Jira checklists are simple, but powerful tools that allow you to organize work on a work item, follow agile processes and ensure compliance. Using a Jira checklist helps teams standardise repeatable tasks, reduce errors, and improve visibility across every Jira issue.
Full featured Jira checklist solutions go beyond simple tick-boxes by integrating with your workflows, Jira automation, JQL and more. Checklists for Jira creates a synced Checklist Text custom field, making your Jira checklist fully searchable, automatable, and reusable across Jira spaces. This field, combined with built-in features like copy/paste and reusable Jira checklist templates make it easy to add checklists to your Jira tickets, whenever and however you want.
Jira Automation: How to Add a Jira Checklist Automatically
Automation is one of the coolest things about managing your work in Jira, and using Jira automation to add a Jira checklist to work items ensures the right steps appear at exactly the right time.
To add a Jira checklist to a work item via automation:
- Ensure the Sync Checklists to Custom Fields setting is enabled.
- Select the Edit work item automation action and Checklist Text as the field to be edited.
- Paste your new Checklist items into the checklist text field.
That basic recipe unlocks a range of possibilities using adding checklists with Jira automation. You can:
- Automatically add a Jira checklist when a work item transitions to a new status, clearly defining the required steps at each stage of your Jira workflow
- Append checklist items using the smart value {{issue.Checklist Text}} to refer to the current content of the checklist
- Use the Field value changed trigger and an if / else statement to add a specific checklist depending on the value selected for a given field
In addition to adding Jira checklists automatically, Jira automation can trigger actions when a checklist becomes complete or incomplete, enabling powerful workflow actions. See automation examples here.
Add a Jira Checklist Using a Workflow Post Function
A workflow Perform actions rule (formerly known as a post function) allows you to automatically add a Jira checklist to work items at a specific transition in your workflow, ensuring required steps are never missed.
Copy a checklist onto your clip board, login as a Jira admin, navigate to the workflow and click on the appropriate transition. Select Perform actions and Add perform actions rule, then select Update work item custom field. Choose the Checklist Text field and paste in the checklist from your clipboard.
You can choose to append the Jira checklist to any existing checklist items, and once finished, publish the draft workflow.
Bulk Add a Jira Checklist to Tickets and Items
If you need to apply the same Jira checklist to multiple Jira work items or JSM tickets, bulk operations can save significant time.
- Copy your Jira checklist to the clipboard
- Use JQL to select the relevant work items
- Click on the … menu in the upper right corner, select the Edit operation and Change Checklist Text field.
This will allow you to paste the checklist into all of the selected tickets/work items.
Bulk-adding Jira checklists is ideal for audits, migrations, or rolling out new processes across projects.
Copy & Paste a Jira Checklist Between Work Items
You can easily copy and paste a Jira checklist between work items, or paste a checklist from an external source such as documentation or a Word file.
To copy a checklist between work items
- Click on the …menu of the checklist UI of the source work item and select Copy checklist
- Navigate to the target work item, click the … menu and select Paste checklist. The item input field will be highlighted in blue.
- Paste the entire list from the clipboard into the input field, and hit return.
To paste a checklist from an external source, copy it to your clipboard, paste it into the checklist input field, and press return.
Use Reusable Jira Checklist Templates
If you regularly reuse the same checklist, saving it as a Jira checklist template ensures consistency and speed. To apply a template, click the … menu and click Load templates, then select the Jira checklist template you want to apply to the work item.
Manually Add a Jira Checklist to a Work Item
The simplest way to add a Jira checklist to a work item is to just begin typing checklist items into the Checklists UI. Press return after each item to build your list.
Create Jira Work Items with Checklists Automatically
There are several ways to ensure a Jira checklist is automatically added when new work items are created, including:
Apply a Global Jira Checklist
If you’re using Checklists for Jira (Enterprise), global checklists can be automatically applied to newly created work items that match specific criteria. Any updates to the global checklist are instantly reflected across all applicable work items, making this one of the most reliable ways to maintain up-to-date processes.
Jira Automation: Add a Checklist on Creation
You can also use automation to add a Jira checklist when a work item is created:
- Trigger: Work item created
- Condition: Add any required conditions
- Action: Edit work – Edit the Checklist Text field
Set a Default Jira Checklist Template
You can assign a default Jira checklist template to a specific work or request type so that it’s automatically added when the Jira work item is created.
If you need multiple Jira checklists on creation, use Jira automation to apply additional templates.
Clone Jira Work Items with Checklists
When cloning a work item, any Jira checklists on the source work item can be cloned to the new work item. Depending on your cloning method, you can either reset checklist items to incomplete or sync checklist completion states between the original and cloned Jira items.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Jira checklist?
A Jira checklist is a list of actionable items added to a Jira work item to break work into clear, trackable steps. Unlike standard Jira subtasks, checklists live directly inside the work item, making them ideal for repeatable processes, quality control, and ensuring required steps are never missed.
Does Jira have built-in checklists?
Jira introduced basic built-in checklists in mid-2025 through action items. Action items allow users to add simple to-do lists directly inside Jira paragraph fields, making them useful for lightweight task tracking.
However, built-in Jira checklists are limited. They don’t support advanced features like reusable checklist templates, automation, workflow integration, or reporting. For teams that need scalable, automated, or standardized Jira checklists, Checklists for Jira is a great solution.
How do you add a checklist in Jira?
You can add a Jira checklist manually by typing checklist items into the checklist field on a work item. Checklists can also be added automatically using Jira automation, workflow post functions, checklist templates, or global checklists that apply when work items are created or transitioned.
What’s the difference between Jira subtasks and checklists?
Subtasks are separate Jira work items with their own status, assignee, and workflow. A Jira checklist, on the other hand, is a lightweight list of steps within a single work item, making it faster to manage and better suited for procedural or repeatable work.
Can Jira checklists be automated?
Yes. Jira checklists can be fully automated using Jira automation rules. You can automatically add, update, or append checklist items when work items are created, transitioned, or updated, and even trigger actions when a checklist is completed or incomplete.
