JQL Query Builder

Expert assistance for constructing JQL (Jira Query Language) queries to search and filter Jira issues efficiently.

When to Use This Skill

• User wants to search for specific issues
• User needs to filter issues by multiple criteria
• User mentions JQL or queries
• User wants to find bugs, features, or tasks matching certain conditions
• User needs help understanding JQL syntax

JQL Basics

Field Operators

| Operator | Description | Example | |----------|-------------|---------| | = | Equals | status = "In Progress" | | != | Not equals | priority != Low | | >, < | Greater/less than | created > -7d | | >=, <= | Greater/less or equal | priority >= High | | ~ | Contains text | summary ~ "login" | | IN | Matches any value | status IN (Open, "In Progress") | | NOT IN | Doesn't match | priority NOT IN (Low) | | IS EMPTY | Field is empty | assignee IS EMPTY | | IS NOT EMPTY | Field has value | dueDate IS NOT EMPTY |

Common Fields

• project: Project key (e.g., project = PROJ)
• status: Issue status (e.g., status = "In Progress")
• priority: Priority level (e.g., priority = High)
• assignee: Assigned user (e.g., assignee = currentUser())
• reporter: Who created it (e.g., reporter = currentUser())
• created: Creation date (e.g., created >= -30d)
• updated: Last update (e.g., updated > -7d)
• type: Issue type (e.g., type = Bug)
• labels: Labels (e.g., labels = urgent)
• summary: Title text (e.g., summary ~ "authentication")
• description: Description text (e.g., description ~ "error")

Date Functions

• -1d, -7d, -30d: Relative dates (days ago)
• -1w, -4w: Weeks ago
• startOfDay(), endOfDay(): Day boundaries
• startOfWeek(), endOfWeek(): Week boundaries

User Functions

• currentUser(): The logged-in user
• membersOf("group-name"): Users in a group

Logical Operators

• AND: Both conditions must be true
• OR: Either condition must be true
• NOT: Negate a condition

Common Query Patterns

My Open Issues

assignee = currentUser() AND status != Done

Recently Updated Bugs

type = Bug AND updated >= -7d ORDER BY updated DESC

High Priority Unassigned Issues

priority = High AND assignee IS EMPTY AND status != Done

Issues Created This Sprint

project = PROJ AND created >= -14d AND type IN (Story, Task)

Overdue Issues

dueDate < now() AND status != Done ORDER BY dueDate ASC

Issues Mentioning Specific Feature

(summary ~ "authentication" OR description ~ "authentication") AND status != Done

Team's Work This Week

assignee IN membersOf("dev-team") AND updated >= startOfWeek()

Epics Without Stories

type = Epic AND issueFunction NOT IN linkedIssuesOf("type = Story")

Building Complex Queries

Step-by-Step Approach

1. Start with project:

   project = PROJ
   

2. Add status filter:

   project = PROJ AND status IN ("To Do", "In Progress")
   

3. Add assignee:

   project = PROJ AND status IN ("To Do", "In Progress") AND assignee = currentUser()
   

4. Add time filter:

   project = PROJ AND status IN ("To Do", "In Progress") AND assignee = currentUser() AND created >= -30d
   

5. Add sorting:

   project = PROJ AND status IN ("To Do", "In Progress") AND assignee = currentUser() AND created >= -30d ORDER BY priority DESC, updated DESC
   

Optimization Tips

Use Specific Fields

❌ Slow: text ~ "bug" ✅ Fast: summary ~ "bug" OR description ~ "bug"

Limit Date Ranges

❌ Slow: created <= now() ✅ Fast: created >= -90d

Use IN Instead of Multiple OR

❌ Verbose: status = "To Do" OR status = "In Progress" OR status = "Review" ✅ Clean: status IN ("To Do", "In Progress", "Review")

Order Matters for AND

Put most restrictive conditions first:

assignee = currentUser() AND status != Done AND type = Bug

Testing Queries

When I build a query for you, I'll:

1. Explain the logic: Break down what each part does
2. Test it: Use /jira-search to verify results
3. Refine: Adjust based on results
4. Optimize: Suggest improvements for performance

Common Use Cases

Sprint Planning

project = PROJ AND status = "To Do" AND sprint IS EMPTY ORDER BY priority DESC

Bug Triage

type = Bug AND status = "To Do" AND priority IS EMPTY ORDER BY created DESC

Release Readiness

fixVersion = "v2.0" AND status != Done

Stale Issues

status = "In Progress" AND updated <= -30d

Blocked Work

status = Blocked OR labels = blocked ORDER BY priority DESC

Advanced Patterns

Find Issues Without Estimates

project = PROJ AND "Story Points" IS EMPTY AND type IN (Story, Task)

Parent Issues with Incomplete Subtasks

issueFunction IN parentsOf("status != Done")

Issues Mentioned in Comments

comment ~ "needs review"

Cross-Project Search

project IN (PROJ1, PROJ2, PROJ3) AND assignee = currentUser()

How I'll Help

When you need a JQL query, I will:

1. Understand your requirements: What are you trying to find?
2. Build the query: Construct JQL step-by-step
3. Explain each part: Help you understand the syntax
4. Test it: Run the query using /jira-search
5. Refine: Adjust based on results
6. Save for reuse: Document the query for future use

Example Interaction

You: "Find all high-priority bugs assigned to me that were updated in the last week"

Me: "I'll build a JQL query for that:

type = Bug AND priority = High AND assignee = currentUser() AND updated >= -7d ORDER BY updated DESC

Breaking it down:

• type = Bug: Only bugs
• priority = High: High priority only
• assignee = currentUser(): Assigned to you
• updated >= -7d: Updated in last 7 days
• ORDER BY updated DESC: Newest first

Let me search for these issues using /jira-search..."

References

For more JQL details:

• Jira Query Language documentation: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-service-management-cloud/docs/use-advanced-search-with-jira-query-language-jql/
• JQL functions: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/jql-functions/
• JQL operators: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/jql-operators/