Creating a Jira filter takes about 30 seconds: run a search with whatever criteria you need, then save it. That saved search becomes a reusable filter you can load anytime, share with teammates, pin to dashboards, or use to trigger scheduled email alerts. Here’s how to set one up and get the most out of it.
Run Your Search First
Every Jira filter starts as a search. From the top navigation bar, select “Filters” and then choose “Advanced issue search” (or just click the search bar and start typing). You’ll land on a search screen where you can build your query using either the basic mode or JQL (Jira Query Language), the advanced mode.
In basic mode, you pick criteria from dropdown menus: project, issue type, status, assignee, labels, priority, and so on. This works well for straightforward filters like “all open bugs assigned to me in Project X.” Stack multiple criteria together and Jira narrows results in real time.
If you need more control, switch to JQL by clicking the toggle near the search bar. JQL is a structured query language that lets you write filters as text expressions. A simple example:
project = "MARKETING" AND status = "In Progress" AND assignee = currentUser()
JQL supports operators like =, !=, IN, NOT IN, IS EMPTY, and ~ (for text searches). You can also use functions like currentUser(), startOfWeek(), or updatedDate > -7d to build dynamic filters that stay relevant without manual updates. Jira’s autocomplete suggests field names and values as you type, so you don’t need to memorize the syntax.
Save the Search as a Filter
Once your search results look right, click the “Save as” button above the results. Give your filter a descriptive name, something like “Sprint 12 Blocked Items” or “Unresolved Support Tickets This Week,” so you and your teammates can find it later. Hit save, and the filter is created.
You can edit the filter at any time by adjusting the search criteria and clicking “Save.” If you want to keep the original and create a variation, use “Save as” again with a new name.
Find and Apply a Saved Filter
To use a saved filter on a board, list, calendar, or timeline view, select “Filter” at the top of the view, then choose “More” in the dropdown. Search for the filter by name, select it, and the view updates immediately. You can also access all your saved filters from the main Filters menu in the top navigation, where Jira shows your recent and starred filters.
Starring a filter pins it to your sidebar for quick access. If you use a particular filter daily, this saves you from searching for it each time.
Share a Filter With Your Team
By default, a new filter is private, visible only to you. To share it, open the filter and look for the sharing or permissions settings (usually a “Details” link or a sharing icon next to the filter name). From there, you can share with:
- Individual users: Type a person’s name to give them access.
- Space or project members: Share with everyone in one or more spaces, optionally limited to specific roles.
- Group: Share with a defined group of Jira users, like “engineering” or “qa-team.”
- Open: Any logged-in user on your Jira site can see the filter.
- Public: Makes the filter visible to anyone, including people not logged in. This means it could be indexed by search engines, so use it carefully.
Sharing a filter doesn’t change who owns it. Only the owner (or users granted editor access) can modify the filter’s query. If someone with admin-level Jira permissions needs to reassign ownership or delete another user’s filter, they can do so through the administration settings.
Set Up Email Subscriptions
One of the most practical uses for a saved filter is automated email alerts. You can have Jira email you (or a group) the filter’s results on a schedule, which is useful for things like a daily digest of overdue tasks or a weekly summary of unresolved bugs.
To create a subscription, run the filter you want, then select “Details” next to the filter name and choose “New subscription.” Pick the recipients (yourself, other users, or a group) and set the frequency. Jira offers common intervals like daily or weekly, plus an advanced option where you can write a cron expression for custom schedules, like every weekday at 9 a.m.
A few things to know about subscriptions. Only the first 200 results of a filter are included in the email, so if your filter returns thousands of issues, you’ll want to narrow it down. Subscriptions sent to groups run the search separately for each member, which means each person only sees issues they have permission to view. For large groups, this can take time to generate all the emails. Set your email format to HTML rather than plain text, as the plain text version can render poorly.
Use Filters on Dashboards
Saved filters become especially powerful when you add them to Jira dashboards. Dashboard gadgets like “Filter Results,” “Pie Chart,” “Two Dimensional Filter Statistics,” and “Created vs. Resolved” all accept a saved filter as their data source. This turns a simple search into a visual report that updates automatically.
To add one, edit your dashboard, select “Add gadget,” choose the gadget type, and point it to your saved filter. You can arrange multiple filter-powered gadgets on a single dashboard to create a project health overview, a team workload snapshot, or a release readiness board.
Tips for Writing Better Filters
Keep filter names specific enough that teammates understand what they return without running them. “My Issues” is vague. “Open Bugs Assigned to Me in Payments” tells everyone exactly what it does.
Use relative date functions in JQL instead of hardcoded dates. A filter with created >= startOfMonth() always shows issues from the current month without needing updates. Similarly, updatedDate >= -14d captures anything touched in the last two weeks.
If you frequently combine the same criteria, like filtering for a specific project, status, and component, save that as a base filter and clone it with “Save as” when you need variations. This keeps your filter list organized and avoids rebuilding queries from scratch.