What is a rule actor?

By default, any actions performed by Jira automation are seen as being performed by the “user” called Automation for Jira . For example, if an automation rule transitions an issue to Done, in that issue’s History tab it will show as having been transitioned by Automation for Jira. We call this user the rule actor.

When configuring a rule, project admins and site admins have the option to change the rule actor, so that automation rules can be seen as being run by a real member of the team. For example, if an automation rule adds a comment to all issues in a sprint, a team lead may want to configure it so that the comment is added by them, instead of by the Automation for Jira user.

To learn more about changing a rule's actor, see Run Jira rules as another user.