Automated Clone

You might be familiar with the basic clone types in Deep Clone. Not all clone types can be automated. Here’s an overview:

• Workflow actions (“Post Functions”): Historically, the native approach for automating tasks in Jira was strictly through workflow “post functions” (recently renamed to “Perform actions” by Atlassian). Workflows can execute specific actions, e.g. when an issue transitions to a new status.

• Jira automation actions: Today's built-in Jira automation feature was initially a Jira Marketplace app app developed by a small Australian software startup. Atlassian acquired this app in 2019 and integrated it as a native Jira feature. Since then, both Atlassian and third-party app vendors have continuously expanded their features, making Jira automation increasingly powerful.

It’s not easy to compare Workflow actions (“Post Functions”) with Jira automation actions and say: one is better than the other. As you’ll see in the use cases below, some cloning tasks can be implemented using both approaches, some only in one approach, some require a combination of both.

In all cases it is helpful to keep the following information in mind:

• Workflow actions (“Post Functions”) tend to be more stable and reliable than Jira automation.

• However, Jira automation is newer, more flexible and more powerful for automating tasks. It also provides significantly more trigger options. Of course, you can never tell what Atlassian will do in the years to come, but new features and functions might be more likely to be implemented in Jira automation than in workflows.

• Jira automation is easier to maintain. Automation rules can be managed by space admins and provide audit logs for easier troubleshooting.

• Both approaches can become very complex, depending on your setup. Always keep in mind your maintenance costs and be careful that your implementation remains manageable for the future.

• Jira Automation might be affected by execution limits and costs (depending on your Jira plan). Workflows will never run into limits or require you to upgrade to a more expensive plan. However, you should not only focus on plan limits - also keep an eye on maintenance costs when selecting the best automated clone solution for your setup.

• Deep Clone makes your Jira automation significantly less complex and thus, more manageable. This applies especially to changes implemented on the field editor.

• Native Jira does not offer a clone function in workflows. So Deep Clone is the way to go if you want to clone work items based on your workflow.

• Presets with custom configurations enable you to centrally manage and update your clone settings across multiple Jira automations.

• Deep Clone offers a very robust Epic / Tree Clone functionality in workflows.

Use this to: Single clone the work item that triggered your flow.

See:

→ Jira Workflow (“Post Function”) or

→ Jira Automation

Use this to: Clone the work item hierarchy of the epic or parent work item that triggered your flow.

See:

→ Jira Workflow (“Post Function”)

Use this to: Clone the work item that triggered your flow to multiple target spaces

See:

→ Jira Automation

Use this to: Bulk clone work items based on a JQL query with all work item links still referring to the original work items.

See:
→ Jira Automation

Use this to: Log smart values from the cloned work item and use them as a filter to continue within the same Jira automation.

See:
→ Jira Automation

Use this to: Log smart values from the cloned work item and pass them on to subsequent actions or Jira automations.

See:
→ Jira Automation

Use this to: Clone a work item in Jira workflows without changing the work item status.

See:
→ Jira Automation and Jira Workflows (combined)

Use this to: Trigger other automated actions with Deep Clone.

See:

→ Use Deep Clone as a Trigger (via Webhook)