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

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

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

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

Getting Started

Usage

Guides

Jira Tools

Confluence Tools

Advanced

Help

Basic Syntax

Common Operators

Common Fields

Useful Functions

Practical Patterns

My Open Issues

Sprint Burndown

Recent Bugs

Unassigned High Priority

Issues Updated Today

Overdue Issues

Cross-Project Search

Text Search Across Fields

Tips

​Basic Syntax

​Common Operators

​Common Fields

​Useful Functions

​Practical Patterns

​My Open Issues

​Sprint Burndown

​Recent Bugs

​Unassigned High Priority

​Issues Updated Today

​Overdue Issues

​Cross-Project Search

​Text Search Across Fields

​Tips

Basic Syntax

Common Operators

Common Fields

Useful Functions

Practical Patterns

My Open Issues

Sprint Burndown

Recent Bugs

Unassigned High Priority

Issues Updated Today

Overdue Issues

Cross-Project Search

Text Search Across Fields

Tips