Variable resolution

This page explains how Simple Issue Language (SIL ™) identifies and accesses different types of variables in scripts. It covers standard Jira fields, custom fields, and user-defined variables while providing detailed guidance on various referencing methods and pre-declared variables.

Basic concepts

Variable resolution is how SIL identifies and accesses different types of variables in your scripts - whether they're standard Jira fields, custom fields, or your own variables. Understanding variable resolution is crucial for writing effective SIL scripts, as it determines how you can reference and manipulate issue data.

Variables in SIL can be standard Jira fields, custom fields, or user-defined variables.
Resolution refers to how SIL finds and accesses these variables.
Context determines how you can reference variables:
- Implicit reference (in issue context) is used when your script runs in the context of a specific issue.
- Explicit reference (any context) is used when you need to reference specific issues or related issues.

To learn more about context, see the Issue context page.

Contents: 1 Basic concepts 2 Issue reference in SIL 2.1 Standard (pre-declared) variables 2.2 Specialized issue reference syntax patterns 3 Field reference in SIL 3.1 Variable substitution 3.2 Custom fields 4 Standard variables reference

Issue reference in SIL

Pre-declared variables are automatically available in SIL scripts, letting you access information about issues using either direct field names or through specialized issue reference syntax patterns.

Standard (pre-declared) variables

SIL automatically pre-declares all standard issue variables and their synonyms. For example:

key represents the issue key
id represents the issue ID
summary represents the issue summary

Don’t redeclare these pre-declared variables; this will cause errors in your code.

Specialized issue reference syntax patterns

SIL provides three ways to reference and access issue data through specialized syntax patterns.

Reference	Syntax pattern	Description

Reference

Syntax pattern

Description

Parent issue reference

parent.fieldName

Refers to the parent ID
Only valid for subtasks

Example

parent.id        // Parent issue's ID
parent.summary   // Parent issue's summary
parent.status    // Parent issue's status

// Example usage
if (parent.status == "Done") {
    summary = "Parent is completed: " + parent.summary;
}

Direct issue reference

issueKey.fieldName

Refers to the specific issue in the project
The issue must exist and you must have appropriate permissions

Example

PROJ-123.id          // Specific issue's ID
PROJ-123.summary     // Specific issue's summary
PROJ-123.assignee    // Specific issue's assignee

// Example usage
PROJ-123.assignee = currentUser();
PROJ-123.labels += "needs-review";

Substitution

%issueKey%.fieldName

Used for dynamic issue access when issue keys are stored in variables
Best suited for accessing issues in loops (for, while, do-while) or when creating an issue from the SIL Manager

Example

string k = "PROJ-123";
%k%.reporter = currentUser();    // Sets reporter on PROJ-123
%k%.summary = "Updated Summary"; // Sets summary on PROJ-123

Here’s how it works:

Variable k contains an issue key, such as string k = "PROJ-123";
The substitution %k% uses the value of the variable to access a specific issue
The .fieldName accesses that that specific issue's field (like reporter or summary)

Field reference in SIL

SIL provides flexible ways to access both standard and custom Jira fields through different reference methods.

Variable substitution

Variable substitution is a mechanism in SIL that lets you dynamically access fields using variables. Instead of directly referencing a field name, you can store the field name in a variable and use that variable to access the field. It uses the basic syntax %variableName%.

When SIL encounters %variableName%, it performs two steps:

Step 1: SIL reads the value stored in the variable.
Step 2: SIL uses the retrieved value as the field name to access.

Examples

This basic example illustrates the variable substitution mechanism:

These examples illustrate the two common use cases for variable substitution:

Custom field access
Dynamic field updates

This example shows how to validate variables and check if a field exists:

Custom fields

In addition to standard issue fields, SIL provides three ways to access custom fields:

By field ID
By field name
By field alias (if configured)

Examples

This example shows three ways of accessing a custom field:

Standard variables reference

These standard variables represent core issue data like summary, description, and status. They are already pre-declared in SIL. When your script runs in an issue context, you can use these variables directly without specifying an issue. However, outside of issue context, you must explicitly reference the issue context.

Variable	Aliases	SIL type	Read-only	Explanation

Variable	Aliases	SIL type	Explanation
`affectedVersions`	`affectedVersion` `affectedVers` `affectedVer` `affVers` `affVer`	`string []`	The affected versions field of the issue
`assignee`	none	`string`	Username of the assignee of the issue
`attachments`	`attach`	`string []`	The filenames of the attachments
`components`	`component` `comps` `comp`	`string []`	The components of the issue
`created`	none	`date`	Timestamp of the date when the issue was created
`description`	`desc`	`string`	The description of the issue
`dueDate`	`due`	`date`	The due date of the issue
`estimate`	`est` `remaining`	`interval`	Remaining estimate
`environment`	`env`	`string`	The environment of the issue
`fixVersions`	`fixVersion` `fixVers` `fixVer`	`string []`	Target fix versions of the issue
`id`	none	`integer`	Internal issue ID
`issueCreator`	none	`string`	Username of the creator
`issueType`	`type`	`string`	The name of the issue type
`issueTypeId`	none	`string`	The ID of the issue type
`key`	none	`string`	The issue key
`labels`	none	`string []`	The labels of the issue
`originalEstimate`	`origEstimate` `origEst`	`interval`	The original estimate of the issue
`parent`	none	`string`	The parent issue key
`parentId`	none	`integer`	The ID of the parent issue
`priority`	`prio`	`string`	The name of the issue priority level
`priorityId`	none	`string`	The ID of the issue priority level
`project`	`prj`	`string`	The project key
`projectId`	none	`integer`	The internal ID of the project
`reporter`	none	`string`	Username of the reporter
`resolution`	`res` `resol`	`string`	The name of the resolution state
`resolutionId`	`resId` `resolId`	`string`	The ID of the resolution state
`resolutionDate`	none	`date`	The current resolution date
`securityLevel`	`security`	`string`	The name of the security level
`securityLevelId`	`securityId`	`integer`	The ID of the security level
`status`	none	`string`	The name of the current status
`statusId`	none	`string`	The ID of the current status
`summary`	none	`string`	The summary of the issue
`timeSpent`	`spent`	`interval`	Total logged time on the issue
`updated`	none	`date`	Last update timestamp It will update automatically after the current transition.
`votes`	none	`integer`	The number of votes this issue has
`watchers`	none	`string []`	The usernames of the watchers of the issue
`workflow`	`wrkflw` `wf`	`string`	The workflow scheme name applied to the issue
`workflowId`	none	`integer`	The workflow Scheme ID applied to the issue