Getting error There was an error parsing JSON. Check that your request body is valid.

[Atul Aggarwal]

Getting below error when creating an issue with special characters in description like '£' and '@'.

{\"errorMessages\":[\"There was an error parsing JSON. Check that your request body is valid.\"]}

So can anyone help on how can we create issues with special characters in the description using api?

[Felipe N Ribeiro]

If you are getting the problem when using Jira Automation and doing a POST webhook, the error is probably in the command:

"summary": "{{issue.summary}}"

replace with:

"summary": "{{issue.summary.jsonEncode}}"

https://confluence.atlassian.com/automation/jira-smart-values-text-fields-993924863.html#:~:text=on%C2%A0StringUtils.isNumeric()-,jsonEncode,-() 

[Shruti Misra]

Still getting same error without any special character as well.

[Adam Sterrie]

We found out the hard way that Atlassian REST APIs are super-sensitive to non-alpha-numeric characters. The REST APIs are just not robust enough to trust so you may find a way to create an issue with a special character in it but you will likely have problems elsewhere down the line.

So my advice is: Avoid special characters like the plague.

Instead, keep the summary (I presume) "detail light" and put all the messy stuff in the description.

Atlassian may be about to release a whole new set of super amazing reliable robust function-rich REST APIs (because the current set for use with the cloud are not up to the job of competing with Server or Data Center), but I wouldn't hold my breath!

[Rafael Pinto Sperafico]

Hi @Atul Aggarwal ,

No problems while creating Jira issues containing '£' or '@' when using REST API (https://docs.atlassian.com/software/jira/docs/api/REST/8.13.0/):

Request

curl -u admin:admin \
-H 'Content-type: application/json' \
-d '{"fields": {"project": {"id": "10100"},"summary": "Pound sign £", "description": "Pound sign £", "issuetype": {"id": "10000"}}}' \
http://localhost:8080/jira/rest/api/2/issue

{"id":"10201","key":"FOO-1","self":"http://localhost:8080/jira/rest/api/2/issue/10201"}

Request

curl -u admin:admin \
-H 'Content-type: application/json' \
-d '{"fields": {"project": {"id": "10100"},"summary": "At sign @", "description": "At sign @", "issuetype": {"id": "10000"}}}' \
http://localhost:8080/jira/rest/api/2/issue

{"id":"10202","key":"FOO-2","self":"http://localhost:8080/jira/rest/api/2/issue/10202"}

Jira Base URL in example above http://localhost:8080/jira

[Tadas Apulskis]

Try using utf-8 what language is the script?