Placeholders

Placeholders are dynamic variables that you can insert into your issue summaries, descriptions, or custom fields before cloning. They help you create flexible templates that automatically adjust to the current context – like the current date, sprint name, project name, or user.

They’re especially useful when working with recurring tasks or multi-team workflows where certain values change each time.

✅ When to use placeholders

Use placeholders if you want to:

  • Replace hardcoded values in templates with dynamic ones
  • Customize issue titles or descriptions with dates, assignees, or project info
  • Avoid editing the same fields manually every time
  • Speed up sprint setup, onboarding workflows, or task generation across teams

    🛠️ How it works

    When preparing to clone a work item, enter placeholders into text fields (such as summary, description, or any text-based custom field).
    These placeholders will be automatically replaced when the clone is created – based on the current Jira context or system time. You can use them in:

    • Summary
    • Description
    • Environment
    • Any single-line and multi-line text custom fields

    🔠 Placeholder syntax

    All placeholders use curly braces: {placeholder_name}
    They are case-insensitive and can be mixed with other text.

    Placeholder list

    The placeholders cheat sheet is available under the Placeholders button in the clone window.

    Syntax

    Description

    Example

    {SUMMARY}

    Summary of the issue

    Issue summary

    {DESCRIPTION}

    Description of the issue

    Issue description

    {PARENT_ID}

    Parent issue id.

    For subtask, it is the parent issue id.

    For the issues in the Epic, it is the epic issue id.

    For epic issue, it is empty.

    12345

    {PARENT_KEY}

    Parent issue key.

    For subtask, it is the parent issue key.

    For the issues in the Epic, it is the epic issue key.

    For epic issue, it is empty.

    ABC-123

    {PARENT_SUMMARY}

    Parent issue summary.

    For subtask, it is the parent issue summary.

    For the issues in the Epic, it is the epic issue summary.

    For epic issue, it is empty.

    Epic summary

    {PARENT_DESCRIPTION}

    Parent issue description.

    For subtask, it is the parent issue description.

    For the issues in the Epic, it is the epic issue description.

    For epic issue, it is empty.

    Epic description

    {CURRENT_USER_ACCOUNT_ID}

    Current user account id.

    12345:6789

    {CURRENT_USER_NAME}

    Current user name.

    John Doe

    {ASSIGNEE_ACCOUNT_ID}

    Assignee account id.

    98765:4321

    {ASSIGNEE_NAME}

    Assignee name.

    Richard Roe

    {ORIGINAL_REPORTER_ACCOUNT_ID}

    Original reporter account id.

    56789:1234

    {ORIGINAL_REPORTER_NAME}

    Original reporter name.

    Jane Smith

    {PROJECT_ID}

    Project id.

    12345

    {PROJECT_KEY}

    Project key.

    ABC

    {PROJECT_NAME}

    Project name.

    My Project

    {ORIGINAL_ESTIMATE}

    Original estimate.

    1d 2h 3m

    {DATE}

    Current date.

    2021-01-01

    {TIME}

    Current time.

    12:00

    {DATETIME}

    Current date and time.

    2021-01-01 12:00

    {CUSTOM_FIELD_12345}

    Value of the custom field with id 12345. Replace 12345 with the id of the custom field you want to use. You can find the id of the custom field following the article here.

    Custom field value

    Common placeholders:

    You can combine multiple placeholders in the same field:
    {summary} – {today} – {user}

    Custom Placeholders

    Clone Expert extends its functionality by allowing users to create custom placeholders and use the standard ones. Here’s how you can set them up:

    1. Go to Apps → Clone Expert for Jira → Placeholders.
    2. Click the Create button beneath the custom placeholders table to start defining your placeholders.
    3. Custom placeholder names should be composed of uppercase letters, numbers, underscores (_), or periods (.).
    4. You can even combine custom placeholders with standard ones for more versatility.
    5. Once created, these custom placeholders are accessible to all Jira users during the cloning process, enhancing template customization.
    6. Remember that only users with admin privileges can add, modify, or delete these custom placeholders.

    Access and Permissions

    • Users with admin access can create/edit/delete custom placeholders.
    • Users can view and use custom and standard placeholders in the clone template form without admin access.
    • A helpful panel in the clone template form displays available placeholders for ease of use – available for all users.

    💡 Tips

    • Use placeholders in templates to keep them reusable and clean
    • You can mix text and placeholders: Prep: {summary} for {project} ({today+2})
    • Placeholders work best in text-based fields – they don’t apply to dropdowns or checkboxes
    Back to Top