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How to figure out variable names of the fields used in Context Fields

skaul
April 15, 2026

To give a brief I have project space admin rights to my JIRA project.

I am trying to figure out what these variable names are so i can use it in my automation rules.

1. Time Tracking

2. Start Date

3. Due Date.
JiraVariables_Names.PNG

 

There are few issues that i see.

1. When i expand these fields to get more information the field just vanishes. So not sure it is by design or is it a bug.

JiraVariables_Vanishes.PNG

2. If i search for DueDates in smartvalues i see bunch of due dates with no labels what is being linked to that particular field
due_dates.PNG

 

3. I have checked in the fields as well I only see a single Due date for my project which makes sense as others are not visible so not sure why it shows up in smart values when those fields dont exists in my project at all.

fields_list.PNG

 

The question is as a jira space admin and a user that creates automation rule. (Not JIRA ADMIN) how do i figure out which fields are linked to what variables? 

3 answers

5 votes
Trudy Claspill
Community Champion
April 15, 2026

Hello @skaul 

Refer to this document for a method to find the proper name/custom field is for each field in an issue.

https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/find-the-smart-value-for-a-field/

 

0 votes
Bill Sheboy
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Champions.
April 16, 2026

Hi @skaul 

Yes, and...to what others describe:

Some custom fields are not accessible in different contexts within rules and some are not accessible at all.  Thus, the knowledgebase article noted by @Trudy Claspill is often a better starting point for finding field references and which fields are supported by rules.  For other challenges.

  • Some fields are looked up just-in-time, and thus may not be "visible" fast enough for many rule needs.  One workaround is first save the value in a Created Variable for later use.
  • Nested work items do not load all fields into the "parent" work item.  For example, {{issue.subtasks}} and {{issue.issuelinks}} do not contain all of the data for those associated work items.  The workaround is to load those work items separately using JQL and the Lookup Work Items action or branching.
  • Many custom fields added by marketplace apps are dynamic, and can only be read sometimes in rules.  Please check with your specific app vendors to learn more.
  • etc.

 

Kind regards,
Bill

0 votes
Karan Sachdev
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
April 15, 2026

Hey @skaul

Good day!

Short Answer: for any system fields, the smart value is {{issue.fieldName}}. For example, {{issue.Summary}}, {{issue.Start date}} and so on.

For custom fields: the smart value is {{issue.customfield_ID}}.

To fetch the custom field ID, please go to Settings > Work Items > Fields and search for the field. Then go to options > Contexts and Default Value. The ID of the field is available in the URL.

For detailed explanation on how to get the smart values, please follow the document Trudy has shared.

 

Thanks!

Trudy Claspill
Community Champion
April 15, 2026

While System fields can be referenced by their name, there is no restriction to prevent creation of a custom field with an identical name. In that case if you try to reference a field by name the Automation may not be able to determine which of the identically named fields you are trying to reference.

And, in fact, in many cases you can reference custom fields by name also. It is not always necessary to reference them by ID.

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