Launching Slack templates in Automated Release Notes for Jira 🫡

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We love making release notes more accessible & engaging. That's why we built the Automated release notes (ARN) app for Jira. Over the years we have upped the game with support for multiple release notes formats and varied distribution channels. 

Existing formats that ARN supports include - email, PDF, Confluence, HTML, markdown, JSON & more. However, a demand echoed from our user base: "Make Slack integration smoother!" We listened.

A Dedicated Slack Template: Tailored for Precision and Efficiency

The latest addition to ARN is a dedicated Slack template that doesn't merely rely on a default JSON format. The reason? The app's use of 'variables & JQL sections' necessitated something more tailored. With this new template, designing Slack messages becomes a visual treat. The elements you can incorporate include:

• Header: Introduce your message with clarity.
• Section: Create defined segments for better readability.
• Context: Add more depth or detail to any given section.
• Divider: Clearly separate different parts of your message.
• JQL Section: This is where the true power of JQL comes alive, allowing for dynamic content fetch from Jira.

All these elements provide certain formatting when used within Slack's messaging format. In fact, here's the Block kit builder to see their look & feel for yourself.

Here is how the header can be configured. One can easily add variables to this header when used in the ARN's Slack template builder.

The JQL section in here is almost exactly the same as it is in the other visual templates such as email, pdf etc. The only difference, of course, is that it supports only a certain type of formatting that is available in Slack messages.

I am not going to show the details for each one of the supported elements, I hope with the above two screenshots you get the idea.

Using Rules & Actions: Automation with a number of triggers

Once the Slack template is ready, all that you need to do is - set up a rule. Either manually triggered or automatically triggered based on various available options. Add a rule action to POST the Slack content to a pre-configured Slack channel. 
Here's a step by step guide to get the endpoints for Slack channels.

Why ARN’s Slack Integration Trumps Jira’s Native Automation

To those who’ve tried integrating Jira’s native automation with Slack, the struggles are clear: the tediousness of setup, the recurrent tweaking, and the commitment to constant maintenance. ARN’s visual template builder is our response to those pain points. Instead of manual fumbling, developers now have a guided, intuitive interface that expedites the process while enhancing accuracy.

Expanding The Use-Case Horizon

The potential of this integration isn’t just confined to release notes. By harnessing JQL’s prowess, the ARN-Jira to Slack bridge can be used for a myriad of applications: from periodic reports, daily stand-up summaries, to real-time sprint status updates. All these, directly beamed to your Slack channels from Jira.

Slack Templates - Available on Cloud and DC

We are happy to share with the community that the Slack templates are supported in the Automated release notes app for both, Cloud & DC versions.
What’s more, this template is also available in the free version of ARN that is in the Cloud.
Give ARN a try & let us know how we can improve this integration further!