Resolve "Error retrieving work type fields" in Jira Cloud Automation
Platform Notice: Cloud Only - This article only applies to Atlassian apps on the cloud platform.
Summary
Learn how to resolve common errors in Jira Cloud Automation related to work item creation and linking.
Diagnosis
Check the automation rule's Audit log (Space settings > Automation > select the rule > Audit log) and confirm the error appears in a Create work item, Clone work item, or Create linked work item action.
Next, identify the rule's Actor (rule editor > "…" menu > Rule details) and go to Space settings > Access > Space permissions in the target space — note that for cross-space rules, this may differ from the space where the rule was created. Verify whether the actor is listed under the Create Work Items permission.
Also, confirm that:
The work item type used in the action exists in the target space's Work Item Type Scheme
The target space's smart value or hard-coded space key is correct and accessible to the actor
Cause
Automation fails due to the actor lacking the 'Create Work Items' permission
The automation rule's actor does not have the Create work items space permission. Learn more about the actor of an automation rule in the following knowledge references:
Solution
Modifying the permission
To resolve this error, add the Actor of the automation rule to the Create work items space permission of the involved Jira space. If the Actor is Automation for Jira, add the space role atlassian-addons-project-access to the Create work items permission.
Associate a user, group, or role with a space permission:
Go to the Space settings of the Jira space.
Under the Access section, select Space permissions.
From the top right corner of the page, click Actions > Edit permissions.
Scroll down to the Create work items permission.
Click Update to modify the permission.
Under Grant to action: select the appropriate user, group, space roles, etc.
Click Update to save the change.
After updating the permission, don't wait for the next natural trigger to confirm the fix — use the automation rule's Audit log to re-run ("Retry") the specific failed execution and confirm it now completes successfully.
If the same automation rule also transitions work items, adds comments, or edits other fields beyond creating the work item, verify the actor also has the corresponding permissions (Transition work items, Add Comments, Edit work items) for those actions — fixing only Create work items won't resolve failures further down a multi-step rule.
Learn more about adding or removing users from a permission in the following:
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