How to search comments in Jira without JQL

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Comments in Jira create a powerful channel for internal and external communication. Whether you want to stay updated on some issues, ask a question, suggest improvements, or effectively communicate with clients, you can do it all by adding or checking comments. In Jira, it’s also possible to look for specific queries with the help of basic search, advanced search with JQL, filters, or alternative solutions. 

Here, you will find answers to some common questions:

• How to find tickets with specific text in comments?

• How to get comments updated by a particular person?

• How to see comments added on specific dates?

• What comment was deleted, and by which user?

As JQL has limited possibilities for searching comments, for example, you can’t search for comments history changes made in the past, here we will mainly look at alternative options.

⏩ Get comments with specific text

This case is pretty simple and probably the only example you can do with JQL by typing “comment ~ 'text'”. However, you can also do it with a basic search by adding a comment field and typing the text you need:

To see the comment itself, open the issue.

⏩ Get comments with specific text added by a specific user

Jira search doesn’t allow you to do it natively. Here, we will use Issue History for Jira app as it has the most installations among the add-ons that report on issue history. When it comes to tracking any task changes made by users, it is a lifesaver. 

💭 Situation: You commented on several issues with a specific word, let it be “email”, for example. Now, you don’t remember on which tickets you left comments. If you want to see some text you or other team members added in the comments, follow the next steps.

1. Create a Jira filter. 

Add the text you need to the comment field, plus you can add other options; here, we specify a project. Press “Save as” to save your choices as a filter.

2. Enter the name and submit.

3. Open Issue History for Jira app. Go for the Columns manager, add the comments field, and unselect all others.

4. Select issues by the filter you created.

5. Choose a person who updated the issue.

*Notice the report contains other changes made to the issue by the current user. 

**If you don’t have an app installed, you can try it free for 30 days and see how it works for you

🗓️ Date selection

You can also choose a specific date range to see comments added at a particular time by a specific person or by any user.

The filters you get with Issue History for Jira are designed to satisfy different cases so that you can select issues by different options: projects, sprints, assignees, updaters, date ranges, etc. For instance, you can set a project and dates and see all changes made to issues for selected criteria.

Get comments added or removed by a specific user 

In the report, you can notice some lines highlighted with green or red and strikethrough.

🟢 Green – the comment was added

🔴 Red strikethrough - the comment was removed

Built-in Jira options don’t allow you to see removed comments. You can read more here: How to get deleted comments in Jira?

Takeaway

Jira comments maintain a transparent and open line of communication within the team and with your clients. Some searching skills will help you find any data or updates to make your collaboration even more effective. Try to combine the above built-in solutions with Issue History for Jira to get the most out of the comments history.

Free trial of Issue History for Jira

If you have another case you would like to solve, leave it in the comments section.