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How to populate customer user picker field with component lead

James_Noble

I am being asked to populate a custom field with the component lead value.

This is so we can have the accountable component lead value, displayed on any given screen.

I have tried with REST API to do this using automation but have failed unfortunately, even using Copilot to help.

This is the error I get in the automation flow audit log

Send web request08/09/2026, 13:52:24

Unable to publish the web request - received HTTP status response:

404

Error found in the HTTP body response:

{"errorMessage": "Site temporarily unavailable", "errorCode": "OTHER"}

Any help gratefully received.

Accepted answers

All comments

Nico Maikranz

Hello @James_Noble ,

do you have more details about the automation steps?

E.g. the url and header used for the api call

Best regards

Nico

James_Noble

thanks for coming back to me

... atlassian.net/rest/api/3/component/10174 when I hard code the end value and

atlassian.net/rest/api/3/component/{{issue.components.first.id}} when I use the

However using the hard coded value brings back a different ID in the audit log for the failure. I raised an Atlassian support ticket also, in case this is a platform error.

Unable to publish the web request - received HTTP status response:

404

Error found in the HTTP body response:

{"errorMessages":["The component with id 10104 does not exist."],"errors":{}}

Happy to get schooled on this in any way necessary...

Sami Shaik

@James_Noble ,

you are on the right route, because there is no shortcut: component lead is not exposed as a smart value ({{issue.components.lead}} renders empty; the request to add it is JRACLOUD-76851), so a Send web request to the component endpoint is how every working version of this rule does it. Your two 404s point at two different problems, and both are fixable.

Error 1, "Site temporarily unavailable", errorCode OTHER: that is not a Jira error, it is the front door saying the host in your URL is not a valid site. It appears when the URL is missing or mistyping the site name (for example <a href="https://atlassian.net/rest/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://atlassian.net/rest/</a>... or <a href="https://yoursite.atlassian.net" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://yoursite.atlassian.net</a> with a typo), or when the web request is pointed at the wrong base. Copy the exact base URL from your browser's address bar into the action.

Error 2, "The component with id 10104 does not exist" while you typed 10174: the smart value resolved to 10104, which means the rule ran against a work item whose first component is 10104, not the one you had in mind, and that ID is either deleted or belongs to a different project on the site. Log {{issue.components.first.id}} and {{issue.components.first.name}} with a Log action before the web request and read the audit log; it will tell you which component the rule actually saw. If a work item has no component, the URL renders as /component/ and 404s too, so add the condition first.

The rule shape that works:

Trigger: Work item created (or Field value changed on Components).
Condition: Components is not empty.
Send web request: GET https://<yoursite>.atlassian.net/rest/api/3/component/{{issue.components.first.id}}, header Authorization: Basic <base64 of email:API token> (the API token page is in Atlassian account security), header Accept: application/json, and Delay execution of subsequent rule actions until we've received a response ticked. Endpoint reference: get component.
Edit work item, More options, advanced JSON:

json

<span>{ "fields": { "customfield_XXXXX": { "accountId": "{{webResponse.body.lead.accountId}}" } } }</span>

Replace customfield_XXXXX with your user picker's ID. If the component has no lead, webResponse.body.lead is absent and the edit fails cleanly; wrap step 4 in an {{#if(webResponse.body.lead.accountId)}} if you want the rule to stay green on those.

One design note: .first assumes one component per work item. If your project allows several, decide which one is "accountable" before you automate, or the field will follow whichever component happens to sort first.