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Add conditions to an automation rule

In automation, conditions are checkpoints in a rule that test whether specific criteria are met. If the test fails, the rule stops running.

For example, let's imagine your rule is set to trigger when a new page is published. You could add a User condition so the rule only runs IF the page was published by a specific person.

 

Configuring conditions

To run the test, conditional criteria must be defined as a comparative statement using relative operator values. This allows the rule to compare two things relative to each other.

The condition returns a True or False result (known as a boolean evaluation), deciding whether to continue the automation flow.

Relative operator

Jira examples

Confluence examples

equals =

Priority = High

Space = ["space name"]

not equal to !=

Assignee != Empty

Author != ["person's name"]"

contains (text match) ~

Summary ~ "urgent"

Body text ~ "confidential"

does not contain !~

Description !~ "deprecated"

Page title !~ “Draft”

is less than <

Due date < {{now}}

{{page.dateLastUpdated}} < -90d

is greater than >

Story points > 8

Page word count > 1000

is less than or equal to <=

Created <= -1w

{{page.totalViewsCount}} <= 50

is greater than or equal to >=

Time Spent >= 3h

{{inactivePages}} >= 100

Add more than one condition

You can make the test even richer by adding consecutive conditions with logical operator values. This allows the rule to assess the conditions together.

The condition returns a True or False result (known as a boolean evaluation, deciding whether to continue or branch in the automation flow.

 

Logical operator

Jira examples

Confluence examples

AND

 

True only if both are true

Priority = High

AND

Assignee != Empty

Space = "HR"

AND

Label = "Policy"

OR

 

True if either is true

Assignee = currentUser()

OR

Reporter = currentUser()

Page label = "urgent"

OR

Space key = "LEGAL"

XOR

 

Exactly one must be true
(rare in automation)

(A = true XOR B = true)

Page status = "In Progress"

XOR

Page status = "Draft"

NOT

 

True if the condition is not true

NOT

Status = "Done"

NOT

title ~ "Archived"

 

When to Use AND vs. OR

Understanding how to combine multiple conditions logically is important for accurate rule behaviour.

  • Use AND when all of the specified conditions must be true in order for the rule to continue. For example:

    • Issue Status = “In Progress”

    • AND

    • Priority = “High”

      • → Only issues that meet both criteria will proceed.

  • Use OR when you want the rule to continue if any one of the specified conditions is true. For example:

    • Issue Type = “Bug”

    • OR

    • Issue Type = “Task”

      • → Issues of either type will continue.

Clarifying guidelines

  • If your conditions are mutually exclusive (they cannot both be true simultaneously), use OR. For example, an issue can’t be Done and Cancelled at the same time:

    • Status = “Done”

    • OR

    • Status = “Cancelled” (an issue can’t be both at the same time).

Why this matters

If you inadvertently use AND when only one of several conditions needs to match, you’ll block valid cases. Conversely, using OR when you truly need all criteria may allow unintended cases through.

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