How do I use JIRA automation to auto-send a slack message to a specific user (not a slack channel)?

[Keith Tasker]

Hello - I am attempting to have JIRA automation send a slack message to a specific user when an issue transitions to a specific status (screen cap of the rule attached).

As per the instruction at the bottom of the rule pane (see additional attachment), it seems that I should be able to override the webhook URL destination (a Slack channel) by entering the Slack member ID in the Channel Or User field. However, despite my putting a member ID in that field, the automation is still sending the slack message to the Slack channel associated with the webhook URL. And the rule does not allow me to leave the webhook URL field empty.

Ultimately, I am simply trying to have JIRA send a particular user a Slack message when an issue transitions to Awaiting Acceptance.

Any insights will certainly be appreciated...thank you!

[Bill Sheboy · Accepted solution]

Hi @Keith Tasker 

That appears to not be working as documented for rules, and I did not find any open defects in the public backlog for this symptom.  I recommend working with your Jira Site Admin to contact Atlassian Support: https://support.atlassian.com/contact/#/

When you hear back from them, please post what you learn to benefit the community.  Thanks!

Kind regards,
Bill

[Keith Tasker]

Thank you for your response, @Bill Sheboy ! I have submitted a ticket with Atlassian Support and will share back here whatever I learn.

[Keith Tasker]

I learned from Atlassian support that this functionality is not available with the new Slack API. A ticket has been opened to try to find a solution.

[Bill Sheboy]

Thanks, and I hope Atlassian updates the documentation and automation app if direct messages to Slack are no longer supported from rules.  

Interestingly...when I tried this scenario, the automation engine's call out the Slack API with a valid Slack user ID does not fail (even though it does not post the message to the user). 

But sending a bogus ID from a rule does fail.  This clearly shows the Slack API is validating the ID value passed...we just don't know what else it is doing with it.

[Keith Tasker]

I seem to have found a workaround in all of this through some experimentation, though it's still using the original Slack Incoming Webhooks flow, which is no longer supported and will be deprecated. Here's what I found to work:

In the rule engine, I select the configure an incoming webhook link, which takes me out to Slack's original/unsupported Incoming webhooks page.

On that page, in the Post To Channel selection box, I'm able to actually select the user I want, and when I hit Add Incoming Webhooks Integration, it provides a URL, which seems to be associated with the specific user's Slack ID.

Additionally, back in the rule engine (first image above), I ALSO put the user's slack member ID in the Channel or User box. So, I have created what seems to be a user specific URL as a webhook AND provided the user's slack member ID.

I can't explain why, but this is working for me. Maybe this can help someone else, though it's not certain how long the functionality will exist as Slack focuses on the new API.

[Bill Sheboy]

Correct, that is changing the message URL to specifically point to the user's channel.  I suspect that works even without supplying their ID in the "Channel or user" field. 

This approach is not easily scalable as it would require creating a separate Send Slack Message action (with URL) for each possible user.

[Falit Jain]

Hi @Keith Tasker  , if you are open for 3rd party, you can choose https://slackjira.com for this