Automation rule to remove Flag

[Simon Tilbury]

I am using automation to successfully flag an issue:

The field name for the flag is "Impeded". The field is Locked and is of the type is Checkboxes and only has 1 option: Impediment

I am now trying to create a rule for removing the flag but nothing is working:

I have tried with normal Edit Issue option with blank:

I have tried Edit Issue with Advanced but none of these options are working: empty string, null and empty list (tried them independently rather than all at once)

{
"fields": {
"Impeded": ""
}
}

{
"fields": {
"Impeded": null
}
}

{
"fields": {
"Impeded": []
}
}

Is this just not possible? Or do I need to change it some other way?

[Murat Seven]

Hi @Simon Tilbury  and thanks for your question.

To clear the Flagged field in Automation, use the Edit issue action, select the Flagged field, and simply leave the value field blank.

If the issue is resolved, you can accept and vote for this comment.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Murat Seven

[Simon Tilbury]

Hey Murat

The field for flagging items is called "Impeded" in my Jira system and have therefore tried the above but it's not working  

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Simon Tilbury 

Adding to the already provided answer...

The flag indicator you show in the screen image is a built-in field called Flagged for Jira Cloud.  Do you see that one in your custom field configuration for the site?

Perhaps that "Impeded" field is another one added for a marketplace addon or by a site admin.

Kind regards,
Bill

[Simon Tilbury]

Hey @Bill Sheboy and @Murat Seven 

We have been using this instance of Jira for over a decade and way back when it was possible to specify a different name for "Flagged". I can't remember the full background and details of this but, for whatever reason, our term for the thing that sets the Flag within issues is called Impeded. As way of illustration see screenshot below when trying to look for "Flagged" field: 

 

[Bill Sheboy]

If the field's name has been changed in your site instance, the smart value (and custom field id) must be confirmed before proceeding.

Smart values are name, spacing, and case-sensitive.  And, they often do not match the displayed name on the issue views.  To identify the smart value and custom field id, please use the how-to article linked below.  Essentially the steps are:

• identify an issue which has your field(s)
• call a REST API function with a browser to search for your issue:

https://<yourinstanceurl>/rest/api/2/issue/<issuekey>?expand=names

• search on the page for your field, such as with CTRL-F
  • if you find the field, you will also find the smart value, custom field id, and structure / attributes it has
  • if you do not find the field, it is not supported by automation rules

https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/find-the-smart-value-for-a-field/

Once you have the smart value and custom field id, it is likely you may need to use an advanced edit with JSON to set the field, as described here:

https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/advanced-field-editing-using-json/#Checkbox-custom-field

[Simon Tilbury]

Hey @Bill Sheboy 

Thank you. Thanks to your help I managed to get this working by using the custom field id. Legend! :)

PS - I normally go to Custom Fields to establish the custom field id as it's included in the link but no doubt the REST API call has more info and will bear in mind for the future 

[Bill Sheboy]

Well done!

One value of using that REST API call technique is it confirms automation rules support the field...Some custom fields are not supported and knowing that will save time while diagnosing rule problems.

[Felix K_]

I had a hard time finding that field in our onpremise instance of Jira, which runs in German language.

What did the trick for me is flagging and then un-flagging a Jira ticket and then checking in the ticket's change log (visible for frontend users in the area close to the bottom of the ticket's detail page, next to "comments"). 

Turns out that in my case, my company decided to call that field "Eskalation". Only after finding this out, I could also find the custom field in the REST API changelog - I had overseen it 3x before.

{
"id": "1234567",
"author": {...},
"created": "2025-xx-xxThh:mm:ss",
"items": [
  {
  "field": "Eskalation",
  "fieldtype": "custom",
  "from": null,
  "fromString": null,
  "to": "[54321]",
  "toString": "Ja"
  }
]
},

https://<your-jira-instance>/rest/api/2/issue/<ticket-id>?expand=changelog

So maybe the trick mentioned above will also help others.