Slack Jira commands: three prefixes, three apps

The prefix tells you which app is listening.

• /jira is Jira Cloud for Slack, Atlassian's app for Jira Cloud.
• /jira_server is Jira Data Center for Slack, Atlassian's app for self-managed Jira.
• /t is Troopr, which runs the same commands on Jira Cloud, Server and Data Center.

Slack only recognizes a command once the app behind it is installed in your workspace. That one fact explains most of the "this command doesn't work" threads on the forums.

Jira Cloud for Slack commands (/jira)

Atlassian's own app keeps its slash commands focused on setup, notifications and quick lookups. Here is its documented list, plus the @Jira mention that does the heavier lifting.

Three details the table can't hold. /jira create opens a dialog where you choose the space and work type, then type a summary and description, so it doesn't take fields on the command line. A /jira PROJ-123 lookup is visible only to you. And Atlassian now says work item instead of issue and space instead of project, so its docs may not match your muscle memory. Atlassian calls these its most useful commands, so run /jira help to see everything your workspace has. The full reference is Atlassian's Jira Cloud for Slack guide.

Setting up channel and personal alerts is its own topic, covered step by step in Jira notifications in Slack.

@Jira, preview cards and the message menu

Most of the official app's day-to-day work happens outside its slash commands. Mention @Jira in a channel or thread and ask in plain language: create a bug from this thread, assign PROJ-123 to Priya, raise a priority, add a comment, or show the work due this week. Inside a thread it reads the whole thread for context. An organization admin has to activate Rovo before any of this works, as Atlassian's @Jira documentation explains.

Paste a Jira link and the preview card lets you edit fields, watch the item and sync the thread to Jira as comments. The More actions menu on any message creates a work item, with Rovo filling in the summary and description when it's switched on. Both are covered in Create and update Jira work from Slack.

Jira Server Slack commands (/jira_server)

If you run Jira Server or Data Center yourself, Atlassian's option is the Jira Data Center for Slack app, and its command list is short: /jira_server PROJ-123 to look up an issue (only you see it), /jira_server account to check which Jira account you've connected, and /jira_server help. Channel notifications, personal alerts and dedicated issue channels are set up from Jira's admin screens rather than from Slack. The three rows are in the table above, and Atlassian's Data Center guide covers the setup.

Troopr's /t works the same on Jira Cloud, Server and Data Center, so a self-managed team gets every command in the next section. Netflix's engineering team runs hosted Jira Server and spends ~67% less time finding and updating Jira issues with Troopr. Roku, on Jira on-premise, cut Slack-to-Jira context-switching by ~45%, about 1.8 focused hours back per engineer per day. If your Jira sits behind a firewall, Troopr connects through fixed IPs you can allowlist or a WebSocket agent, and on Enterprise it can run self-hosted inside your network.

Troopr's /t commands, grouped by job

Troopr puts the whole Jira workflow behind one slash command. Type /t on its own and the launcher opens. Add a keyword and it does the job. Add a question and it answers. Every action runs as you, through your own Jira login, so nothing happens in Slack that you couldn't do in Jira.

Every keyword also works when you @mention Troopr or send it a DM, and the full syntax lives in Troopr's command docs.

Create

Summary first, then an @mention for the assignee, then any field as +Field:value. Leave out a required field and the create form opens with everything you typed already filled in, so a half-remembered command still lands. /t create is one of thirteen ways to open an issue from Slack, and we cover every way to create a Jira ticket from Slack in a separate guide.

Find and list

/t find takes a key or a phrase and posts the results as issue cards you can act on from the channel. /t list starts with the issues assigned to you and filters by status, saved filters or your own JQL, which beats posting "can someone send me the link" by a wide margin.

Change an issue

One /t update sets as many fields as you like. /t status moves an issue through your workflow and still asks for any fields its transition screen requires. Assign with an @mention, comment in plain text, log time with /t log, and link issues with any link type your Jira has, custom ones included.

Sprints and estimates

/t sprint start starts a sprint once you pick the board, sprint and end date, and /t sprint stop ends it. /t poker runs an instant planning poker round on one issue and writes the agreed estimate back to Jira, which retires the "wait, did we say five or eight?" conversation.

Personal and admin

/t configure sets Troopr up for the channel you're in. /t reports opens your routines, the standing instructions Troopr runs for the team on a schedule, and /t checkin opens Check-ins for standups, retros, planning poker and team mood. /t help lists every keyword when memory fails.

All of it works on Troopr's Free plan, which covers 10 seats with every feature included. Start for Free.

Set any field inline with +Field:value

This is the part that saves the most clicks. Write the field name the way Jira shows it, a colon, then the value. It works in /t create and /t update, custom fields included.

Field names should match Jira's exactly, capitals included, and Sprint takes the sprint's ID rather than its name. Slack mentions inside values resolve to Jira users, so @priya lands on the right person.

Your team's own /t commands

Admins can add keywords to /t for whatever your team does ten times a day. A user command is an issue create, an issue list or an issue find, saved with its own project, issue type, status, assignee, reporter, labels, ordering, JQL or Jira saved filter. If your team files a lot of checkout bugs, an admin can add a keyword such as checkoutbug with the project, issue type and labels preset, so /t checkoutbug Apple Pay sheet won't close files a complete bug in one line. A list-type keyword does the same for the query your standup always starts with.

Jira actions without typing a command

Some days the fastest command is no command at all.

• Emoji actions: react with a configured emoji to create an issue, assign it to yourself, mark it done or add a comment. Admins set them for the workspace or a channel, you can add personal ones, and custom Slack emoji work too.
• Task It: from any message's More actions menu, Troopr turns the message into a Jira issue and fills in the title, description, priority and a suggested assignee.
• Comment It: adds any Slack message to an existing issue as a comment.
• Multi-message issues: react on the first message and use Task It on the last, and up to ten messages become one issue, with the first as the summary.
• Global shortcuts: create, search or list issues from Slack's shortcut menu, wherever you are.

For rules that fire without anyone touching anything, see Jira Slack automation.

Same job, two apps

Here's how the two compare when you're actually trying to get something done.

When your team runs its Jira work from Slack all day, /t does each job in one line, on whichever Jira you run. Our Jira Slack integration guide goes deeper on setup and two-way sync.

Commands you'll find online that aren't in Atlassian's docs

Search for Jira Slack commands and you'll find lists with /jira assign PROJ-123 @name, /jira comment PROJ-123 followed by text, or /jira create followed by an issue type, summary and description. None of those appear in Atlassian's current documentation, which describes /jira create as opening a dialog. An older Slack announcement shows /jira connect followed by your Jira URL; today /jira connect subscribes a channel to a Jira space. To assign or comment with the official app, use @Jira or the buttons on the card. If a command from an old post does nothing, it isn't you. Run /jira help and believe what it says.

Troubleshooting Jira commands in Slack

• "/jira is not a valid command." The app isn't installed in this workspace. Install Jira Cloud for Slack, or Troopr for /t, and try again. An Atlassian Community thread gives the same answer.
• It works in public channels but not a private one. Invite the app to the private channel first.
• "Connecting with this Jira Cloud instance was disabled by administrator." Your Jira site admin has to turn on the Slack integration before anyone can connect.
• Nothing happens in a shared channel. In Slack Connect channels, only members of the organization that installed an app can use its shortcuts, per Slack's guide to shortcuts and slash commands.
• /t asks you to connect Jira. Sign in with your Atlassian account once, from the launcher or Slack's App Home, so your actions run as you. If Jira isn't connected for the workspace yet, any member can send an admin a Connect Jira request.
• /t update rejects a field. Check the field name against Jira's spelling and capitals, and use the sprint ID for Sprint.

When nobody has to type anything

Commands are the fastest way to change Jira by hand. The better question is how much still needs changing by hand. Troopr forms its own view of the team from real Jira, GitHub and Slack activity, so a lot of the typing goes away. The standup writes itself from what each person actually did. When a PR merges and its ticket still says In Progress, Troopr proposes the move to whoever owns the work; nothing is written until they confirm, and the change runs under their own Jira login.

And when you need the state of things, ask. /t who is blocked? answers privately, even in a shared channel, from what actually happened in Jira, GitHub and Slack rather than what someone remembered to report. That's the difference between a command bar and a project manager. See how the pieces fit on Troopr's Slack Jira integration page.

Frequently asked questions

How do I run commands in Slack?

Type a forward slash in the message box, then the command and any text after it, such as /jira help or /t find TP-100. You can also click the slash icon beside the message field to browse every command your installed apps add.

Can Slack be used with Jira?

Yes. Atlassian's Jira Cloud for Slack app adds /jira commands, notifications, preview cards and @Jira, and Troopr adds /t commands, two-way Slack and Jira sync, standups and routines on Jira Cloud, Server and Data Center.

Can you use Slack as a ticketing system?

Slack works best as the front door and Jira as the system of record. With a Jira app installed, people raise and update tickets without leaving Slack, and Troopr's thread sync turns thread replies into Jira comments and posts Jira updates back to the thread.

How to create an automated Slack message?

For general messages, Slack's Workflow Builder automates posts and tasks inside Slack. For Jira, a Troopr routine posts a Jira report to a channel on a schedule or stays silent until something needs attention, and a Troopr channel subscription posts Jira events into the channel as they happen, filtered by JQL.

What are the key differences between Jira and Slack?

Jira is the record of the work: issues, statuses, sprints and estimates. Slack is where the team talks about that work, and Jira commands in Slack let you change the record without leaving the conversation.

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