Can I create a custom field to link to a jira issue?

[Jenni Davison]

Hey all, I'm looking to create a custom field to link to a Jira issue (in this case Feature)

Is there a way to create a custom field which looks up valid issue references?

Reason being - we're trying to use Jira for SAFe - and trying to implement Epic, Feature, Story hierarchy so would like a 'Feature Link' field to link Stories to Features.

[Yoann LEGRAND]

Hi @Jenni Davison , 

Why do not create a custom issue link ?

As a Jira administrator, you can activate issue linking to let your team create links between relevant issues across all Jira applications on your site

• Jira settings > Issues.
• Click Issue Linking.
• Fill in the form below the existing issue links.
• You can edit the name, outward description, and inward description at any time.
• Click Add.

https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/configure-issue-linking/

You can create a new hierarchy type if you want with Issue type hierarchy ( https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/configure-the-issue-type-hierarchy/ )
But be careful, If you change this, It's for all your site (not only one project)

[Jenni Davison]

Thank you for your reply.  I did look at this option, but hoping to make it a field the teams have to complete to make it part of the raising of a ticket, as you would with Epic Link or Parent link

[Joaquin Varela Colombo]

Hey! just wondering if you find a way of achieving this?

[Dinesh Loyapalli]

Hi, I’m curious to know if you’ve found a way to achieve this?

[Dodds_ Sean]

Hi Yoann,
This is some information about what I want this feature and why a generic link isn't good enough.

1. Generic links are open ended. Anything can link to anything with any link type. There is little meaning created via links. 
2. With a custom field, it's much easier to communicate to my users "in this field, select the issue that does.. xyz".
3. I can put that field into a place on the screen that provides meaning through it association with other fields.
4. I can put it on specific screens for specific issue types. Again, more meaning.
5. Ideally, I'd even have a query to limit my choice of issues to choose from.
6. Now.. when I report on the data, I want a field that gives me just the issues of concern and not other random links. Like.. "Clones". This won't provide meaning in my report. 

Let me know if you'd like more information. 

[Experian Devops]

This is not an answer but it explains my use case for this functionality:
I want to create a ranked project list of ALL the initiatives across my org in a single project.
Then I want all of the 100s of Jira projects to be able to have a field where they can specify which Project (ie an issue in the first project) their story belongs to.
The ultimate reason is so I can rank the issues in my project by the issues in the "company-wide initiatives" project.
This use case is not possible using links.