Use this guide when configuring Jira Automation rules that add checklists to work items using the Custom template (manual input) option.

Basic syntax

Every checklist should start with :::checklist and end with :::

:::checklist text="Your Checklist Name"
- text="First item"
- text="Second item"
:::
CODE


Required elements

  • :::checklist text="..." - Opening tag and checklist name
  • - text="..." - Each checklist item
  • ::: - Closing tag



Syntax

Simple items 

:::checklist text="QA Checklist"
- text="Check acceptance criteria"
- text="Run functional tests"
- text="Run regression tests"
- text="Report issues"
- text="Re-test fixes"
:::
CODE


Nested Items

Create sub-items by adding spaces before the dash (-) character.

:::checklist text="Project Tasks"
- text="Development"
 - text="Write code"
 - text="Add unit tests"
 - text="Code review"
- text="Deployment"
 - text="Deploy to staging"
 - text="QA verification"
 - text="Deploy to production"
:::
CODE


Assignees

Assign checklist items to specific users.

 By display name

- text="Code review" assignees="@Jack Wilson"
- text="Deploy" assignees="@Alex Smith"
CODE


By Atlassian account ID

You can also use account IDs to assign users:

- text="Review" assignees="45rr11bf125b62007130a17d"
CODE

Multiple assignees

Separate multiple assignees with commas:

- text="Code review" assignees="@Jack Wilson, @Alex Smith"
- text="Deploy to production" assignees="45rr11bf125b62007130a17d,65ggc13hf125b89673456d12a"
CODE

With smart values

Dynamically assign items using Jira smart values

- text="Complete task" assignees="{{issue.assignee.displayName}}"
- text="Review by reporter" assignees="{{issue.reporter.displayName}}"
CODE


Item Status

Set items as checked or unchecked.

 Unchecked (default)

 - text="Task to do" status="unchecked"
CODE


Checked (pre-completed)

- text="Initial setup" status="checked"
CODE

(info) Note: If you don't specify a status, items are set unchecked by default.


Smart Values

Use Jira smart values to create dynamic checklists that pull data from issues.

Common smart values

{{issue.key}}                   - Issue key (e.g., PROJ-123)
{{issue.summary}}               - Issue title
{{issue.assignee.displayName}}  - Assignee's name
{{issue.reporter.displayName}}  - Reporter's name
{{issue.priority.name}}         - Priority level
{{issue.duedate}}               - Due date
{{issue.status.name}}           - Current status
{{issue.created}}               - Created date
{{issue.sprint.name}}           - Sprint name
CODE

📖 Learn more: Smart values in Atlassian Automation

Markdown text formatting

**bold text** 
*italic text*           
**bold & italic text*** 
~~strikethrough~~ 
emoji - :joy:      
links - [Google](https://www.google.com/)
CODE


Complete Example:

:::checklist text="Definition of Done - {{issue.key}}"
- text="Code changes completed" assignees="@Jack Wilson, @Alex Smith"
  - text="Code review done" status="checked" assignees="@Jack Wilson"
  - text="Merge request approved" assignees="@Alex Smith"
- text="Tests" assignees="565s8967e34567232y323a1q"
  - text="Unit & Integration passed"
  - text="Acceptance criteria checked"
  - text="Critical paths checked"
- text="Documentation updated" assignees="421s3457e54327232y323a1q"
- text="Release preparation done"
:::
CODE

Result

Advanced formatting syntax

You can use Atlassian Document Format (ADF) for rich text formatting in your checklists and combine it with the basic checklist syntax.

Required elements

When adding checklist items using ADF format, the following elements are required to ensure proper parsing and display:

  • format="adf" - Marks the item as ADF-based

  • ``` - ADF JSON must be enclosed in code fences

  • Indentation

:::checklist text="Release Prep" 
- format="adf"
  ```
     {
        "type": "doc",
         "content" : [{
            "type": "paragraph",
            "content": [{ "type": "text", "text": "Update docs" }]
         }]
     }
  ```     
:::
CODE

Examples with ADF

Using ADF with Basic Checklist Syntax

:::checklist text="Release Prep" 
- assignees="@Jack Wilson" format="adf"
  ```
     {
        "type": "doc",
         "content" : [{
            "type": "paragraph",
            "content": [{ "type": "text", "text": "Update docs" }]
         }]
     }
  ```  
  - text="Write release notes [Documentation](https://docs.stiltsoft.com/checklist-for-jira)" status="checked"
  - text="~~Update *docs*~~"
- text="QA testing"    
:::
CODE



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