Create a work item and a subtask

The building blocks of any space are work items. Work items contain the work that needs to be done. They travel through workflows within their spaces until the work is complete.

A work item can have subtasks that can be assigned and tracked individually. You can also restrict a work item to certain members of your team.

This page focuses on the different ways you can create work items and subtasks, convert work items, and set work-level security.

For those just getting started, head over to our admin docs to discover how to configure work types or, find out how you can import multiple work items via a CSV.

Create a work item

Jira's modernized create experience lets you quickly capture work using a compact, focused dialog. You can create a work item from anywhere in Jira.

Quick Create (default)

1. Select Create ().

   1. Space and work type in the header, represented by the space icon, space key, and work type name. These default to the space you're currently viewing and the work type you last used in that space.

   2. Title — Type a title for the work item. This field was previously labelled Summary. JQL queries, API calls, and automations that reference summary still work as before.

   3. Description — Add details about the work item. The description field expands vertically to accommodate long descriptions, code blocks, table edits, and pasted images. Use slash commands (/) to insert elements or invoke Rovo. A formatting toolbar appears when text is selected.

   4. Required fields — Up to 3 required fields appear as chips below the description. When there are no required fields, Quick Create shows only the optional fields.

   5. Optional fields — The next 3 fields in your admin's configuration appear beside the required fields as optional fields. The field order matches your admin's configuration in space settings.

2. Fill in the required fields and any relevant optional fields.

3. Optional: To create more work items with the same Space and Work type, select the Create another checkbox. Depending on your configuration and work item creation history, some fields may be pre-populated. Review these before creating the new work item.

4. When you're finished, select Create. 

Tip: If you click outside the create dialog, it minimizes into a dock at the bottom of your screen rather than closing, so you don't lose your draft. Select the docked item to resume editing in docked mode or expand to full form.

Full form mode

If you need access to all fields at creation time, you can expand to the full form.

1. In the create dialog, select the expand icon to switch to full form mode.

2. The dialog expands to show all available fields for your space and work type, similar to the previous full create form.

3. Fill in all relevant fields and select Create.

Setting full form as your default: When in full form mode, select More actions (•••) in the create dialog, then toggle on Always open in this view. Future creates will open in full form mode. No admin action needed.

The full form opens automatically when your space configuration requires it, for example if your space has more than three required fields, uses custom tabs, custom create screens, Forge UI app modifications, or a complex field type.

Dock mode

The create dialog supports docking, a minimized state that anchors the dialog to the bottom-right of your screen. This lets you continue working in Jira without losing your draft.

• Click outside the dialog to automatically dock it.

• Select the Dock icon in the create dialog to manually go to docked mode.

This is helpful when you need to reference other work items or check information mid-creation.

Change which fields appear in Quick Create

1. Select More actions () in the create dialog.

2. Select Configure Fields.

3. Select Custom fields from the dropdown menu, then choose the fields you want to display.

This updates the fields for the work item you're currently creating as well as any future work items.

Other ways to create work items

Inline create from the Backlog

You can quickly create work items using inline create in the Backlog for Scrum boards, backlog, and future sprints only. Just select + Create.

If your board's filter specifies more than one space, you'll still need to complete the full create dialog.

When you create work items inline, your work items won't be restricted to certain roles in the space. These work items can be accessed by anyone who can see your space. To restrict work items, create them using the global navigation bar.

Create from a board

If you create a work item on a board that's using a JQL filter, the work item will inherit fields such as custom values and labels.

Create using Rovo

Use Rovo to create work items by opening Rovo Chat and entering /create-work-items. You can write a quick prompt telling Rovo what needs to be done, or paste a link to a Loom video or a Confluence page. Rovo will suggest work items for you to review, refine, and create once you're happy with them. Some fields may not yet be supported. Read more about creating work items with Rovo

Create using the command palette

You can perform this action with your keyboard via Jira's command palette. Use command + K for Mac or Ctrl + K for Windows to open the command palette while you're in Jira.

Other entry points that previously triggered the older create form will now open the new window. For example, when a required field is empty during inline creation in Boards, Timeline, or Roadmap view, or when creating child items, the new create dialog will prompt you to complete the required fields.

The new create experience does not apply yet to Jira Service Management and Jira Product Discovery.

Where your new work item appears

Your newly created work item will appear at the top of your backlog, unless:

• You've selected a work item in the backlog, in which case your work item will be created right below the selected work item.

• You've specified a sprint when creating the work item, in which case your work item will be created at the bottom of the sprint.

You can also create a work item that automatically belongs to a larger piece of work. If your space uses a work type like an epic or workstream for tracking larger pieces of work, add the Parent field via Configure Fields and assign it during creation.

Find and link similar work items with AI

When you create a new work item, you can use AI to find and link similar, existing work items so you can connect to past work or avoid duplication.

Type in the Title field, and Jira will use AI to surface similar work items for you to review. Link the relevant work items before you select Create. All linked work items will appear in the Linked work items panel on your new work item.

For admins: Configure which fields appear in Quick Create

You can control which fields your team members see by default in quick create by ranking fields at the top of the work item field list in Space Setting. Fields ranked higher will appear in quick create for all team members in that space.

Company-managed spaces

1. Once inside Space Setting, select the Screen corresponding to create issue and the targeted work type.

2. Reorder the fields so your preferred fields appear at the top. Quick Create always shows Title, Description, and up to three required fields — those are fixed. Beyond those, Jira displays the next three fields in your list as the optional fields your team can fill without switching to the full form. So if you want your team to see Priority, Sprint, and Assignee in Quick Create, drag those to the top of the field list.

Team-managed spaces

1. Once inside Space Settings, select Work types.

2. Select the work type you want to configure.

3. Reorder the fields to control what your team sees in Quick Create.

Admins of Company Managed Spaces can create a custom screen using these steps.

Note, that a custom create screen always opens Full Form by default.

For admins: Reverting to the previous create experience

Admins can revert their site to the previous create experience via Settings > System > General Configurations. Then set Simple Create as Default to off. This applies to the entire site.

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Split a work item

Splitting a work item is useful when a work item is so big that it's better to divide it into two or more work items and make work more manageable. You can only split a work item from the Scrum backlog or the Kanban backlog (if enabled), and not from active sprints or the Kanban board.

1. Navigate to the Backlog of your Scrum or Kanban space.

2. Select a work item, then choose Split work item. 

You'll also find the option to split a work item in the sprint or Selected for Development section of your Backlog. Discover more about your Kanban backlog.

Access the new work item

From a Scrum backlog

If you split a work item in the backlog, the new work item will be sent to the Backlog section. If you split a work item in an active sprint, you can choose to send the new work item to either the backlog or a future or active sprint.

In a Kanban backlog

After splitting a work item, the new work item will be sent to the Backlog section. This depends on the column configuration of your Kanban board, but this is essentially the section for the column that's mapped to the initial status of your workflow.

Edit the new work item

The new work item will be of the same work type as the original. For example, if you split a story into two or more work items, the new ones will also be stories.

Other details

• The new work item will have most of the same details stored in the original, including priority, component, label, custom fields. Some details won’t be copied over, including work log, comments, history and links. The original work item will be linked to the new work item.

• If the original work item has estimates, you'll be able to enter estimates for the new one as well. You can also update the estimate of the original as necessary.

• The status also returns to the first step of the corresponding workflow, and the resolutions are cleared.

Create a subtask or child work item

Subtasks in company-managed spaces, or child work items in team-managed spaces, allow you to assign different aspects of a work item to different people. You can only create subtasks in company-managed spaces if your administrator has enabled subtasks, and has added the subtask work type to the space's work type scheme.

In most cases, child work items can only be created and nested under standalone work items. In company-managed software spaces, you can assign subtasks directly to the work type your space uses for larger pieces of work (by default, this is called an epic) using the Add parent link on the work item.

To create a subtask or child work item:

1. Open the work item you’d like to be the parent.

2. Select Add or create related work () under the work item’s summary

   1. If you’re in a team-managed space, select Add a child work item ()

   2. If you are in a company-managed space, select Create subtask ()

3. Add a summary, then select Create.

A subtask will inherit the space, work security level, and sprint value (software spaces) from their parent.

Change the parent work item of a child work item

To change the parent work item:

1. Open the child work item or subtask.

2. Select the work type icon in the top-left corner next to the key of the parent work item.

3. Select a new parent work item for your child work item or subtask.

In the timeline and list views, you can also change the parent work item of a work item by dragging and dropping it underneath a new parent work item.

Define the work type

Change a work type

After you create a work item, you may want to change its type to better represent the work. For example, you may want to turn a work item that was raised as a task into a bug. More on work types.

To change the work type:

1. Open the work item you want to update.

2. Select the current work type icon, which is shown next to the work item key, above the summary.

3. Choose a new work type from the drop-down menu.

If there are different fields in the new work type, or if it has a different workflow, we'll open the move work item screen to complete the change.

Convert a subtask to a work item

In a company-managed space:

1. Navigate to the subtask you want to convert.

2. Select More actions (•••), then Convert to work item.

3. Select a new work type, then select Next.

4. If the subtask's current status is not an allowed status for the new work type, Step 2. Select new status is displayed. Select a new status, then Next.

5. In Step 3. Update fields, complete any additional fields. If there’s no change, all fields will be updated automatically. Select Next.

6. Review your changes, then select Finish.

7. The new work item will be displayed, without a parent work item linked at the top of the screen.

In a team-managed space, the process is slightly different:

1. From the subtask you want to convert, select More actions (•••), then Move.

2. On the table that appears, use the dropdown to change the work type. Select Next to continue.

3. If required, you'll be prompted to enter any additional fields. To update those watching the space, check Send mail for this update, or leave it unchecked. Select Next to continue.

4. Review your changes, then select Confirm.

5. Once the work item is migrated, select Acknowledge.

Convert a work item to a subtask

To convert a work item to a subtask in a team-managed spaces, use the procedure to Convert a subtask to a work item. On step 2, select Subtask.

In a company-managed space:

1. Open the work item and select on the work type icon at the top-left

2. Select Subtask from the list of available work types

3. Select the parent work item for the new subtask

4. Follow the steps, then select Finish to create the subtask.

Restrict access to work items in software spaces

While we recommend working openly, there are times where you may want to restrict who can view a particular piece of work. For example, you may want to restrict who can view tasks related to sensitive financial information, hiring or other personal employment information, or security-related software engineering work.

Restrict access to a work item in a company-managed space

In company-managed spaces, you can restrict access by setting a security level to the work item.

To set the security level on work items in company-managed spaces:

1. Choose the lock icon at the top-right of the work item. This icon only appears if the space has a security scheme configured.

2. Select the desired security level.

You can also remove a security level by selecting the lock icon and selecting Remove security level.

Jira admins can add, edit, or remove security levels (and their membership) through work item security schemes. Find out about work item security schemes.

Restrict access to a work item in a team-managed space

In team-managed software spaces, you can restrict access to specific roles in your space.

To restrict access, you must have a role with the Restrict any work item permission in the space. Find out more about roles and permissions in team-managed spaces.

To restrict access when creating a work item:

1. Select + Create from the navigation bar.

2. Complete any required fields for the work item.

3. Select the Restrict to field in the list of fields.

4. Select the roles you want to allow to see the work item from the dropdown.

5. Select Create.

To restrict a work item to certain roles, you’ll have to create the work item using the above steps. If you create a work item using any other method, it won’t be restricted.

If you create a subtask of a work item that has restrictions, then the subtask will inherit the restrictions from the parent work item. You won’t be able to change the restrictions of the subtask individually. To set restrictions to subtasks, you will have to update the restrictions for the parent work item.

To restrict access after a work item is created:

1. Choose the lock icon at the top-right of the work item.

2. Select the roles you want to allow to see the work item from the dropdown.

3. Select Restrict.

You can also remove roles by selecting the cross (X) next to the role’s name in the menu.

Team-managed space admins can add, edit, or remove roles and their membership in the Access page. Go to Space settings by selecting the more actions () menu in the sidebar, then select Access. Find out more about roles and permissions in team-managed spaces.

While bulk moving work items from a company-managed space to a team-managed space, your work items will get moved without any restrictions and these become open.

Deleting a custom role that has associated work items restrictions will make the work items unaccessible to the role. For instance, if there is a custom role Developer, and the work items are only restricted to this role, then the work items become unaccessible when the role is deleted. If the work items are restricted to a set of roles which includes Developer, then the work items can be accessed by other roles when Developer role is deleted.

Delete a work item

To delete a work item:

1. Navigate to the work item.

2. Select More actions (), then select Delete.