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How to search for items whose parent/children have a specific type ?

magali_lamande
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March 2, 2026

Hello everyone,

I have noticed several inconsistencies in my backlog and I would like to build a filter to find out all the inconsistencies.

For instance, I'd like to know if I have Epics whose parent is also an Epic (I've been told it's impossible, but I do have some examples in the backlog).

I need help to build this kind of filters :

  • <type of item> whose parent has <type of item>
  • <type of item> whose at least one child has <type of item>

 

Thank you !

2 answers

0 votes
Bartek Szajkowski _ Orbiscend OU
Atlassian Partner
March 2, 2026

Dear @magali_lamande 

Hope my answer meets you well.
I'm Bartek from Orbiscend OU.

If you are open for third-party app, I could recommend to try ARGON app
Available on Marketplace.

ARGON Powerful JQL Search 

ARGON Powerful JQL Search can help you find these inconsistencies using the childrenOf function.

Zrzut2.3.jpg

This uses Argon's childrenOf  function to find any Epics that appear as children of other Epics.

You can extend this to catch other common inconsistencies in one combined filter:

Zrzut22.jpg

 

ARGON offers significantly more search and filtering capabilities. Feel free to explore them on the Marketplace page.

I hope my suggestion helps you resolve your issue.

Greetings
Bartek
Orbiscend OU

 

 

0 votes
Aaron Pavez _ServiceRocket_
Community Champion
March 2, 2026

Hi @magali_lamande 

AFAIK, an EPIC cannot have another EPIC as a parent. Check the issue types you have, and it could be another work type higher in the hierarchy called Epic? 

Can you send us a screenshot of how it looks?

Hover over the work type icon in the work item, and check the names.

> I need to help to build this kind of filters :

  • <type of item> whose parent has <type of item>
  • <type of item> whose at least one child has <type of item>

 

Not possible with native JQL. you might need scriptrunner for this or another third party app.

What JQL can do is to find a Task with an EPIC = "name of epic"

The second one could be done like this:

issuetype in (Story, Task) AND parent is not EMPTY

Regards

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