5 reasons every Jira admin needs ScriptRunner

But if you’re anything like I was, you may be a little hesitant to give it much thought. After all, with a name like ScriptRunner, you probably need to know how to write scripts to use it, right?

No ma’am and no sir.

While being a wizard with Java means you can customise ScriptRunner more, its out of the box functionality will make a huge difference to the workflows of even the most code-phobic admins.

Stick with me for a few minutes and let’s take a look at some of my favourite features of ScriptRunner that any admin can use.

One of your users has reported an issue with Jira. It’s a dealbreaker. They absolutely can’t continue working until it’s fixed. One problem - you can’t seem to reproduce it.

With this built-in script, you can log in as any user in your instance, seeing exactly what they see when they log in. See their dashboards, issues, and search results. Easily verify permission issues.

With one admin tab open and another user tab open, not only can you attempt to repro their issue with ease, you can also check in real time whether or not your fix worked. Long gone are the days of trekking to a user’s desk just to see what they’re trying to explain to you. Save that energy for deleting all your notification emails.

If you’re anything like me, your users are probably putting in requests for new projects that look something like this:

User: “Hey, can we get a new project?”

Me: “Sure thing! Can you fill out this intake form so I understand how it should work?”

User: “Uh… can you just make it work like Project X?”

Copy Project built-in script lets you do just that. All of the source project’s schemes and roles will be copied over to the new project. You even have the choice whether to copy over the original project’s versions, components, and issues, along with related filters, dashboards, and Software boards.

ScriptRunner grants you access to a boatload of new search functions, including (but certainly not limited to) searching based on an issue's attachments, subtasks, or issue links.

You can also search by comparing dates. For example, you can whip up a search that will show you all issues that were resolved after their due date. Or issues that were commented on within a week of being created. Want to search for all issues assigned to inactive users? You can do that too!

Need some SLA-type functionality in your workflows? ScriptRunner lets you establish an Escalation Service. You just need to provide a JQL query, an action that should be run on the results, and how often the service should run.

For example, let’s say you have tickets marked as high priority, but they're still open and haven't been updated in a week. You can set up an Escalation Service to run every morning that finds those issues and automatically transitions them to a status called “Pending”. Alternatively, you can add a comment that notes that the issue needs to be addressed, which will trigger a notification for watchers.

To learn more about Escalation Services, click here.

I’ve saved the best for last. All of the stuff I mentioned above is cool, but maybe you still feel like you’re not really harnessing the full power of ScriptRunner. Well, that’s where the Adaptavist Library comes in.

For your convenience, a library of curated, pre-written scripts are ready to go. Automation at your fingertips and you don’t need to write a single line of code. Just copy and paste into your instance you’re up and running.

You don’t have to be a developer or a coding genius - with all that it has to offer, ScriptRunner is the Jira admin’s best friend, right out of the gate.