Trouble Adding Input Variable in Jira Automation Rule Group - "Input Must Contain Alphabets or Numbe

[Luka Recine]

Hello Atlassian Community/Support Team,

I’m encountering an issue while configuring an automation rule in Jira Cloud and would greatly appreciate your assistance. I’m trying to add an input variable within a rule group, but I’m receiving the error message: "Input must contain alphabets or numbers only in smart value format" in the value field.

Details of the Problem:

• Current Smart Value: I’m using {{triggerIssue.fields.customfield_10115}} as the value for the input variable in the rule group.
• Context: This rule is triggered when a new "New Client" work item is created in the "Intake" project. The goal is to pass the value of a custom field (ID customfield_10115, labeled "First Name") from the trigger issue into a group that creates an Epic in the "Client Management" project.
• Rule Structure: The rule includes a "Rule group" named "Client Repo" with inputs defined. The input variable is named firstName, and the value is set to {{triggerIssue.fields.customfield_10115}}.
• Error Behavior: Despite the smart value syntax appearing correct, Jira rejects it with the aforementioned error, preventing me from saving or running the rule.

Steps I’ve Tried:

• Verified that customfield_10115 is the correct ID for the "First Name" custom field via Jira Settings > Issues > Custom Fields.
• Ensured the field is associated with the "New Client" issue type and the "Intake" project’s create/edit screens.
• Checked the trigger issue to confirm the "First Name" field contains a value (e.g., "John").
• Attempted to use alternative smart values like {{issue.fields.customfield_10115}} and {{issue.customfield_10115}} (same error)
• Looked for documentation on smart value formatting and input restrictions but couldn’t find relevant guidance specific to rule groups or this error.

Questions:

1. Why is Jira rejecting {{triggerIssue.fields.customfield_10115}} with this error? Is it a syntax issue, a limitation in rule groups, or a configuration problem?
2. How should I correctly format the smart value for an input variable in a rule group to pass custom field data dynamically?
3. Where can I find official documentation or resources on smart value usage and input/output restrictions in Jira automation rule groups?

Request for Help: Please point me to the right documentation or provide a step-by-step solution to resolve this error. I’d like to ensure the input variable can dynamically pull the "First Name" value into the "Client Repo" group for creating the Epic. Any insights or workarounds would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you, Luka

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Luka Recine -- Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

There is almost no publicly available documentation on this Premium / Enterprise license feature of automation rules: https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/advanced-automation-components/

I am not using either of those license levels, and cannot experiment with this component type.  My suggestions are:

• What is the type of customfield_10115: plain text, user-selection, option-selection, etc.?  If it is not plain text, perhaps an attribute must be selected.  Otherwise the value would be an object and not alphanumeric...which is what the error indicates.
  • For example, if it is a single user-selection, that would be {{triggerIssue.customfield_10115.displayName}} if you wanted the user's name.
• Rarely, some rule components can get "glitched" when implemented in an incorrect order during rule edit.  Perhaps try:
  • Removing that advanced component / rule group,
  • re-create the group and set the input variables first,
  • only then adding the nested components.
• Work with your Site Admin to ask the Atlassian Support team what is the cause of the symptom: https://support.atlassian.com/contact/#/

Kind regards,
Bill

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Luka Recine 

Just following up to check if this answered your question.  If so, please consider marking this one as "answered".  That will help others with a similar need find solutions faster. 

If not, there is still only limited documentation for these new features, with this recently added for group configuration in rules:

https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/configure-automation-rule-groups/

For more guidance, I still recommend contacting Atlassian Support to explain these features.

Thanks!

[Walter Buggenhout]

Hi @Luka Recine and welcome to the Community!

Can you share the exact steps on how you built your automation rule?

[Tomislav Tobijas]

This experiment has been rolled out to a couple of our instances and while some features are REALLY cool 🤩, I'd appreciate if there were some documentation related to it. Even an EAP group here on the forum would be nice, just to learn more about what's possible. Altenhofen

Maybe @Bruno Altenhofen or someone else from Automation team can share some insights 🙃