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JIRA automation priority duplication removal rule

Karthik Balakumaran_otgqm5

created an automation rule that the XYA projects with the status in backlog,to list all the priority values are not null, did checked if the priority value is duplicate then update the duplicated value into next value then do the same for rest of them and make that the prioriy is unique value. below are the steps i did followed

1. Trigger: Scheduled
Choose Scheduled.

Set JQL: project in (RPA_PROJECT_KEYS) AND component = "creditrisk and operations" AND status in (backlog statuses) AND "{{PRIORITY_FIELD_ID}}" is not EMPTY ORDER BY "{{PRIORITY_FIELD_ID}}" ASC.

Schedule: e.g., daily or weekly to process backlog.

2. Action: Lookup Issues
Add Lookup issues action.

JQL: Same as trigger JQL to fetch all matching issues with non-null priorities.

This stores issues in {{lookupIssues}} for branching.

3. Branch: For Each Issue (Process Sequentially)
Add Branch rule / related issues > Issues from lookup.

Inside branch: Process {{lookupIssues}} one-by-one to check/update duplicates.

4. Inside Branch: Check for Duplicates (Web Request)
Add Send web request.

Webhook URL: https://your-jira.atlassian.net/rest/api/3/search?jql=project in (RPA_PROJECT_KEYS) AND component = "creditrisk and operations" AND status in (backlog statuses) AND "{{PRIORITY_FIELD_ID}}" = "{{issue.customfield_{{PRIORITY_FIELD_ID}}}}" AND key != "{{issue.key}}".

HTTP method: GET.

Headers: Authorization (if needed), Accept: application/json.

This counts duplicates: If {{webResponse.body.total > 0}}, it's a duplicate.

5. Condition: Has Duplicates
Add Advanced compare condition.

First value: {{webResponse.body.total}}.

Condition: greater than.

Second value: 0.

If true, proceed to update.

6. Action: Update to Unique Value
Add Edit issue.

Use Additional fields with JSON for rank/priority update:

text
{
"fields": {
"{{PRIORITY_FIELD_ID}}": "{{triggerIssue.customfield_{{PRIORITY_FIELD_ID}}.value + 1}}"
}
}

here the loop is not working, it still accepting the duplication, can someone help me to fix this, appriciated your help in advance

Accepted answers

Karthik Balakumaran_otgqm5

Step 1: Create a New Rule

Go to Project Settings → Automation → Create Rule
Click Custom Rule

Step 2: Add Trigger

Trigger type: Field value changed
Field: Backlog Priority

Step 3: Add Conditions

Issue type = Epic
Status = Backlog
Component contains Credit Risk & Operations+ (replace with your team/component)
Backlog Priority is not empty
(Optional) Reporter = specific user (remove if you want this rule to apply to all reporters)

Step 4: Define Variables

Create variable targetPriority = {{triggerIssue.Backlog Priority}}
Create variable expected = {{targetPriority}}
Create variable stop = false

Step 5: Lookup Issues

Add a Lookup Issues action with JQL:

project = AND type = Epic AND status = Backlog AND component = "" AND "Backlog Priority" >= {{targetPriority}} AND key != {{triggerIssue.key}} ORDER BY "Backlog Priority" ASC, updated DESC

Step 6: Branch Rule (For Each Issue Found)

Inside the branch:

Condition → If stop != true
Condition → If issue.Backlog Priority = expected
Action → Edit issue field:
- Backlog Priority = {{issue.Backlog Priority}} + 1
Action → Update variable:
- expected = expected + 1
Log action → Record the shift for traceability

Step 7: Add Final Log

At the end of the rule, add a log message:
Trigger: {{triggerIssue.key}} → Shifted {{lookupIssues.size}} epics.

All comments

Christos Markoulatos -Relational-

Hi @Karthik Balakumaran

From what i can see at a glance. First, Priority is a system field (priority), not a custom field, so references like {{PRIORITY_FIELD_ID}} / customfield and arithmetic (+ 1) won’t work. You must set priority by name or id, e.g.

{

"fields": {

"priority": { "name": "High" }

}

Second, a branch over “Issues from lookup” runs in parallel, so two issues can read the same value and both keep it, enable an Advanced branch over {{lookupIssues}} and run sequentially (or switch your branch type to one that supports “run sequentially”)

Hope this helps!

Karthik Balakumaran_otgqm5

Thanks for the response, but by priority field is custom field with number value. if that is the case how can i proceed with, I can see that the look up work item pulls all the list of epics but it is not updating the duplicate numbers, moreover I'm getting success status Screenshot 2026-02-17 183903.png

Bill Sheboy

Hi @Karthik Balakumaran

First thing, what problem are you trying to solve using a numeric value to replace the Rank field? Knowing that may help the community to suggest alternatives.

Jira uses a Rank field to solve the complex problem of re-ordering work items as they are added, updated, and prioritized, spanning all possible projects / spaces. Rank is an alphanumeric and character string, and not a number, and so is typically used for ordering filters for boards / backlogs, but not shown on the views.

Regarding the rule you describe...

Automation rule branches which could be over more than one item process in parallel and asynchronously, with no guarantee of when the branch will complete up until the last step of a rule.

There is no feature to process a branch sequentially. That feature has been requested for several years and Atlassian keeps repurposing the suggestions to add it. And, I hypothesize if it is ever added, it will only be available at a Premium or Enterprise license level.

For the rule you describe, the impact of that parallel processing is:

the branch does not process sequentially
the attempts to update the "priority number" will not increase as you expected
timing and storage limits for branching could cause both collisions and rule errors
if you have more than a few work items to check, this rule could exceed multiple service limits and halt, leading to messy manual cleanup work

When one truly needs sequential processing for a rule scenario, I believe the only workaround with rules is recursive rule processing using paired Incoming Webhook Trigger and the Send Web Request action. But, as that approach is risky and subject to failing from multiple service limits, it is used infrequently.

Kind regards,
Bill

Karthik Balakumaran_otgqm5

Step 1: Create a New Rule

Go to Project Settings → Automation → Create Rule
Click Custom Rule

Step 2: Add Trigger

Trigger type: Field value changed
Field: Backlog Priority

Step 3: Add Conditions

Issue type = Epic
Status = Backlog
Component contains Credit Risk & Operations+ (replace with your team/component)
Backlog Priority is not empty
(Optional) Reporter = specific user (remove if you want this rule to apply to all reporters)

Step 4: Define Variables

Create variable targetPriority = {{triggerIssue.Backlog Priority}}
Create variable expected = {{targetPriority}}
Create variable stop = false

Step 5: Lookup Issues

Add a Lookup Issues action with JQL:

project = AND type = Epic AND status = Backlog AND component = "" AND "Backlog Priority" >= {{targetPriority}} AND key != {{triggerIssue.key}} ORDER BY "Backlog Priority" ASC, updated DESC

Step 6: Branch Rule (For Each Issue Found)

Inside the branch:

Condition → If stop != true
Condition → If issue.Backlog Priority = expected
Action → Edit issue field:
- Backlog Priority = {{issue.Backlog Priority}} + 1
Action → Update variable:
- expected = expected + 1
Log action → Record the shift for traceability

Step 7: Add Final Log

At the end of the rule, add a log message:
Trigger: {{triggerIssue.key}} → Shifted {{lookupIssues.size}} epics.

Bill Sheboy

As a reminder, branches which could be on more than one thing process in parallel and asynchronously. They do not process sequentially, one by one.

For the rule you describe, many work items will process simultaneously and the created variable named "expected" is repeatedly recreated and thrown away with each item. It does not increment the same variable created before the branch: each one is different.

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