Fixing Automation Error - Trying to add start date upon status change

[iatkinse]

Trying to add start date with automation when an issues status goes from ToDo to In-Progress. Right now I get an error due to date format and not sure what to add

[Jovin · Accepted solution]

Hey @iatkinse 

To update the Start Date field all you'll need to input in the field there is below:

{{now()}}

That should help :)  

[iatkinse]

omg that was so simple and it did work - thanks

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @iatkinse 

Welcome to the Atlassian community.

The content you are placing in the Start date field is wrong. Just from the portion I can see you are trying to insert into a date field:

- the issue key of the issue that triggered the rule

- a date (using incorrect syntax)

- the Summary field content from the issue that triggered the rule

i.e. You are trying to add to a Date field

ABC-123 <an improper command for a date> Text from the trigger issue summary field

Can you explain the logic or provide the reference documentation that you used the made you think this was correct? I ask so that I can help educate you by explaining how your conclusions are incorrect.

You can provide a smart value in this field, but it can be only a smart value that specifies a date. You can't add an issue key or Summary text to a Date field. You also can't put a data and time into a Date field.

If you want to set the field to the current date you can use now but you need to format it properly. Reference 

https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/jira-smart-values-date-and-time/

Using {{now}} would give you a date and time. To get just the date you need to use a formatting command:

{{now.jiraDate}}