What is Jira Automation?
Jira automation removes the need to do manual, repetitive work by letting your team's processes and workflows run themselves. Assign issues, send notifications, update fields, escalate priorities: once you set the rule up, it runs every time, exactly the same way, without anyone remembering to do it.
With our simple no-code rule builder, you can create workflow automation rules to take care of everything from the most simple repetitive tasks to the most complex scenarios - all in a few clicks.
You may see automation referred to as either "rules" or "flows" in different parts of Jira. They mean the same thing. Newer documentation and interfaces are moving toward "flow," so this page uses both terms interchangeably.
The 3 parts of every automation rule
There are three parts to every automation rule including: trigger, condition, and action.
Part | What it does | Example |
Trigger | The event that starts the rule | Issue created, issue transitioned, scheduled time |
Condition | Narrows the scope, must be true for the rule to continue | Only if priority is High |
Action | What the rule actually does | Assign issue, send a Slack message, add a comment |
You can chain multiple conditions and actions together, and use branches to run different logic depending on what is true (for example, one action path if the issue is a bug, a different one if it is a story).
Here’s a simple example:
Trigger: Work item created
Condition: Issue type is Bug
Action: Assign work item to the user with the lowest current workload
From now on, every new bug gets assigned automatically, using a balanced workload method, without anyone touching the backlog.
Where to manage and monitor your flows
Check whether an automation rule is enabled, disabled, or has unpublished draft changes from its details screen. Review the audit log for any flow to see when it ran, what it did, and whether it succeeded, at the flow, project, or global level.Admins can track usage against plan limits from Jira settings > System > Global automation.
Create automation rules using natural language
You no longer need to click through triggers, conditions, and actions one by one to build a rule. In Rovo Studio, accessible from the app switcher, describe the flow you want in plain language, including the trigger and action. As an example:
When a bug is created with high priority, assign it to the on-call engineer and post a message in the incident Slack channel.
Rovo builds the flow, and you can select Preview flow to see exactly how it will run before you turn it on. From there, you can rename it, adjust the flow details, or edit any individual step just like a flow you built manually.
If you are not sure where to start, select Show me an example for a prompt to work from.
Let a Rovo agent do the work inside your flow
Standard automation actions are great at mechanical tasks: assign this, transition that, send a notification. But some work needs judgment, not just rules. That is what the Use Rovo agent action is for.Instead of a fixed action like "add a label," you can add a Rovo agent as a step in your flow and give it a task that requires reasoning, such as summarizing a long thread, drafting a first-pass triage note, or suggesting a priority based on the issue description. For example:
Trigger: Work item created
Action: Use Rovo agent, ask it to read the description and suggest a priority level
Action: Post the agent's response as the first comment, using the
{{agentResponse}}smart value
The agent's response is available to the rest of your flow through smart values, so you can use it to drive further logic:
Smart value | Returns |
| The agent's response as rich text |
| Raw JSON, for extracting specific values or triggering further logic |
| Raw JSON as a list, useful inside a branch step |
| Plain text, useful for further string manipulation |
Pro Tip
Agents assigned work directly in Jira (through the assignee dropdown or @mentions) and agents used as a step inside an automation flow are the same underlying agents. Where you invoke one from just depends on whether a person or an event is doing the delegating.
Building and managing the agents
AI agents used in automation are built and managed in Rovo Studio, accessible from the app switcher. Each agent is made up of:
Knowledge: the Confluence, Jira, or connected third-party data it can reference
Skills: the actions it is allowed to take, such as drafting a Confluence page or sending a Slack message
Behavior: the goals, guardrails, and tone that shape how it responds
To see every flow that currently triggers a given agent, open the agent in Studio and select Triggers from the side navigation. This is the fastest way to audit what an agent is already wired into before you change its instructions or permissions.
Jira automations: Frequently asked questions
Do I need coding skills to set up Jira automation?
No, Jira automation uses a no-code rule builder, so anyone can create automation rules with just a few clicks.
What tasks can Jira automation handle?
Jira automation can assign issues, update fields, send notifications, escalate priorities, and manage many other repetitive or complex workflow tasks automatically.
Are there limits to automation rules based on my Jira plan?
Yes, the number of automation rule executions may vary depending on your Jira plan. Higher-tier plans offer more automation capacity.