Last comment author

[Harsh]

Hi there,

I have a question regarding automation.
Is it possible to extract last comment author in JIRA Automation. I am using JIRA server.

I tried with  - commentLastCreatedBy & {{issue.comments.last.author.displayName}}  

But no luck

Thank you

[Mihai Schwarz · Accepted solution]

Hi @Harsh ,

I've managed to trigger an automation rule that comments using the last comment author name using {{issue.comments.last.author.displayName}}

Additionally maybe you might find the article bellow useful.

https://confluence.atlassian.com/automation074/smart-values-1141481319.html

Thanks,

Mihai Schwarz

[Harsh]

Hi @Mihai Schwarz 

I used the same thing , but I want to compare if the last comment author is assignee, which is not working as expected

Thank you 

[Mihai Schwarz]

@Harsh make sure that you are getting the usernames as the format for the first argument is simply a text and the assignee is a username (most probably email format).

If you can share more information I can try an replicate your case to see if I can help you with a solution.

[Harsh]

Hi @Mihai Schwarz 

Thanks for the information. 

I actually modified the one which you sent to compare(advanced compare)it to the custom field user field which act as second reporter 

i.e {{issue.comments.last.author}} = {{issue.customfield_123.displayName}}  

And edited the issue as per the requirement via automation. 

Hence your information helped me. 

I'll accept the answer. :)

Thanks 

[Sarah Navin]

Hello,

For Jira Server Automation, the correct way to reference the last comment's author depends slightly on your Automation version, but here are the most reliable methods:

1. Using the dedicated smart value (often the most direct): `{{lastComment.author.displayName}}`
2. Accessing via the comments list (if the above doesn't work): `{{issue.comments.0.author.displayName}}`

Important Note

In Jira Automation's smart values, the comments array is sorted with the newest comment first. Therefore, index `0` refers to the most recent (last) comment.

Why your attempts might have failed:

• `commentLastCreatedBy` is not a standard smart value in Jira Automation.
• `{{issue.comments.last.author.displayName}}` uses `.last`, which is not valid syntax for the array. You need to use the index `0`.

Example in a rule branch

You can use this value to:

• Send a notification to `{{lastComment.author.displayName}}`
• Compare it in an "If" condition: `{{lastComment.author}} equals {{issue.reporter}}`
• Assign the issue to the last commenter: `{{lastComment.author}}`
• **Troubleshooting Tip:**

Use the "Send webhook" action with a dummy URL or the "Log action" action (if available in your version) to output `{{lastComment.author}}` or `{{issue.comments.0.author}}` and see the raw value in your audit log. This helps confirm you're getting the expected user object.

Give `{{lastComment.author.displayName}}` a try first. If that variable is empty, fall back to `{{issue.comments.0.author.displayName}}`.

Hope this helps!

Sarah

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Harsh 

I do not believe displayName values are required to be unique for users in a Jira site.

Instead you may want to compare the accountId values; those will be unique.

Kind regards,
Bill