Introduction

How many applications do you use at work? If you’re like me, probably too many. There’s an application for receiving email, another for creating documents and spreadsheets, another for tracking tasks, a program for chatting with team members, a different program for communicating with customers, and many more. The list of software we use every day goes on and on. That’s why I like to connect and integrate as many applications as possible, so there are fewer places to search for the information I’m looking for.

One easy way to reduce the number of applications is to connect Atlassian tools, like Jira Software, Jira Service Management, and Confluence to each other. Then, connect them with your organization’s chat program.

I use Slack to communicate with my team and my customers. In Slack, I can see exactly what’s happening in Atlassian tools without needing to log in to those applications individually. This is especially helpful when I’m mobile. I simply launch Slack on my phone or laptop and use it as a “home base” for all notifications and updates.

By connecting Jira and Slack, I automatically receive notifications when:

• issues or comments are created, updated, or deleted,
• attachments are added, or time is logged,
• an issue’s status changes,
• and more.

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The notifications, their frequency, and where they are received are all customizable. And the best part: I can assign, transition, comment on, and create Jira issues without leaving Slack. This saves a lot of time, especially when there are many high-priority issues to manage.

To integrate Slack and Jira, you’ll need to connect the applications, connect Jira projects to Slack channels, and set notification preferences. Here’s how.

Are your apps already connected? Skip to the “Preventing Information Overload” section for notification management tips, shortcuts, and time savers.

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Connecting the Jira and Slack Applications

There are many native and third-party apps that connect the applications. For this integration example, I’ve selected the native Jira Cloud app. Choose an app that provides the most important features and capabilities for your organization’s communication and security needs.

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Option 1: From Slack or the App Directory

🚩 Required Slack permissions: Owner, Admin, or ability to install apps

Log in to Slack and click the “Add apps” option at the bottom of the left sidebar.

In the app directory, search for “Jira” and select an app to install. Then, follow the prompts to connect Slack to your Jira application.

Alternatively, find and install apps in the directory by adding “/apps” to the end of your Slack URL. Example: your-workspace.slack.com/apps

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Tip: Choose the correct app for your Jira deployment type. There are apps for Cloud and different apps for Data Center.

Once an app is installed, all workspace members can utilize it.

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Option 2: From Jira or the Atlassian Marketplace

🚩 Required Jira permissions: Application-level administrator

Login to Jira as an application administrator or a product administrator in Cloud. Search for “Slack” on the “Find new apps” page in the “Apps” admin area. Choose an app to install or start a free trial. Then, follow the instructions to connect Jira to your Slack application.

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Alternatively, find and install apps in the Atlassian Marketplace at https://marketplace.atlassian.com.

Tip: Use the selection menus on the top left to filter the app list by Atlassian application and deployment type. There are apps for Cloud and different apps for Data Center.

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Additional (Advanced) Options

🚩 Required skills: App development
🚩 Required Jira permissions: Application-level administrator

It’s also possible to develop your own custom Slack apps and leverage webhooks in Jira. Webhooks provide a lightweight way for remote applications to receive push notifications. Instructions for this method are available at: https://api.slack.com/messaging/webhooks. Build your own Slack app by visiting https://api.slack.com/apps.

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You can also use Slack’s own “Incoming Webhook” functionality to generate a unique URL. Then, add the URL to the Jira “Webhooks” page in the “System” admin area. Good to know: The “Incoming Webhook” app says it “will be deprecated and possibly removed in the future,” however.

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Similar apps and integration methods are also available for other chat programs, like Microsoft Teams.

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Connecting Jira Projects and Slack Channels

🚩 Required Jira permissions: Project-level or application-level administrator

Once the two applications are connected, it’s time to connect specific Jira projects to specific Slack channels.

Tip: If frequent application notifications are expected, consider creating specific Slack channels to separate issue updates from user conversations.

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In Slack

Select the Jira app in the left sidebar. Then click the “Connect project” button on the “messages” tab.

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You can also type “/jira connect“ in the message box to launch the connection form.

Then, simply select a project and a channel. By default, the only action is to notify the chat room when new issues are created in the Jira project. Click the “Manage” button to open Jira and modify notification settings.

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In Jira

Click the “Project settings” link at the bottom of a Jira project’s left sidebar.

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Then, expand the “Apps” menu and click the “Slack integration” link.

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Then, complete the form to create the connection.

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By default, the only action is to notify the chat room when new issues are created in the project. Modify the notification settings by clicking “... > Edit” in the “Actions” column.

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Preventing Information Overload

Now that the projects and channels are connected, you can customize the type of information sent and its frequency. If you find you're receiving too many or too few chat notifications, the settings can be adjusted at any time.

I suggest starting small, with notifications only for issue creation, comment creation, and issue completion. Also, limit the notifications to only the most important or highest-priority issues. Use the notification settings to segment the issues as much as possible, starting with issue type and priority, as pictured.

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To improve filtering capabilities, click the “Switch to JQL” link. Then, use any JQL (Jira Query Language) statement to segment by available fields and data.

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The example shows a JQL statement to limit notifications to only high-priority bugs that require a code change.

Example JQL: type = Bug and priority in (Highest, High) and component = “Code Change”

Again, start with a small scope and only expand it if the need arises. Also, be sure to consider your audience, the information most important to them, and the amount of information they are expecting. If a user has a narrow use case or a very specific need, consider creating a separate chat channel rather than increasing the amount of notifications in the primary channel.

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Shortcuts and Time Savers

Slash Commands

In the previous section, I mentioned typing “/jira connect“ in Slack to connect a channel and a project. This is an example of a slash command.

Slash commands are shortcuts that enable actions and interactivity between apps. Simply type a forward slash or click the slash icon in the message box to open the shortcuts menu and see the possibilities.

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To quickly create a Jira issue from Slack, use the “/jira create” command. Enter “forward slash jira, " a space, and the word “create. " Then, submit the message and use the overlay to enter any additional Jira issue details.

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You can also include limited additional details using the following format.

Format:

/jira create [issueType] [Summary]
[description]

Example:

/jira create bug Incorrect tax calculation
The tax calculation in the shopping cart is incorrect when product quantities change.

Note: The issue’s description must be on a new line.

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A note showing the issue was created via Slack is automatically placed in the Jira issue’s description field.

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To check the status of an important issue, use the /jira issueID command.

Example: 

/jira DEV-22

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The list of Jira-specific slash commands are:

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Additional Options

You can also watch, comment, assign, and transition issues using Jira-specific menus in Slack.

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Use Slack with Jira Automation

🚩 Required Jira permissions: Project-level or application-level administrator

Another way to integrate Jira and Slack is through the built-in automation functions in Jira Cloud or via the “Automation for Jira” app in Jira Data Center.

For example, get a daily summary of issues in the backlog, alert the team when a service level agreement (SLA) is breached, create reminders for important tasks, or even create a new channel to address an incident. The possibilities are endless!

The Slack-specific automation actions are:

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Example Automation

The example shows the configuration for a sample “Send Slack message” automation.

Note: This action uses Slack’s “Incoming Webhook” functionality, which “will be deprecated and possibly removed in the future.”

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The example rule contains the following components:

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Here’s the automation’s result in Slack.

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Manage Automation Settings with Salto

Did you know that Salto can access settings and details for automation rules? I use Salto to track changes to my entire Jira configuration. By fetching my application’s configuration data, I can search for the keyword “Slack” and immediately see where settings exist. Salto found an existing automation rule and the new automation rule from the example above.

The Salto app shows all the new rule’s settings and components, including the “Send Slack message” action, its webhook, and the notification content. Now, I can track this functionality as part of my regular Jira change management process.

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Activities to Try

Now it’s your turn!  Connect Jira and Slack with a native app, a third-party app, or your own custom app, or use webhooks and automation. Then, send helpful notifications from a Jira project to a Slack channel.

Notification Ideas

• Alert users of high-priority bugs, incidents, or problems
• Remind users when deadlines are approaching or when requests are about to breach an SLA
• Get a daily list of unassigned issues and assign them right in Slack

I hope you’ll save time, simplify your work, and reduce applications to log into by integrating Slack and Jira!

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Resources

• Atlassian and Slack Partnership — https://www.atlassian.com/partnerships/slack 
• Slack integrations across Atlassian products — https://www.atlassian.com/partnerships/slack/integrations 
• Use apps and the App Directory — https://slack.com/help/categories/360000047926#use-apps-and-the-app-directory 
• Integrate Jira Cloud and Slack — https://support.atlassian.com/jira-work-management/docs/integrate-jira-cloud-and-slack/ 
• Boost productivity and collaboration with these integrations — https://integrations.atlassian.com 
• Use shortcuts to take actions in Slack — https://slack.com/help/articles/360057554553-Use-shortcuts-to-take-actions-in-Slack
• Jira automation templates for Slack or Microsoft Teams — https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/automation-template-library/slack-ms-teams 

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Advanced Topics

• Webhooks documentation — https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/webhooks/ 
• Sending messages using Incoming Webhooks — https://api.slack.com/messaging/webhooks 
• Enabling interactivity with Slash Commands — https://api.slack.com/interactivity/slash-commands 
• Use automation with Slack — https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/use-automation-with-slack/ 
• Jira automation actions: Create Slack channel for incident — https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/jira-automation-actions/#Create-Slack-channel-for-incident