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Jira Automation: Reporter is not getting updated after setting Assignee

SandeepSingh R

Hi Atlassian Community,

I have created a Jira Automation rule where I want to update the Reporter based on the Assignee of an issue.

My automation flow is approximately:

Trigger: Issue Created
Check for errors / conditions
Check the Assignee using an "Issue fields condition"
Create/perform the required work item/action and assign an Assignee
Based on the Assignee, update the Reporter using the Edit issue action.

The rule is enabled and the automation executes successfully. The Assignee is getting updated as expected, but the Reporter is not getting updated.

In the rule configuration, I have multiple conditional branches where the Assignee is checked against specific users, and each branch contains an Edit issue → Reporter → Set action.

For example:

Condition:

Assignee is one of [User A, User B, User C]

Action:

Edit issue → Reporter → Set → [Expected Reporter]

I have also checked the automation execution, but I am unable to understand why the Reporter field is not being updated.

Could someone please help me identify what could be preventing the Reporter from being updated?

Specifically, I would like to understand:

Is there any Jira permission required for the automation actor to edit the Reporter field?
Is there any project/field configuration that could prevent Reporter from being changed through automation?
Does the Edit Issue action require any additional configuration for the Reporter field?
Could the issue creation/assignment sequence cause the Reporter update to be skipped?
Is there a recommended way to configure this rule so that the Reporter is reliably updated after the Assignee is set?

I have attached/exported the automation rule configuration for reference.

Any guidance on troubleshooting this would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Accepted answers

All comments

SandeepSingh R

The automation rule is enabled, and I have configured multiple conditional branches to check the Assignee and set the corresponding Reporter.

1. Automation rule details

Rule name: Assignee Reporter Automation-2

Rule status: Enabled

Trigger: Issue Created

Exact automation structure

The rule is configured as follows:

Trigger: Issue Created
- The rule runs when a new issue is created.
Action: Add watchers
- Adds three predefined users as watchers.
Condition block: If/Else conditions
- The rule checks the Assignee against specific user accounts.
- Each condition has a corresponding Edit Issue action to update the Reporter.

The conditional logic is structured as follows:

Branch	Assignee condition	Reporter update
1	Assignee is one of four specified users	Set Reporter to User A
2	Assignee is one of three specified users	Set Reporter to User B
3	Assignee is one of the specified users (single user)	Set Reporter to User C
4	Assignee is one of four specified users	Set Reporter to User D
5	Assignee equals one specified user	Set Reporter to User E

Each branch uses the following configuration:

Condition: Issue fields condition → Assignee → is one of / equals → specified user account(s)

Action: Edit issue → Reporter → Set → specified user account

The Reporter is configured using the user account ID in each Edit Issue action.

2. Expected behavior

When a new issue is created and the Assignee matches one of the configured conditions, the automation should update the Reporter to the corresponding user.

For example:

If the Assignee matches Branch 1, the Reporter should be set to User A.
If the Assignee matches Branch 2, the Reporter should be set to User B.
The same logic applies to the remaining branches.

3. Actual behavior

The automation rule is enabled.
The issue creation trigger is configured.
The Assignee conditions and Reporter update actions are configured.
The Assignee is getting assigned as expected.
However, the Reporter field is not getting updated to the expected user.

4. Questions

Could someone help me understand why the Reporter field is not being updated?

Does the automation actor require any specific Jira permissions to modify the Reporter field?
Is there any limitation in Jira Cloud that prevents updating the Reporter through an Edit Issue action?
Could the timing of the Issue Created trigger cause the Assignee condition to be evaluated before the Assignee is set?
Should I use a Field Value Changed trigger for Assignee instead of Issue Created?
Is there any specific configuration required to set the Reporter using an account ID?
What is the recommended approach for reliably updating the Reporter based on the Assignee?

I would appreciate any suggestions or recommendations for troubleshooting this automation rule.

Lalithesh

Hi @SandeepSingh R

Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

Based on my understanding, your automation updates the Assignee field first, and then you'd like to update the Reporter based on the newly assigned user, correct?

If so, you should add a Re-fetch work item data action to the flow after updating the Assignee. This will retrieve the latest issue data, including the updated Assignee value, allowing the Reporter field to be updated correctly based on your logic

Cheers!

Lucija Maric

Hi @SandeepSingh R

One thing I would check first is the rule actor's permissions. The automation rule actor needs at least:

Browse Projects
Edit Issues
Modify Reporter

If you're using the default Automation for Jira actor, make sure the relevant project role (commonly atlassian-addons-project-access) has these permissions under Project settings → Permissions. Also make sure the users you're trying to set as Reporter have access to the project.

Another thing I'd check is how the Assignee is being set.

If the Assignee is being populated by another automation rule, go to the rule's Settings and make sure Allow other automations and user actions to trigger this flow is enabled. Otherwise, a change made by another automation rule may not trigger this rule.

If neither of these helps, I'd check the automation audit log for one of the affected issues. It should show whether the rule was triggered, whether the Assignee condition matched, and whether the Edit issue → Reporter action succeeded or failed.

That should help narrow down whether you're dealing with a permissions issue, the rule not being triggered, or the Reporter update itself failing. 🙂

SandeepSingh R

No If i assign the work item it should update Reporter

SandeepSingh R

Thanks for your valuable inputs , let me try out , where should i set up permissions

If the Assignee is being populated by another automation rule, go to the rule's Settings and make sure Allow other automations and user actions to trigger this flow is enabled. Otherwise, a change made by another automation rule may not trigger this rule.

how can i do

Lalithesh

Hello @SandeepSingh R

If you're updating the Assignee using one automation and expect another automation to trigger and update the Reporter, you'll need to enable "Allow other automation rules and user actions to trigger this rule" and save the automation

PS: Select option 2 (Allow other automation rules and user actions to trigger this rule)

Cheers!

SandeepSingh R

hi Lalithesh,

Thanks for replying I am updating assignee manually

Mihai_LeanZero

It's the trigger. Going by the description (the screenshots don't show it) the rule runs on Issue Created, which fires once, at creation.

You said you set the assignee by hand, I'm assuming after the work item already exists. By then the rule is done, nothing touches the Reporter and nothing fails either. I'd leave that rule as it is and add a second one on "Work item assigned" with the same branches and Edit work item fields → Reporter actions.

Tried both on a test project. The created-trigger rule left the Reporter alone when the assignee was set later, with the assigned trigger it changed about three seconds after a manual assign.

Your "Field value changed" on Assignee idea should work too going by the trigger docs. Not tested here.

SandeepSingh R

Thank you Mihai, Let me check and try

Shaik Riyaz

Hi @SandeepSingh R,

The Two Most Likely Root Causes

If your rule shows SUCCESS in the Audit Log but the Reporter does not change, it is almost certainly due to one of two issues:

The Timing / Trigger Trap (Condition Evaluated too False):
- In Jira Automation, an execution status of SUCCESS only means the rule completed without throwing an unhandled exception.
- If the issue is created unassigned (or assigned via default component assignment, portal routing, or another rule shortly after creation), the Issue Created trigger fires while Assignee is still empty.
- As a result, every If/Else condition evaluates to false, and the rule logs "No actions performed" under the green "SUCCESS" status.
Missing "Modify Reporter" Permission:
- Changing the Reporter in Jira Cloud requires an explicit project permission: Modify Reporter (or Edit reporters in team-managed projects).
- By default, the Automation Rule Actor (Automation for Jira via the atlassian-addons-project-access role, or a project default user) often lacks this permission.
- When this happens, Jira silently ignores the field update or fails the action with an error in the audit log: "Some of the set fields aren't available. Fields ignored: Reporter (reporter)" or "You do not have permission to modify the issue reporter".

Thanks!!

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