How do I set up custom workflows in Jira Cloud?

[Jesse Hilton]

I want to create my own steps or process for tasks instead of using Jira’s default ones. How can I do that?

[Ali Umut Terzi]

Hi @Jesse Hilton 👋

If you want to replace Jira’s default steps (statuses) with your own process, you’ll need to create a custom workflow and associate it with your project.

Here’s how you can do it step-by-step:

1️⃣ Go to Project Settings → Workflows

• Open your project.
• Click Project settings → Workflows (or Issues → Workflows if you’re an admin at the global level).

2️⃣ Create or edit a workflow

• Click Add workflow to make a new one from scratch, or Edit an existing one.
• In the workflow editor, you can:
  • Add new statuses (like Design Review, QA Testing, Customer Approval, etc.)
  • Connect them with transitions (for example: Start Work → Review → Done).
• Each status represents one “step” in your process.

3️⃣ Publish and associate your workflow

Once your workflow is ready:

• Click Publish (it will create a new workflow scheme).
• Then go to your Workflow Scheme and link your custom workflow to the desired issue type (e.g. Task, Story, Bug).

4️⃣ Test it out

Create a test task and walk through the new flow to make sure transitions and permissions behave as expected.

Note for Team Managed Project:

If you’re using Team-managed projects, you can modify the process more visually under:

Project settings → Issue types → Task → Workflow
It’s drag-and-drop friendly and perfect for quick adjustments.

Hope this helps!🚀

[Pallavi Shirodkar]

Hi @Jesse Hilton 

Please try this steps.

Open the Workflow Editor: To change a workflow or create a new one for your project, navigate to Settings → Issues → Workflows as a Jira administrator. ​

Create Custom Statuses: Create new statuses for each distinct step in your process in the workflow editor (use the graphical "diagram" option). Examples of these statuses are "Draft," "QA," "Review," and "Approved." ​

Establish Transitions: To specify how tasks proceed from one stage to the next, draw arrows or transitions between statuses. For every transition, you can configure automation triggers and conditions as necessary. ​

Publish and Assign Workflow: After saving and publishing your workflow, use the workflow scheme to map it to the appropriate issue categories so that your unique stages are applied to both new and ongoing tasks.

Hope this helps.

[Gor Greyan]

Hi @Jesse Hilton

Please look at this documentations.

https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/how-to-create-workflows/

https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/add-and-delete-an-issue-workflow/