A JQL query for all issues whose epic's summary contains a word

[Kiril Vidimče]

I am using a standard JIRA Software project with epic -> story -> (sub)task hierarchy.

Is there a way to query/filter all issues (stories and tasks/sub-tasks) whose epics along the ancestral chain contains a given word? Something like:

project = Foo and "Epic Link" ~ Bar

When I try the above, I get an error that the contains operator cannot be used with "Epic Link". Also, even if it did work, I don't think it would pick up tasks/sub-tasks since I don't believe those have a back link to the epic.

[Kyle_O_Keefe-Sally]

I had the need as the original post and found an "out of the box" solution in another post...

From Alain Boss'  answer to this post:

First you create a filter for your epics as desired --> My Epic Filter

You can then use the issuefunction. Because the filter contains whitespace, you have to quote the name and because it is used within double quotes you have to use single quotes.

issueFunction in linkedIssuesOf("filter = 'My Epic Filter'", "is epic of") OR filter = "My Epic Filter"

With the OR-part you will get the epics as well.

[Mirek]

"~" operator can be used with text fields like Summary, Comments, .. Try using "Epic Name" which is actually a better choice instead od "Epic Link". 

[Kiril Vidimče]

Right, but I am not searching/filtering for the epics. I want to filter the stories and tasks that belong to a given epic. Those don't have an "epic name" field.

[Mirek]

Oh.. Hmm.. in that case try this something like this

project = ABC AND "Epic Link" = ABC-1 OR parent in ("ABC-1")

[Kiril Vidimče]

Thanks, but I am not looking for any specific parents, though. I am trying to find all epics that contain a specific word. Neither "epic link" or "parent" allow the contains operator.

[John Price]

I don't think this is possible without the help of a plugin such as ScriptRunner.  See this question:  https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-questions/Searching-for-subtasks-of-parents-that-meet-certain-criteria/qaq-p/39736

[Kiril Vidimče]

Yeah, I saw that when searching previously, but as it often appears to be the case, almost anything useful in JIRA requires an extra paid plugin; and given that we run JIRA Cloud, it also means exposing all of your data to random external companies you know nothing about.

[John Price]

Not that this helps with the money part, but in my company when someone asks for an add-on we have a lightweight InfoSec audit where we ask the vendor things like:

- do you store any data outside the Jira instance, encryption at rest, etc.

- what is your data sharing policy

- how do you handle regional privacy issues such as GDPR

etc.  Most of the good vendors will have prepared answers on those or are happy to help you feel satisfied.

[Kyle_O_Keefe-Sally]

I think it's possible with this (if I understand what Kiril is trying to do correct):

From Alain Boss'  answer to this post:

First you create a filter for your epics as desired --> My Epic Filter

You can then use the issuefunction. Because the filter contains whitespace, you have to quote the name and because it is used within double quotes you have to use single quotes.

issueFunction in linkedIssuesOf("filter = 'My Epic Filter'", "is epic of") OR filter = "My Epic Filter"

With the OR-part you will get the epics as well.