Automation to de-dupe users from Jira multi-user fields with smart values

Summary

If you use more than one multi-user picker field and want each field's user option list to be unique, Automation can remove users from one field if they're present in certain other fields.

For example, let's say you use three fields simultaneously:

• Viewers

• Approvers

• Developers

Let's use an Automation rule to remove users from Viewers if they exist in either Approvers or Developers.

Solution

Automation rule to de-dupe user lists from fields

To dynamically reference users from the Approvers and Developers fields, you can use smart values. For example, {{issue.Approvers.name}} will give you the account IDs of users in the Approvers field.

We then use this with a Branch in the automation rule to remove account IDs present in one field from another. Here's an example rule:

1. Trigger: Field value changed

   • Select the Viewers field for our example

   • This could also work using other trigger types

2. Add a Branch: Advanced Branch

   • Use the smart value: {{issue.Approvers.name}}

   • Set the variable name as “approver”

3. Inside the branch, add Action: Edit work item

   • Ignore the "Fields to set" selector

   • Expand More options

   • In the Additional fields box, add the following JSON:

   • {    "update": {"Viewers": [{"remove" : {"accountId": "{{approver}}"} }] } }

   • This JSON uses the smart value we set as a variable to dynamically remove users from the Viewers field

4. Add a second Advanced branch to check the Developers field following the same logic

5. Test the Rule: Use a test task to test your automation rule

6. Check the audit log for any errors or validation issues.

By following these steps, you should be able to configure your automation rule to remove users from the Viewers field based on their presence in other fields.