Re-assign issues and leave a comment

Use case

Jira's assignee field is great for keeping track of which person is working on which issues. But at some point employees might also go on vacation and their issues are not being worked on.

To remedy this situation, simply reassign all those issues and add a short comment informing all involved parties about this change - with a single click.

Manual trigger

Create a new rule and name it appropriately.

Providing a description will help you to identify what the rule does but this step is optional.

Add a Trigger → Manual

No further configuration needed. The rule will only be executed if a user hits the Execute button .

JQL Selector

Add Selector → JQL Selector

JQL Query

Use the following Expression:

assignee = nnnnn
# Replace nnnnn with the actual user name that is on vacation

The scope can be further narrowed down by updating the JQL query (e.g. to limit the returned issues to a single project or component)

Add comment action

Next to the JQL Selector click on Add → Action → Add comment

Comment text

Enter the following comment:

Hi everyone, dear wathcers,

since [~%{selector.issue.assignee}] is on vacation, this issue has been re-assigned. Please feel free to contact the new assignee if you have any questions related to this issue.

Keep up the good work!

Cheers!
Your automation rule

Assign issue

Underneath the Add comment action click on Add → Action → Assign issue

Assignee

Choose Selected User

User

Select the user that should substitute the user who is on vacation.

Screencast

This is how the configuration above should look on your screen

Import the example

Import the JSON file below to get started in no time.

JSON

After importing the JSON file, make sure to check the configuration of the rule. Non-existing configuration elements (issue types, fields, values etc.) will be highlighted.

{
    "name": "Re-assign issues and leave a comment",
    "description": "",
    "creator": "admin",
    "status": false,
    "triggerData": "",
    "triggerType": "MANUAL",
    "configuration": {
        "refs": [
            "issue",
            "system",
            "trigger.issue",
            "trigger.parent"
        ],
        "actingUser": "field_00020",
        "triggerType": ""
    },
    "children": [
        {
            "sequence": 0,
            "type": "JQL_SELECTOR",
            "ruleEntityType": "SELECTOR",
            "configuration": {
                "refs": [
                    "system"
                ],
                "jql": "assignee =%{system.currentUserFullName}",
                "jqlParsingMode": "jql",
                "actingUser": "field_00020"
            },
            "children": [
                {
                    "sequence": 0,
                    "type": "ASSIGN_ISSUE",
                    "ruleEntityType": "ACTION",
                    "configuration": {
                        "refs": [
                            "issue",
                            "issues",
                            "selector.issue",
                            "selector.parent",
                            "system"
                        ],
                        "assignMode": "user",
                        "user": "admin",
                        "mode": "projectRoleRandom",
                        "sendMail": "true",
                        "actingUser": "field_00020"
                    },
                    "children": null,
                    "hasChildren": false
                },
                {
                    "sequence": 1,
                    "type": "ADD_COMMENT",
                    "ruleEntityType": "ACTION",
                    "configuration": {
                        "refs": [
                            "issue",
                            "issues",
                            "selector.issue",
                            "selector.parent",
                            "system"
                        ],
                        "comment": "Hi everyone, dear wathcers,\r\n \r\nsince [~%{selector.issue.assignee}] is on vacation, this issue has been re-assigned. Please feel free to contact the new assignee if you have any questions related to this issue.\r\n \r\nKeep up the good work!\r\n \r\nCheers!\r\nYour automation rule",
                        "commentParsingMode": "textBasic",
                        "actingUser": "field_00020",
                        "commentVisibility": "everybody",
                        "sendMail": "true"
                    },
                    "children": null,
                    "hasChildren": false
                }
            ],
            "hasChildren": true
        }
    ],
    "hasChildren": true
}

Related use cases

Title	Automated action	Label
Copy the parent issue comments to its sub-tasks	Add comment action
Remind users to close inactive issues	Add comment action	STAFF PICK
Add comment after seven days in the same status	Add comment action
Assign issues to your team during a transition	Assign issue action
Assign an issue to the last assignee on a transition	Assign issue action
Re-assign issues and leave a comment	Add comment action Assign issue action
Notify assignees when components are merged	Add comment action
Notify the project lead on priority changes	Add comment action
Update assignee and reporter to facilitate user deletion	Add comment action Assign issue action Update field action	STAFF PICK
Automatically assign issues to your team	Assign issue action

If you still have questions, feel free to refer to our support team.

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