How to remove the user who is the Reporter of the issue from the list of Approvers

[Sumona Dhara]

Hi,

The Approval workflow is configured to pull approvers names from an Asset Attribute.

This works absolutely fine and Approvers gets generated on creation of tickets.

Now, we have a new requirement to remove the Reporter from the list of approvers

Is there an Automation Advanced field update script, which will remove the reporter/initiator of the issue from the Approvers list?

[Sumona Dhara]

Is there an Automation Advanced field update script, which will remove the reporter/initiator of the issue from the Approvers list?

[Gunjan Kumar]

Hi Sumona,

You can’t exclude the Reporter directly at the Asset attribute level. Instead, use Jira Automation to remove the Reporter from the Approvers field after the issue is created.

Automation rule:

• Trigger: Issue Created
• Action: Edit issue → Approvers → Remove value → {{reporter}}

References:

• https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/edit-issue-action
• https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/jira-smart-values-user

[Sumona Dhara]

Hi Gunjan, 

Mine is a DC instance, and i dont seem to have the option in Edit Issue to

Remove value → {{reporter}}

And the links you provided above are not accessible. 

[Sumona Dhara]

I tried below JSON Edit Issue - More options - Additional fields, however it doesn't work.

{
"update": {
"approvers" : [
{
"remove": {
"id":"{{initiator}}"
}
}
]
}
}

[Gunjan Kumar]

Hi Sumona,

Since you’re using Data Center, the Cloud smart values (like {{reporter}}) and list functions won’t work the same way.

In JSM Data Center, the Approvers field stores users by username/key, not accountId. Try using the Reporter’s username instead:

{

  "update": {

    "approvers": [

      {

        "remove": {

          "name": "{{issue.reporter.name}}"

        }

      }

    ]

  }

}

Also, please ensure:

• The rule runs after issue creation
• The field name is exactly "approvers" (lowercase in JSON)
• The Reporter is actually present in the Approvers list

If this still doesn’t work, you may need to handle it via a post-function or ScriptRunner, as DC automation capabilities are more limited than Cloud.

[Sumona Dhara]

Hi Gunjan, 

Thank you for the detailed instructions, I used exactly as you specified. However, the reporter's name is not getting removed from the approvers' list. even though the Automation Audit log states Success.

I will explore the post-function in the Workflow. 

I don't have ScriptRunner, is that plugin/AddOn?

[Gunjan Kumar]

Hi Sumona,

Thanks for the update.

Yes, ScriptRunner is a third-party marketplace app (from Adaptavist) that adds advanced scripting and workflow functions in Jira Data Center.

Unfortunately, native Automation in DC has limited support for modifying multi-user fields like Approvers, which is why the audit log may show success but the value is not actually removed.

Your most reliable options in DC are:

• Add a workflow post-function to set the Approvers field (and exclude Reporter), or
• Use an app such as ScriptRunner for Jira Data Center to remove the Reporter programmatically.

If installing apps is not an option, I recommend handling this via a workflow post-function where you explicitly set the approvers list without the Reporter.