How can I make a custom field required on creation of an issue?

[Esther Strom_ ACP-JA]

We're on 5.1, so I'm using the validators in transitions to make fields required as a ticket moves from step to step. However, Create isn't really a transition. How can I make a field required at the time of the initial save?

[Joe Pitt · Accepted solution]

Just make it required in the field configuration for the issue type/project

[Esther Strom_ ACP-JA]

How? As I said, we're on 5.1. Custom fields use the Jira Suite Utilities plugin to set up requirements on transitions. There is no "required" option on the actual fields in 5.1.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

No, you don't need the JSU to do this. Jira has, as Joe says, mandatory field options built into it.

Go into the field configuration scheme for the project, find the one you are using for the current issue type and you'll find there's a list of all the fields. There ARE mandatory/optional flags against almost all of the fields (certainly all the custom fields)

[Esther Strom_ ACP-JA]

I apparently can't respond to a comment, only an answer. But thanks, Nic, for the specific directions. I'm new to Jira, and pretty sure our documentation said the only way to handle required fields in our version was with the plugin. I wouldn't have known where to look.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

There's a lot to be found, I don't think any new admin is able to find it all straight away! (I certainly couldn't when I started with it, and Jira was a lot more simple in version 2)

It's quite likely your documentation is trying to cover the scenario where you don't want a field to be mandatory ALL the time. Jira doesn't really do this - the field configuraiton makes a field mandatory from "create" onwards, so it can never be empty. The use case here is for things like "we don't know what the root cause of an issue is until we've investigated properly, but we don't want to close issues without a root cause". That's when "make field mandatory" validators kick in!

[Morgan Thunder]

Sorry if I'm missing something, but will this not make the field mandatory for all screens using that field configuration? That is, not just the create screen? What is the simplest way to make the field mandatory only for the create screen? Also, is it possible to associate a field configuration with a screen? Not and issue type or project. If I have only one issue type within 1 project but want a custom field to only be mandatory for 1 screen what are my options?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Please, do not conflate field configurations and screens.  They are totally independent artefacts (so, no, you can't associate a field configuration with a screen).  It's better to not even talk about them together, as people get confused.

If you want something mandatory on create, but able to be blanked out later, you need to set it optional in the field configuration, and use a validator on transitions where you need it filled in.

[RambanamP]

you have to configure field require validator on create step.

got to workflow, click on new/Open step there you can see Create transition, click on it and configure validator there

[Esther Strom_ ACP-JA]

But I don't WANT to create a new step. Create Issue is a default Jira action. I don't want to mess with that, just want a way to make one of the fields required before being able to save a new issue.

[LukasG]

If someone in 2016 wants this feature there is the new plugin Workflow Essentials for JIRA. Its not free but will solve this problem very well. 

In general: Edit the Workflow and in the Workflow Diagram click on the "Create" Transition and add the Mandatory Field Validator.

[Ana Jimenez]

That should totally be included in Jira.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Atlassian for the most part, try not to duplicate the work their partners and vendors do.

[Jade Whitla]

This is absurd. Requiring a field to have a value is not only a core expectation it is documented to exist as a feature - but it doesn't work as advertised.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

It works exactly as documented.  What do you think is different?

[Jade Whitla]

From the View Field Configurations view ...

Field Configurations do not allow you, of themselves, to "make a field require a value every time it is edited" as documented. To achieve the stated goal the user must create a validation constraint on a transition and, if they don't want the validation constraint to apply to all issue types, create a new workflow for the issue type for which the field is mandatory. This is a whole lot of unnecessary hoop jumping and the very existence of this thread proves that it is not obvious to the user. The suggestion to use a paid third party extension to achieve such a simple and fundamental objective, while well intentioned, was absurd.