Dynamic Variables - Advanced

This chapter describes the Advanced Dynamic Variables feature, available on the Advanced plan.

Advanced Dynamic Variables let you create and manage variables in a shared library - at the space or global scope - so you can reuse them across multiple templates without re-entering definitions each time. Variables support default values and can be marked as required per template.

Dynamic variables can be used in two ways - Basic and Advanced - and within Advanced, variables exist at three levels of scope.

• Basic (Dynamic Variables - Basic) - variables defined directly in a template using bracket syntax. They exist only within that template and require no library setup.
• Local (Basic & Advanced) - variables defined in the new Advanced format but scoped to a single template. They use the same interface as space and global variables, making them easier to use than Basic, but are not shared across templates.
• Space (Advanced) - variables managed in the Space settings library. They are available to all templates within a given space and can be maintained centrally from Space settings → Apps → Issue Templates for Jira → Dynamic variables.
• Global (Advanced) - variables managed in the global configuration. They are available across all spaces in your Jira instance and can be maintained from Marketplace Apps → Issue Templates for Jira → Configuration → Dynamic variables.

Global library:

Creating variables

Creating a global variable

Steps

1. In the Variable Library(Marketplace Apps → Issue Templates for Jira → Configuration → Dynamic variables), click Create new variable.
2. In the dialog box that opens fill:

3. Click Save.

Creating a local variable

The process is the same as for global variables. Navigate to Space settings → Apps → Issue Templates for Jira → Dynamic variables instead of the global configuration. The field table is identical - the only difference is that Availability defaults to Local, so the variable is scoped to the current space only.

Using variables in a template

After you define variables in the library, you can add them to any template. Variables are selected through the template configuration wizard.

Steps

Open the template you want to edit and scroll to variables under Issue Templates on the sidebar.

1. Click the Copy icon and paste into the work item description.

2. If you haven’t created any variables yet, or wish to add a new one, click Create new variable+.

3. Click More to expand variable information, it shows the label, options and availability.

   

4. Click Save.

Result

Your template now provides dynamic variables. If someone uses the template, they will be prompted to insert necessary information.

Converting existing variables to Advanced format

If you have existing Basic dynamic variables, you can convert them to the Advanced format to take advantage of the shared library, default values, and cross-template reuse. The variable placeholders in the template content (for example, [Employee name]*) are preserved exactly as they are - the content of your templates doesn’t change during conversion.

There are two separate conversion options depending on the target scope:

Converting to global scope

This option is always available, even after migration. It scans template content across all active repositories, extracts unique placeholders with their types and options, and saves them to the global library. Each candidate variable gets one of two statuses:

• READY - no naming collision, the variable can be imported.
• CONFLICT - a global variable with the same name already exists.

Steps

1. Go to Marketplace Apps → Issue Templates for Jira → Configuration → Dynamic variables.
2. Click Convert basic to advanced.
3. A modal appears - click Start scan to begin scanning your templates.
4. Review the detected variables and their statuses.
5. Confirm to save the variables to the global library.

Result

The converted variables appear in the Variable Library as space variables. They’re automatically linked to the template and can now be reused in other templates, have default values set, and be managed centrally.

Promoting local variables to space scope

From the space library, you can bulk-promote local variables to space level, making them available to all templates within the space.

Steps

1. Go to Space settings → Apps → Issue Templates for Jira → Dynamic variables.
2. Select the local variables you want to promote.
3. Click Promote to space.

Result

The promoted variables move from template-level (local) to the space library and become available to all templates in the space.

Warnings and data safety

Deleting a variable from the library

Before a variable is removed from the library, the app displays a warning listing every template that currently uses the variable. This lets you assess the impact before confirming the deletion.

After deletion, any placeholder text referencing that variable in the template content remains unchanged. The variable is simply no longer listed in the template’s variable configuration and won’t appear in the creation form.

Promoting a local variable to global scope

You can promote a local variable to global scope so it becomes available across all repositories. If a global variable with the same name already exists, the promotion is blocked to prevent naming conflicts.

Dynamic variables in Automation

Advanced Dynamic Variables are supported while creating work items via the issue.templates.automation property — the same as Basic variables. See the Automation chapter for details.