JQL Search

JQL Search

Smart Checklist supports JQL as an approach for searching checklist items values and checklist progress 🚀

☝️NOTE: To use this functionality, you may refer to either the Checklists or Smart Checklist Progress custom field.

 

Overview

Smart Checklist data is stored in custom fields and issue properties, making checklist information searchable through JQL.

  • you can use Smart Checklist's dedicated search functions – simply start typing "Smart Checklist" in the JQL editor to see the list of available functions

  • alternatively, you can search using the Checklists or Smart Checklist Progress custom fields, or the Smart Checklist issue property.

Screen Recording 2026-06-12 at 18.23.17.mov

 

Search examples

📊 Search by checklist progress

JQL Search option

JQL query

JQL Search option

JQL query

Issues with opened checklists (not all checklist items completed)

"Smart Checklist Progress" ~ "-Done"

 

Issues with ALL completed checklists

"Smart Checklist Progress" ~ "Done"

Issues where there is at least one completed (checked) checklist item

SmartChecklistHasClosedItems = "true"

issue.property[SmartChecklist].hasClosedChecklistItems = 'true'

Issues where all checklist items are open (unchecked)

SmartChecklistHasClosedItems = "false"

issue.property[SmartChecklist].hasClosedChecklistItems = 'false'

Issues where there is at least one open checklist item

SmartChecklistHasOpenItems = "true"

issue.property[SmartChecklist].hasOpenChecklistItems = 'true'

Issues where all checklist items are completed

SmartChecklistHasOpenItems = "false"

issue.property[SmartChecklist].hasOpenChecklistItems = 'false'

🗒 Search by checklist items

JQL Search option

JQL query

JQL Search option

JQL query

Search for checklists containing specific items

"Checklists" ~ "your item value"
or
"cf[Checklists CustomFieldID] ~ "your item value"

Search for an exact phrase in the checklist items or exact checklist items

"Checklists" ~ "\"your item value\""
or
cf[Checklists CustomFieldID] ~ "\"your item value\"

Search by number of items/headers

SmartChecklistTotalCount > 5

SmartChecklistHeaderCount > 5

issue.property[SmartChecklist].totalChecklistItems > 5

☝🏼 Note: Available operators could be used: >, >=, <, <=, =, !=.

Search by not empty or empty checklists

"Checklists" is not EMPTY

or

"Checklists" is EMPTY

Search by a specific priority

Checklists ~ "\"[priority]='High/Medium/Low'\""

Search by a specific due date

SmartChecklistItemDueDate = 'YYYY-MM-DD'

Search by a specific date mention

SmartChecklistItemDate = 'YYYY-MM-DD'

issue.property[SmartChecklist].itemsDates = 'YYYY-MM-DD'

☝🏼 Note:
Available operators could be used: >, >=, <, <=, =, !=.
Allowed formats for JQL: 'YYYY-MM-DD' or 'YYYY/MM/DD'
Allowed format for data records in checklist items: 'YYYY-MM-DD'

Date format used in JQL search should match the date format in the checklist item.

Search by checklist items in the particular status

SmartChecklistItemStatus ~ 'ToDo'

issue.property[SmartChecklist].itemsStatus ~ 'Todo'

☝🏼 Note:
The query returns all the issues where there is at least one checklist item in Todo status.

Use default status (Todo, Done, Skipped, and In Progress) or custom statuses.

Text is case insensitive, so DONE, Done, or done will return the same results.

Search by particular checklist items in the particular status

issue in checklistItemStatus("Item Content", "Done")

☝🏼 Note:
The query returns all the issues where there is the particular checklist item in specified status.

Search works only for an exact match of the value in "Item Content"

To search for the same item in different statuses use OR operator: issue in checklistItemStatus("Item Content", "Todo") or issue in checklistItemStatus("Item Content", "Done")

Text is case sensitive, so only Done, Todo, Skipped, In Progress will return the same results.

 

🙋🏽‍♂️ Search by checklist assignees and user mentions

JQL Search option

JQL query

JQL Search option

JQL query

Search by assignee

SmartChecklistItemAssignee ~ "<userId>"

Checklists ~ "\"[assignee]='<userId>'\""

Search by user mention

SmartChecklistItemUser ~ UserId

issue.property[SmartChecklist].assignees ~ UserId

issue.property[SmartChecklist].assignees ~ HRTeam (or your custom mention)

 

🚀 JQL combinations for more accurate searches

Operator

JQL Search option

You type

Operator

JQL Search option

You type

AND

Search for not competed checklists with specific number of items

"Smart Checklist Progress" ~ "-Done" AND issue.property[SmartChecklist].totalChecklistItems > 5

Search for not competed checklists with a specific date mention

"Smart Checklist Progress" ~ "-Done" AND issue.property[SmartChecklist].itemsDates = '2022-11-11'

Search for not completed checklists which contains specific items

"Smart Checklist Progress" ~ "-Done" AND "Checklists" ~ "your item value"

Search for checklists with mentioned current logged user and due date

issue.property[SmartChecklist].assignees ~ currentUser()
AND issue.property[SmartChecklist].itemsDates = '2023-08-01'

Search for checklists with items in the particular status and date mention

issue.property[SmartChecklist].itemsStatus ~ 'Todo' AND issue.property[SmartChecklist].itemsDates = '2023-08-01'

OR

Search for checklists with items in particular statuses

issue.property[SmartChecklist].itemsStatus ~ 'Todo' OR issue.property[SmartChecklist].itemsStatus ~ 'In progress'

will return checklists that includes items with in progress or todo statuses

Search for checklists with mentions of current logged user and somebody else

issue.property[SmartChecklist].assignees ~ currentUser()
AND issue.property[SmartChecklist].assignees ~ UserId

will return checklists that includes mentions of the current logged user or somebody else

☝🏼 NOTE: If you use combinations of search options (for dates, assignees, and statuses) - search will be done for the whole checklist not for the specific checklists items. If checklist items are found based on the search criteria (one contains the date, another is in needed status, another one has the assignee) - the Issue will be returned in the search results.

 

NOTE: At this moment, searching for Jira issues where a specific checklist item has completed/ incompleted status is unavailable.  This happens due to the following limitation: Jira does not index the special character of - and +. 

Special characters + - & | ! ( ) { } [ ] ^ ~ * ? \ : Special characters aren't stored in the index, which means you can't search for them. The index only keeps text and numbers, so searching for "\\[Jira Software\\]" and "Jira Software" will have the same effect - escaped special characters ([]) will be ignored in the search.

Source: https://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftwareserver0712/search-syntax-for-text-fields-959315338.html

 

Hope everything works for you! 🚀