Can't find field in automation like target start date and target end date

[Lalith Motay]

I'm trying to automate a workflow to create a new sub-task in different project when a task is created in another project. There are 2 mandatory fields in the project which are target end date and target start date. I'm not able to view them while using the edit option in automation. It is showing, can't find field, please review advance setting. My automation is failing as the target start and end dates are not captured in new sub-task

[Akash Singh]

Hi @Lalith Motay 

It seems you're trying to modify the Target start and Target end date fields, which are part of Advanced Roadmaps/Plans. Since these fields are system fields introduced by Plans (previously a separate plugin), they aren't directly supported by Jira Automation. However, you can still edit them using the following JSON payload:

{
 "fields": {
  "Target end": "2025-04-18",
  "Target start": "2025-04-18"
 }
}

 

[Lalith Motay]

Hi @Akash Singh  - I need to inherit the target start and end date from the parent ticket which i'm trying to copy to new ticket i'm raising. It is not static date

[Akash Singh]

@Lalith Motay In that case, you can fetch the dates from its parent and store it in a variable. You can then reference that variable using the smart value in the json.

[Lalith Motay]

@Akash Singh - I used the below. Not sure if it works but let me know if it is right

[Akash Singh]

@Lalith Motay I’m assuming that 17780 and 17781 are the field IDs for the Target start and Target end fields in your instance. If that's correct, here is the JSON you should use:

{
 "fields": {
  "customfield_17780": "{{triggerIssue.customfield_17780}}",
  "customfield_17781": "{{triggerIssue.customfield_17781}}"
 }
}

[Akash Singh]

@Lalith Motay If that resolves your query, could you please mark my answer as accepted? This would also help others in the community who might face a similar situation in the future.

[Lalith Motay]

@Akash Singh There was a trigger 10 mins back and it failed with the same error.

create issue

_____________

Error creating issue

Target start is required. (customfield_17780), Target end is required. (customfield_17781)

[Akash Singh]

@Lalith Motay Could you share a screenshot of your automation configuration? Have you defined this JSON in additional fields section when creating the issue or in an Edit issue action once they are created? 

As the error message suggest, these fields are mandatory and would need to be set while creating the issue.

[Lalith Motay]

Here is the configuration info. I used a default date (format as per the custom field) but still the error.

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Lalith Motay 

Context is important to help resolve automation-related questions.  Please provide the following so the community can better understand your rule:

• an image of the complete rule, in a single image for continuity
• an image of the rule action where you are adding / creating the issue
• an image of the audit log details showing the rule execution

Until we see those...

Fields such as Target Start and Target End can only be set using JSON at this time, as others have described.

And...If your rule uses the Issue Created trigger, the rule could start running before all data is present.  As a result, your later rule action to create an issue with the required fields will fail.  The solution for that is to always add the Re-fetch Issue action immediately after the Issue Created trigger.  This will slow the rule down a bit and reload the issue data before the steps continue.

Kind regards,
Bill

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Lalith Motay 

Please provide screen images showing the screen and the error message. Please also provide screen images showing the entire rule and audit log from when the rule ran.

[Lalith Motay]

Hi @Trudy Claspill - Please find the error screenshots

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Lalith Motay 

Thank you for that additional information.

What is the project Type of the source project and the destination project? Get that information from the Type column on the View All Projects page under the Projects menu.

Prior to the action where you create the issue, can you add a Log action to your rule to print into the rule audit log the values of the fields from the trigger issue? Use the exact same smart values that you are using in the JSON code to set the fields; i.e.

Then run the rule again and check the log field to see what values are reported.

Also, can you provide screen images showing your entire rule? Sometimes problems are caused by the context of the actions, and debugging that requires us to see the entire rule.