How to capture the “date of change” for Jira issues

[#1]

Issues or tasks in Jira go through numerous modifications as teams collaborate and priorities shift. Someone might change a status, assignee, priority, or any other field. How do you capture the “date of change” for those updates? Spoiler: there is no built-in field for this purpose. So, if you’re wondering how to track and analyze these changes accurately, let’s dive into some workarounds to ensure you have complete visibility over your project’s evolution.

Option 1. History for a single issue + JQL

The “History” tab is one of the simplest ways to track changes within a single Jira issue. This tab provides a chronological log of every modification made to the issue, including changes to the status, assignee, priority, and other fields. Each entry in the history log shows the exact date and time, offering a clear record of how the issue has evolved. 

While this method can effectively track changes on a case-by-case basis, it’s limited when you need an overview across multiple issues or wish to analyze trends. Your alternative here might be to query issues with JQL and then open every single task to check the date of change for every specific issue. However, history searches work only for six fields.

For example, I want to see the date when tasks changed status from “To Do” to “In Progress” in my project. Here is JQL:

project = "Marketing Classic" and status changed FROM "To do" TO "In progress"

Then, you will get the list of issues that reflect that condition. Open each issue and check the history to see the change date for this specific status transition.

This method is time-consuming and can work if you don’t have too many issues to check. So, let’s move to the next option.

Option 2. Jira Automation

Another approach to capturing the “date of change” in Jira is to set up an automation rule that records changes automatically. With Jira Automation, you can configure a rule to trigger whenever an issue transitions from one status to another. This rule can then write the exact date and time of the change into a custom field, like “Last Status Change.” Once populated, this custom field becomes searchable using JQL (Jira Query Language) and can also be added to your issue search results, making it easy to filter and analyze issues based on recent updates.

You’ll need to create the custom field in Jira before setting up the automation rule. Follow the next steps:

1. Go to Jira Settings: Navigate to Jira Settings > Issues > Custom Fields.

2. Create a New Custom Field: Click on Create custom field, select Text Field (single line) or Date/Time Picker (depending on your needs), and name it something like “Last Status Change.”

Example of the Automation rule:

1. Trigger: Start with an “Issue Transitioned” (or “Field Value Changed” for other fields) trigger and specify particular statuses.

2. Action: Select the “Edit Issue” action to set the custom field (e.g., “Last Status Change”) to the current date and time. Use the smart value {{now}} to capture the exact moment the change occurs.

 

Now, every time an issue transitions to a specified status, the date and time will automatically populate in the “Last Status Change” field, keeping a clear record of recent changes. You can then use JQL to search based on this field or add it to your issue views for easy tracking.

This option is more effective but not ideal if you want to track the “date of change” for multiple or all issue fields.

Option 3. Issue History for Jira app to track the “date of change” for all fields 

Issue History for Jira app automatically records each update, displaying the history in an easy-to-read and customizable format. The “date of change” is displayed in a separate column. You can also filter changes by specific projects, fields, or time periods, making it simple to monitor updates across multiple issues. 

 

Since the app centralizes all historical data, it saves you from having to create multiple custom fields or automation rules, reducing complexity and ensuring accurate records.

Get all past updates in one report

Let’s sum it up

Tracking the “date of change” in Jira can be achieved through various methods depending on your needs. 

• History tab. Provides a straightforward view of changes made to a single issue, including dates and timestamps [good for quick insights but limited for broader analysis].

• Jira Automation. Set up automation rules to log the date and time of status changes into a custom field [ideal if you want to track the “date of change” for specific field changes like status or another].

• Issue History for Jira. A comprehensive solution that captures the date and time in a separate column for multiple fields and issues. This app simplifies tracking without manual effort, making it ideal for teams needing detailed change history [free trial].

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Yuliia_Borivets__SaaSJet_ 

Thanks for the summary of methods to track the date-of-change for fields, beyond what is provided by the built-in, JQL supported checks. 

And, please consider there could be exceptions for all of these methods, as some field changes do not trigger the issue-updated event and / or do not write to the change history.  Some changes are even written incorrectly to the history for edge cases (e.g., for lots of changes to list fields like Fix Version and Sprint).  There are other examples in the public backlog for the built-in field tracking cases, and some marketplace apps use their own field-change tracking, independent of the issue history.  Experimentation helps to confirm when a field's changes can / cannot be tracked.

Kind regards,
Bill

[Yuliia_Borivets__SaaSJet_]

Hi @Bill Sheboy 

Thank you for your comment and for pointing out these key considerations!

There are indeed exceptions when tracking changes. As you suggest, experimenting is key to understanding when these methods will or won’t capture changes accurately.