How can you tell if an issue is an epic?

[Oscar Goldman]

I can't see anything in the UI that identifies an issue as an epic. I even searched the whole issue-detail page for "epic" and got zero hits.

[Dirk Ronsmans]

Hi @Oscar Goldman ,

Normally it should show it as an Icon on the top of the page next to the issue key.

If you hover over it will also show the issue type/work item type.

Could you perhaps share a screenshot?

[Bharat Kumar Bondalapati]

Hello @Oscar Goldman 

Welcome to Atlassain Community!

As requested by @Dirk Ronsmans , please share screenshot to assist better :)

[Oscar Goldman]

Thanks for the replies! Here you go:

Not that icons alone would ever be an acceptable issue-type indicator, but what you see depicted here is two different document types (the parent of this document is a different type).

[Evgenii]

Hi, @Oscar Goldman 

Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

It's actually quite simple — the Epic issue type will always have the name "Epic" , as Jira doesn't allow you to create another issue type with that exact name.

To quickly check the issue type, just hover your mouse over the issue icon , and it will show you the full issue type name.

[Oscar Goldman]

Thanks! But there's no "issue type" field displayed anywhere I can see.

Hovering over icons isn't really a practical means of identifying issues... aside from the obvious problem of being almost totally undiscoverable.

[Bharat Kumar Bondalapati]

Hello @Oscar Goldman 

The way to identify the issue type is by looking at the "Icon" as each Issue Type has a different icon. 

In your case, as @Evgenii mentioned, hovering over the icon should display the type of issue.

[Mathew Lederman]

@Oscar Goldman you're absolutely right, it is nearly impossible to find if you don't know where to look. Atlassian made this change with the New Jira Issue View and unfortunately, the team decided to ignore the >350 votes on the Feature Request to bring the issue type names back. They provided two workarounds:

Workaround 1: Hover Over the Icon

In the New Issue View, users can hover over the Issue Type icon to reveal a tooltip displaying the Issue Type name. This ensures that users who need clarification on the Issue Type can easily obtain this information without adding clutter to the interface.

Workaround 2: Use an Automation Rule to Populate a Custom Field

For users who prefer the Issue Type name to be explicitly displayed, a custom field can be configured through Jira's Automation functionality. The process is as follows:

1. Create a Custom Field:

• • Go to Settings > Issues > Custom Fields.
  • Create a new text field, such as "Issue Type Name."

1. Set Up an Automation Rule:

• • Go to Project Settings > Automation and create a new rule.
  • Use the trigger "Issue Created".
  • Add an action "Edit Issue Fields".
  • Set the "Issue Type Name" field to populate dynamically based on the Issue Type (e.g., using {}{{issue.issueType.name{}}}).

1. Apply as a Single-Project Rule:

• • To avoid exceeding the monthly rule execution limits, configure the rule to apply only within a single project. This ensures unlimited executions and localized management.

[Oscar Goldman]

@Bharat Kumar Bondalapati Thanks, but as you can see from my screen shot... that is incorrect. Unless you count the tiny difference in aspect ratio between those two icons as "different icons," that is. Those are two different issue types.

@Mathew Lederman Thanks for taking the time to provide that info and those suggestions.

That is pathetic. In a world of bad UI, this is worse.

[Mathew Lederman]

I wholeheartedly agree that it's awful. Unfortunately, Atlassian is more interested in money-making features like AI and duplicate tools with slight differences like Jira Product Discovery than improving the tools that made them a real business.

[Oscar Goldman]

This doesn't even require "improving," but rather (apparently) restoring what they degraded.

Removing this information from view is a deliberate insult to customers, and the huffy dismissal of hundreds of complaints (which should be multiplied by thousands when you consider how few people will find this forum and bother to make a complaint) is despicable.

I mean... the information (meaning the text of the document type's name) is already delivered with the rest of the page! They're deliberately hiding it and replacing it with an idiotic icon.

This kind of blunder can cost them. I don't rule out replacing their entire product if they don't address this, because it testifies to gross disrespect for customers and profound ignorance of the purpose of their own product.