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  • JQL query for search issues based on substring as wildcard * can’t be used as first character

JQL query for search issues based on substring as wildcard * can’t be used as first character

Stefano Astuti November 21, 2025

The first screenshot shows the list of issues and their descriptions.Screenshot 2025-11-21 143955.png

I’m trying to filter issues based on a substring inside text fields, but the JQL behavior seems limited. 

project = TEST AND textFields ~ "JIRA"

I only get issues where the text contains the exact word “JIRA”. (second screenshot)Screenshot 2025-11-21 144255.png

If I run:

project = TEST AND textFields ~ "JIRA*"

I get issues where a word starts with “JIRA” (e.g., JIRACON). (third screenshot)Screenshot 2025-11-21 144311.png

What I cannot do is search for issues where “JIRA” appears inside a longer word
(e.g., CONJIRATEST, ABJIRAXYZ), because JQL does not allow leading wildcards

Is this the expected behavior of Jira full-text search?
Is there any built-in way in Jira Cloud to filter issues where a substring (e.g., “JIRA”) is contained inside a word?

2 answers

0 votes
Marc -Devoteam-
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November 21, 2025

Hi @Stefano Astuti 

This is expected behaviour.

As mentionec by @Jack Brickey you will need a 3rd party solution for this to achieve your requirement.

0 votes
Jack Brickey
Community Champion
November 21, 2025

Hi @Stefano Astuti , to achieve this you would need a JQL search extension addon, e.g. JQL Search Extension or similar . Check the Marketplace and give one a try. Alternatively, if this is a frequent need, you can always export and search using Google sheets or excel

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