JQL Guide

JQL (Jira Query Language) is the query language used by jira_search to find issues. This guide covers the most useful patterns.

Basic Syntax

JQL queries follow the pattern: field operator value

project = "PROJ" AND status = "In Progress"

Common Operators

Operator	Description	Example
=	Exact match	status = "Done"
!=	Not equal	status != "Closed"
~	Contains text	summary ~ "bug fix"
!~	Does not contain	summary !~ "test"
IN	Match any in list	status IN ("Open", "In Progress")
NOT IN	Not in list	priority NOT IN ("Low", "Lowest")
IS	Null check	assignee IS EMPTY
IS NOT	Not null	assignee IS NOT EMPTY
>, <, >=, <=	Comparison	created >= "2024-01-01"

Common Fields

Field	Description	Example
project	Project key	project = "PROJ"
status	Issue status	status = "In Progress"
assignee	Assigned user	assignee = currentUser()
reporter	Issue creator	reporter = "john.doe"
priority	Priority level	priority = "High"
type / issuetype	Issue type	type = "Bug"
labels	Issue labels	labels = "frontend"
sprint	Sprint name	sprint = "Sprint 42"
created	Creation date	created >= "-7d"
updated	Last updated	updated >= "-24h"
resolved	Resolution date	resolved >= startOfMonth()

Useful Functions

Function	Description	Example
currentUser()	Logged-in user	assignee = currentUser()
startOfDay()	Start of today	created >= startOfDay()
startOfWeek()	Start of this week	updated >= startOfWeek()
startOfMonth()	Start of this month	resolved >= startOfMonth()
endOfDay()	End of today	due <= endOfDay()
now()	Current time	updated >= now("-1h")

Practical Patterns

My Open Issues

assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = EMPTY ORDER BY priority DESC

Sprint Burndown

sprint = "Sprint 42" AND status != "Done" ORDER BY rank ASC

Recent Bugs

type = "Bug" AND created >= "-7d" ORDER BY created DESC

Unassigned High Priority

assignee IS EMPTY AND priority IN ("High", "Highest") ORDER BY created ASC

Issues Updated Today

updated >= startOfDay() AND project = "PROJ" ORDER BY updated DESC

Overdue Issues

due < now() AND resolution = EMPTY ORDER BY due ASC

Cross-Project Search

project IN ("PROJ", "DEVOPS", "INFRA") AND status = "In Progress"

Text Search Across Fields

text ~ "database migration" ORDER BY relevance DESC

Tips

Tip

Always include ORDER BY in your queries for deterministic, predictable results.

Tip

Use relative dates ("-7d", "-1w", "-1M") instead of absolute dates for reusable queries.

Warning

Some JQL functions like issueHistory() are Cloud-only. Check your Jira version's documentation for supported functions.