How to automatically add checklists to your Jira issues - step by step guide

Automatically adding checklists to each new Jira issue is a desired functionality. One typical use case is having the “Definition of Done” available by default in each new issue, to make sure that either developers or testers take time to verify if the task is done by the definition the team agreed to follow. Another common case is tracking whether the ticket is ready for development. That may include making sure the bugs have reproduction steps included or that new features have acceptance criteria. The thing about all those mentioned situations is that they all concern universal requirements that apply to the majority of the tasks you and your team face. You have to stand up to these standards because you want to deliver the highest quality service or product, of course. Still, human memory is faulty which makes it hard to remember every single step on your path to success (or "Done" if you prefer). Wouldn't it be great if after entering your Jira issue, you could see right away the complete list of criteria that you have to fulfill? This guide explains step by step how to achieve this with Multiple Checklists for Jira - an Atlassian Marketplace app available for Jira Cloud and Jira Server.

 

1. Get your checklist template ready

Enter any of your Jira issues and start working on your checklist items. Once you are happy with the result, click the “Save as template” button from the menu next to the checklist. You will be prompted to enter a unique name for the template. Once you have done so, just click “Save” and your template will be saved. Don’t worry, you can always edit the template later on, by adding more items, editing existing ones, reordering them, or deleting.

save_as_template.png


2. Go to manage templates view

You can access template management either directly from any Jira issue, through Multiple Checklists for Jira options, or via Jira Settings, provided you are the instance administrator. The screen allows you to edit and delete the existing templates, as well as assign them to be automatically added to the newly created issues. The last one is only available if you administer at least one project on the given Jira instance.

manage_templates_button.png

 

3. Automate template

Provided you are a project admin or Jira instance admin, you can click on “Automate template” after selecting a template name from the list.

template_add_automation.png

 

You can then select specific projects and issue types, that will have the selected template automatically added as a checklist to each created issue of those types.

template_automate.png

 

Please note that if you are automating a project template, you will not be able to select any other projects. Project templates can only be added to the project they belong to.

Automate template with JQL filter

If you need more freedom in assigning the checklist automatically, you can choose to automate it with a JQL filter, by clicking on "Automate with JQL Filter". Project templates can be automated with JQL by project admins, while global templates can only be automated by JQL by global Jira admins.

After clicking the "Automate with JQL filter", simply select one of the JQL filters you want to use. If the filter doesn't exist yet, you can create one, by clicking on the "Create filter".  Please note that the filter cannot be set as private in order to be accessible from the automate template screen. Make sure to change the filter access rights if you intend to use it for checklist template automation.

Checklist templates automated with JQL are added as soon as the Jira issue reaches a state described by the JQL query, e.g. JQL: issuetype in (Story, Task) AND status = Testing will add checklist template to stories and task, when their status is changed to "Testing". The templates are only added once to the Jira issue. If your issue leaves the Testing status and then enters it again, the checklist will not be added again.

 

template_automate_jql.png


4. Test it out!

That was it! You should be all set. Now go ahead and create a new issue to see if everything works as expected. If you cannot see any new checklist added, go back to the template management view and make sure that you have selected the correct project and issue types.

 

Multiple Checklists for Jira is available for Jira Cloud, Jira Server, and Jira Data Center on the Atlassian Marketplace.

29 comments

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Jodi LeBlanc
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February 23, 2019

Thanks for sharing the step-by-step guide!

Roberta April 4, 2019

Hi,

I have a very simple question that it was clear if the documentation note this. Can I add a checklist upon creating a Jira issue? Or do I have to create an issue first and then edit it to add the checklist?

Thanks,

Roberta

Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
April 5, 2019

Hello @Roberta 

If you are referring to issue creation modal/screen, then unfortunately none of the Jira Cloud apps can hook into that view, and therefore checklists cannot be inserted there as well. This guide explains how to have a predefined checklist added to each issue, as soon as it's created. 

Best,
Sebastian.

Roberta April 5, 2019

Hi @Sebastian Brudziński 

Thank you for your reply. We have Jira Data Center/Server. So, is this app only for Jira Cloud?

Thanks again,

Roberta

Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
April 5, 2019

Hello @Roberta This app is for both Jira Cloud and Jira Server :)

Best,
Sebastian

Like Vero Comparini likes this
Priska Maurer November 11, 2019

Hi 
Is it possible to set more than one template to default, so that when a new issue is created DoR, DoD and AC template will automatically be loaded? 

Many thanks for your help. 

Best Regards
Priska

Brett Foy March 2, 2020

Hi @Sebastian Brudziński thanks for the details.  Is it possible to add a checklist to existing stories or only apply to a new issue? 

Thanks for the help, 

Brett 

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Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
March 2, 2020

Hello @Brett Foy - we are currently working on adding the support to automatically assign a template to existing stories too. It will be possible by selecting a Jira filter (so essentially a JQL) and once it matches the Jira issue, the template will be inserted there. This means you will be able to automatically add it by status, assignee, or really any Jira issue field.

You can, of course, always add a checklist manually to any issue, but I assume you ask for auto-assignment :)

Please feel free to reach me if you have any more questions!

Best,
Sebastian

Like Brett Foy likes this
chandrakalaS March 5, 2020

Hello @Sebastian Brudziński  - is it possible to add more than one template as default for an Issue type?

 

Best,

Chandrakala

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Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
March 5, 2020

@chandrakalaSYes - that's possible. There's no limit on the number of templates that can be assigned automatically per project and issue type :)

chandrakalaS March 5, 2020

@Sebastian Brudziński  I have 2 Checklist - Dev and QA and want to assign to Issue type - Story. After assigning Dev checklist to Story and when I assign the QA checklist to Story the earlier one is removed and 2nd one is set as default.

Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
March 5, 2020

@chandrakalaSare you sure the checklist app you are using is Multiple Checklists for Jira? What you are describing doesn't sound like our app that is described in the article above

chandrakalaS March 5, 2020

@Sebastian Brudziński Sorry I am trying Issue Checklist for free.

Will Craig December 22, 2021

Hi does this use Jira automation credits, or is this automation outwith Jiras own system 

@Sebastian Brudziński 

Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
December 22, 2021

Hello @Will Craig

automated template addition in Multiple Checklists for Jira doesn't rely on Jira automation. Therefore, there are no limits as to how many times the template can be added in a given period of time.

Best regards,
Sebastian

Atlassian Learner March 28, 2022

Hi @Sebastian Brudziński ,

Can we add checklist via automation to newly created tickets.

checklist list should be added to only automation created tickets not for all the issues in the issuetype.

Thanks,

Ritu

Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
March 29, 2022

@Atlassian Learner Yes, that would be possible, however, you'd need something in the Jira issue that you can use to tell issues created manually from issues created via automation. You could for instance add the label "automation" to all the issues created via automation, and then configure checklists to add only for issues that have this label. If you have any other field that you can use to differentiate those issues, it can be used as well.

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habib rahman
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August 10, 2022

Hi,

Is this only available on the pro and above version of Jira cloud? I am using a standard paid version of Jira so am guessing this is not available for the standard version and only available for the pro and above version.

Am trying to automatically add a checklist based on a label however I do not think this will work on the paid standard version, please correct me if I am mistaken.

 

Thank you 

Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
August 10, 2022

Hello @habib rahman 

Multiple Checklists for Jira is an app (extension) for your Jira instance. In order to use it, your Jira admin needs to install the app on your Jira - https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1220026/multiple-checklists-for-jira?hosting=cloud&tab=overview

It doesn't come pre-installed on any version of Jira, however, you can add it no matter if you are on the Jira free, standard, or enterprise version.

Best regards,
Sebastian

Maxim Filipchyk September 1, 2022

Hello,

I'd like to Automate template with JQL filter.

I've created a filter, and made it "public". However, I still can't see it in "Choose filter" selector.

Please advice.

Thanks,

Maxim.

Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
September 2, 2022

Hello @Maxim Filipchyk 

The "choose filer" dropdown only shows a couple of filters by default. Have you tried entering the filter name in the search bar to narrow the options down?

If you are still having trouble finding the filter even after entering its name in the search, feel free to contact our support - https://soldevelo.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5 they will be happy to guide you through this process or help troubleshoot the issue

Sam Francis November 27, 2022

Good afternoon,

I am trying to use the choose filter options but no options are available.  Yes, I have created several filters within my application support project, but no filter options are currently available.  I am on the free version of this app. 

filter not available.PNG

Clicking the drop down menu reveals no filter options.

Kind Regards,

Sam

Sebastian Brudziński
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
November 28, 2022

Hello, @Sam Francis 

please check the visibility option of the filters you've created. If they are set to private (default Jira option) they won't be shared with our app. See here about sharing and managing Jira filters - https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/manage-shared-filters/

If you need help setting this up or you are encountering any problems even after changing filters visibility settings, don't hesitate to contact our support for assistance - https://soldevelo.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5

Best regards,
Sebastian

Pritam Shirahatti February 15, 2023

How to create a checklist template? 

Thanks

Pritam Shirahatti February 15, 2023

@Sebastian Brudziński , How will I create a checklist template, is there a difference between checklist and multiple checklist? please assist 

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