How to create checklist in task description?

Leonardo Baiser February 14, 2018

I need create checklist in task description on Jira, how I can do this?

This function is available?

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21 votes
Answer accepted
Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
February 25, 2019

Hello @Leonardo Baiser

Checklists are currently not available as a core feature in Jira, however, there are several apps available that add the ability to work with checklists. We at SolDevelo have recently launched a cheap, lightweight version of actionable checklists in Jira issues as well. It is available for Jira Cloud and Jira Server and seems to satisfy your needs - Multiple Checklists for Jira

Here are just a couple of things you can achieve with checklists in Jira:

 

Screenshot 2021-08-25 at 13-07-56 Multiple Checklists for Jira Atlassian Marketplace.png

Best,
Sebastian.

Louise Baker April 5, 2022

Hi Sebastian -
Is it possible to search for issues based on checklist status? Example: Search for issues that don't have "this certain task" completed?

Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
April 5, 2022

Hello @Louise Baker 

unfortunately, that's not possible yet, however, it's on our agenda and we plan to add some search capabilities based on checklist items later this year.

Best regards,
Sebastian

Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
April 6, 2022

Issue Checklist Free allows searching for issues based on checklist status as per the documentation.

Rafael Castillo May 24, 2022

@Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_ 

I can see that the apps allow you to add a checklist below the description, How can I add the checklist within the description?

For example, I would like to add the checklist in the purple box from the issue description below.

Screenshot 2022-05-24 104141.jpg

Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
May 24, 2022

@Rafael Castillo, that is not possible in Jira Cloud, unfortunately. 

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Sharon Paulson May 28, 2022

@Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_ how do you add a checklist to automatically appear on only one tab in a screen. When I have added a checklist it applies it to all tabs

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Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
May 30, 2022

@Sharon Paulson, please reach out to the Issue Checklist support team for assistance. They will help: https://herocoders.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/1

11 votes
Answer accepted
Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
February 14, 2018

Hi @Leonardo Baiser,

As already mentioned, it is not possible to add a functional checklist, with working checkboxes, to the issue description. 

You can only create a simple non-functional list in various forms (bullet, numbered, etc.).

There are a few third-party apps available in Atlassian Marketplace that fill this gap though.

Issue Checklist Pro for Jira Cloud that our company provides is one of them. It is simple to start (just install and go) Jira add-on with several advanced features ready to be discovered when needed. 

Issue Checklist Free app is free of charge version of the Issue Checklist Pro. It is an easy but most advanced and fastest-growing checklist app on the Marketplace. 

In case of questions, we are happy to help. 

checklist-statuses.png

Cheers,

Jack [HeroCoders]

Sam Wilson December 18, 2018

It's kind of ridiculous that such a basic feature (which, for example, comes out of the box in Trello) requires adding a third-party plugin which, for a small team, costs 50% of the price as the base product. It also means that I know have to install, manage, and concern myself with Yet Another Vendor.

This isn't something that should be a paid add-on. Literally every other software tool on the market offers this functionality.

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Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
December 23, 2018

Well, @Sam Wilson

There is also another point of view.

If Atlassian worked on adding a checklist, better time tracking, default values and other useful and "basic features" to Jira, then they would not have time to add several "power features" that brought you to Jira because these features are not available in Trello and many other tools on the market. 

There is no software that satisfies all the needs. Fortunately, Jira has a mature community of vendors that mitigates the problem. 

Cheers,
Jack

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Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
February 25, 2019

There is also available free version of the Issue Checklist app: https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1220209/issue-checklist-free?hosting=cloud&tab=overview

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Alexander Whillas April 29, 2019

So following your argument JIRA's slogan should be "JIRA: Complexity before Simplicity" or just "JIRA: Complexity First!" :D

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Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
April 29, 2019

It is rather "flexibility" that brought you to Jira ecosystem I think. 

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Steven Ventimiglia July 22, 2019

To a certain extent, I agree with all of you.  

- The description is not just text, but a custom markdown.  And, generally, markdown allows for checkboxes - which JIRA's simply doesn't acknowledge.

- Understanding that, it may not be that they "simply don't acknowledge" it, though - considering that any checkbox checked needs to be recorded and stored in the database for future reference.

However, if paid add-ons are available to hack their way into the issue's description - allowing this functionality - it's definitely a feature that's missing from, quite frankly, a fundamental tool set that should be provided with JIRA Software at the very least (since it's an enhanced version of JIRA Core.)

Then again; comparing JIRA Server I've been using, to the live version of JIRA that's hosted by Atlassian - they seem to be different monsters, as well.  The update being more of a downgraded backstep, imo.

Even Trello works better with markdown, so there's really no excuse.  Then again, you can create a list (or column) on there, but can only archive it and never delete it.

Atlassian = You win some, you lose some.  (RIP, Hipchat.)

@[deleted]
@Alexander Whillas 
@Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_

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Vladimir Akopyan December 30, 2019

I am sorry, but this is a total absurdity. As others have mentioned, this is fundamental functionality of a markdown parcer. You might as well argue Jira should not support images

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Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
January 22, 2020

Tasks' list is not part of all markdown implementations. It is definitely not a standard: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7763

Wasif_Altaf March 23, 2020

Is there a feature request for that? If not lets create a feature request! Thank you.

Gabriel Dasilva March 27, 2020

Been or not a part of markdown... it is a feature that many other tools have. Also, if many of us requested over the time, maybe theres a valid reason and Atlassian should at least review the request. And don't get me wrong, I like the Atlassian tools and is what I'm used to... but I think many of us agree that Jira is not the most usable management tool at first or for every kind of user... that's why they created the Next-Gen Projects... I already checkout tools like Asana or Monday and they offer the same features and stability with a way better learning path... so

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alexandernostadt September 9, 2020

Indeed one of the features I enjoy at GitHub but at work we use Jira. So, I need to work with the missing checklist feature.

I also like to argue that I believe that it's not a highly individual feature which would be an argument to move it to a plugin or however they're called in the jira world.

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Leni Neto December 3, 2020

@Sam Wilson agree 100%. This is very basic feature and it should be available. No excuses.

@Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_ I understand where you are coming from, but I don't agree with that at all. This is the same as selling the "best smartphone" except it doesn't make calls. Well, then call it smartsomethingelse, because a phone must make calls. 

This is a common misconception among software companies these days, specially SaaS, that focus on keeping adding more and more features while the existing ones don't work well or are incomplete.

It's nice to have an ecosystem around your product and the ability to buy missing functionality from 3rd party developers, but to a certain extent. No business likes the idea of buying something that has advanced features but doesn't have the basic. 

No business like to find themselves forced to pay extra to acquire basic functionality after deciding to pay more for a more robust solution.

It's a checkbox after all. As @Steven Ventimiglia pointed out, its Markdown. Come on...

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Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
December 3, 2020

@Leni Neto 

This is the same as selling the "best smartphone" except it doesn't make calls

That is a completely skewed comparison. 

Jira does ticket/backlog/project management and does it well. Checkboxes are nice and highly useful but hiding time tracking is too. Both things are not possible in Jira natively. 

Leni Neto December 3, 2020

@Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_ Agree to disagree. It's not a skewed comparison by any means.

You can say "ticket/projec management" without checklists. They are not "nice", they are basic task management.

I understand they are not native in Jira, and that's the whole point of this discussion. They should be.

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Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
November 28, 2021

"should be" in your opinion means "does not have to be" in Atlassian's opinion 🤷

Andy Norris February 18, 2022

Amazing to see the defensiveness of "marketplace partners." Almost like they have something to gain by JIRA not having basic functionality nailed. /s

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David Mošna May 23, 2022

How's it possible that for such a basic feature another plugin is needed? Jeez, just add checkboxes. Some microtasks just don't need to create another subtasks at all.

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Brigitte Donovan September 13, 2022

Is there a way to vote on a feature request to add checklists within Jira?

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3 votes
Tom Hermann (Asynchrony) June 9, 2020

My first thought entering [ ] into a description was that it would render as an empty checkbox, then [X] would be checked. My team is considering self-hosted Jira, and I feel like this is a con of Jira over most other tools out there.

I honestly want to use Jira, but this lack of a feature makes it a harder sell for my team. I'll go try out the third party solutions, but I'd like to add an upvote for this feature.

https://github.blog/2013-01-09-task-lists-in-gfm-issues-pulls-comments/

Tom Hermann (Asynchrony) June 9, 2020

I found (off) and (on), so that'll work. I just wish I could check to toggle.

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Richard Kasperowski October 26, 2021

Awesome! Here's another easy hack:

:black_check_box: for items that are unchecked

:check_mark: for items that are checked

2 votes
Olena Brazhko_Railsware_
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January 17, 2022

Hi @Leonardo Baiser

You can also check out Smart Checklist for Jira. With its functionality, you can easily:

About this and many more you can read in our Get Started guide.

Don't miss out on the possibility to set Custom statuses and Custom permissions :)

And of course, there's a free version available.

If you have any additional questions, be sure to reach to us at smartchecklist@railsware.com.

Cheers,

2 votes
Sumeet Shukla January 21, 2020

It's ridiculous that every basic feature is provided as paid plugins. Its high time that we move away from Jira and whole Atlassian.

Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
January 22, 2020

There is a free and powerful checklist available too: Issue Checklist Free

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Deleted user March 23, 2020

this free add-on is only available for cloud, not server which is what I need. :( I too am terribly disappointed that a simple task list is not something built into the core functionality of the tool. 

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Hanieh Katebian March 10, 2021

@Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_ This App is available for free for very small number of checklists (20) and it doesn't offer an overview of the checklist on the ticket in Next Gen. projects. So, basically it is useless and we have to pay for a "functional" one. 

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Jack Hunter _HeroCoders_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
March 10, 2021

@Hanieh Katebian,

No paid app will offer you progress in Next-Gen board cards. It is technically not possible in Jira at the moment AFAIK. 

As per the limit, it is for the Free version only. We introduced it after discovering companies with tens of thousands of checklist items using the Free version. 

There are no limits in the Paid version though. 

2 votes
Leo Diaz _ DEISER
Community Leader
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February 14, 2018

Hi @Leonardo Baiser!

You can use list but not checklist.... You have available in the Marketplace this app https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/com.okapya.jira.checklist/cloud/overview

1 vote
Ivan-CG December 15, 2022

Hello every1,

I am facing the same need of simple checklist to mark subtasks by myself (no linking, no filtering, no search), which simple checklist icon would solve. I found another simple & straightforward solution that solves this 😁



Screenshot 2022-12-15 at 12.17.16 PM.png

 

Enjoy 😂💪

1 vote
Karyna Tyrnavska _SaaSJet
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
August 7, 2022

Hi, @Leonardo Baiser !

If you`re ok with the Atlassian add-ons, I suggest you try out the Recurring Checklists and Report plug-in. 

My team has developed it to:


Also, you can add checklists to the existing Jira issue manually

You`re welcome to try out 30-day free trial 

 

Read use case about how we use security checklists in SaaSJet

1 vote
Neetu Verma April 22, 2022

JIRA does have a solution, not ideal but it does

1. Create a custom field , type multiple checkbox

2. Define your Checklist

3. Add New Screen and link Custom Field just created on to this new screen.

4. During Transition you can use update workflow to popup new Screen you created at step 3.

Again, I love the other apps, and most probably will be going to PRO version of those app but if you need is to just track few items then you can use this workaround. It totally works. 

pranitha gundi September 22, 2022

Can you be more specific about the steps. Are you talking about installing a Addon or is there a core feature in Jira to create checklists.

 

Thanks..

0 votes
Jaan Altosaar August 16, 2022

This is a core issue that is missing :( seconded! Why not just use markdown??

0 votes
alexandernostadt December 3, 2020

In my opinion it does help a lot to structure issues and therefore I see it as a valuable feature in an afaik enterprise-issue-management-tool. I would love to see this feature especially for self-organization ticket-wise. I currently use other non-jira tools but having all in one place is much more fun.

Installing 3rd party software is always risky and can make upgrades more painful. And it's not like one doesn't usually pay for Jira as I believe.

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