" BY currentUser()                   -- Who did it
resolution CHANGED TO "Fixed" DURING (startOfYear(), endOfYear())  -- Year recap

Supported operators for CHANGED predicate: AFTER, BEFORE, DURING, BY, FROM, TO

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5. Relative Date Expressions

All date fields support ISO 8601 absolute dates AND relative offsets:

Expression	Meaning
-1d	1 day ago
-2w	2 weeks ago
+1M	1 month from now
-3h	3 hours ago
-1y	1 year ago
"2026-05-22"	Absolute date
"2026/05/22"	Absolute date (alternative)

Common dynamic patterns:

created >= -7d                                          -- Last 7 days
duedate >= startOfWeek() AND duedate <= endOfWeek()     -- This week
resolutiondate >= startOfDay(-3M) AND resolutiondate < endOfDay(-3M)  -- Exactly 3 months ago
created > startOfMonth("-1")                            -- Since start of last month
updated < -30d                                          -- Zombie tickets (not touched in 30 days)

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6. Best Practices & Performance

Write Efficient Queries

1. Filter by project first — narrows the search space immediately
2. Use IN instead of chained OR — status IN (3 values) vs status = X OR status = Y OR status = Z
3. Prefer indexed fields — project, issuetype, status, assignee are indexed
4. Avoid negations — !=, !~, NOT, NOT IN scan wider
5. No leading wildcards — summary ~ "*bug" forces full-scan
6. Don't sort in JQL if downstream sorts — redundant sort wastes time

Handle Empty Values Correctly

!= does NOT include empty/null values. Explicitly include EMPTY:

-- Finds all issues NOT assigned to current user, INCLUDING unassigned
(assignee != currentUser() OR assignee IS EMPTY)

-- NOT this — misses unassigned issues
assignee != currentUser()

Organize Saved Filters

• Break complex queries into reusable sub-filters — save sub-queries as filters, then compose: filter = "Unresolved ABC bugs" AND assignee = currentUser()
• Consistent naming convention: {Sprint}_{Epic}_{OrderedBy} — e.g. CurrentSprint_AudioDevEpic_OrderedByAssignee
• Use relative dates in saved filters — they stay dynamic: created >= startOfMonth()

Scope-Sort Pattern

Start broad, narrow iteratively:

-- Step 1: all open issues
project = PWC AND status = open

-- Step 2: narrow by sprint
project = PWC AND status = open AND fixVersion = "Current Sprint"

-- Step 3: carried-over issues only
project = PWC AND status = open AND fixVersion = "Current Sprint" AND fixVersion WAS "Last Sprint"

-- Step 4: sort by priority then assignee
... ORDER BY priority, assignee

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7. Role-Based Ready Queries

Developers

-- My unresolved issues by priority
assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved ORDER BY priority DESC

-- Bugs I reported
reporter = currentUser() AND status != Done

-- My completed work this week
resolution = Fixed AND resolutiondate >= -7d AND assignee = currentUser()

-- Where I'm mentioned in comments
comment ~ currentUser()

Scrum Masters

-- Unassigned in active sprint
sprint IN openSprints() AND assignee IS EMPTY

-- Stale tickets
status NOT IN (Closed, Done) AND updated < -30d

-- Recently completed
status CHANGED TO Done AFTER startOfWeek()

-- Reopened tickets (quality flag)
status CHANGED FROM Done TO "In Progress"

-- Team's in-progress work
assignee in membersOf("Dev Team") AND status = "In Progress"

Product Owners

-- Pre-release readiness
fixVersion = earliestUnreleasedVersion() AND status != Done

-- Critical/Highest unresolved bugs
priority IN (Critical, Highest) AND resolution = Unresolved

-- Due this sprint
duedate >= startOfMonth() AND duedate <= endOfMonth() AND resolution = Unresolved

-- Pending approvals (JSM)
approvals = pending()

Cross-Project Portfolio

project in ("Project Mercury", "PTC") AND issuetype in ("Epic", "Task") AND created >= -180d

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8. Gotchas & Known Limitations

• Standard JQL has no aggregation — no COUNT, SUM, AVG. Use dashboard gadgets or marketplace apps.
• Can't check linked issue status — issueLinkType = "is blocked by" finds links but can't check if the blocker is resolved. Needs ScriptRunner.
• No recursive hierarchy traversal — epics+stories+subtasks need separate queries.
• updatedBy() rounds < 1 day up to 1 day — updatedBy(jsmith, "-1h") becomes 1 day.
• membersOf() does NOT support project roles — only groups and teams.
• IS EMPTY works for fields that exist — can't find issues where a field was never created.
• Atlassian is renaming "issue" to "work item" — old terms (project, issue, fixVersion) still work; no migration needed.
• Starting a text search with * is very expensive — put wildcards after the first few chars.

Marketplace Extensions for Advanced Needs

Extension	What It Adds
JQL Tricks Plugin	50+ extra functions
JQL Search Extensions (Cloud)	Find comments, attachments, subtasks, epics
JQL Booster Pack (Server/DC)	15+ user-related functions
ScriptRunner (Adaptavist)	Custom Groovy JQL functions — most powerful

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9. JQL in REST API

Query via Jira REST API v3:

curl -u email:token \
  "https://your-domain.atlassian.net/rest/api/3/search?jql=project=PWC+AND+status=Open&fields=summary,assignee"

Returns structured JSON. Use jql parameter, URL-encode when needed. Also supports startAt, maxResults, fields, expand params.

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10. Edge Cases & Troubleshooting

Query is valid but slow: Check for leading wildcards, unindexed custom fields, or missing project filter.

Query returns 0 results unexpectedly: Verify field names haven't changed (esp. custom fields), check for case sensitivity in values (depends on Jira config), and ensure you're in the right project scope.

"Filter not found" when using filter =: The user doesn't have permission to that saved filter.

CHANGED returns nothing: Ensure the field actually has tracking enabled. Some custom fields don't log history.

Jira says "Field 'X' does not exist": The field name is wrong, disabled for this project, or requires a marketplace app.

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Key Reference URLs

• Official JQL Functions: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/jql-functions/
• JQL Operators: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/jql-operators/
• JQL Fields: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/jql-fields/
• JQL Keywords: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/jql-keywords/
• JQL Performance KB: https://confluence.atlassian.com/jirakb/understanding-jql-performance-720416549.html
• Free Atlassian University Intro to JQL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcHKXSiOHqw