Mastering Jira filters: Create, share, and manage for better project insights

Jira's search bar sorts through project data to surface the exact information you need — and its power doesn't end at the results page. You can save any search query as a filter and reuse it across boards, dashboards, and reports.

Filters cut the time spent hunting for issues and give teams a shared view of the work in progress. Here's how to add filters in Jira, when to apply them, and how to keep the list from becoming a graveyard of stale queries.

What are filters in Jira?

A Jira filter is a saved search query built on complex criteria that returns a reusable, sharable view of issues. Whether you're working in Jira Cloud or another Atlassian platform, filters let you sort through vast troves of data faster than manual searches allow.

Filters also connect to dashboards, creating a centralized place to display real-time information based on the queries a team runs most often.

When should you use filters in Jira?

Use filters whenever a search is worth running more than once. A project's success rests on the development team's decisions, and those decisions depend on a complete picture of the work. A well-curated set of filters lets teams sort through epics, stories, tasks, and issues to pull the data that informs each choice.

Jira filters adapt to a wide range of sorting and segmentation use cases. Common examples:

• User-assigned issues: Filter issues according to the current user to track tasks and workloads.

• Open issues: Monitor issue completion based on assignments to specific team members or groups, facilitating workload management.

• Bugs: Squash programming bugs according to priority or version, ensuring high-priority updates ship first.

• Unresolved issues: Uncover roadblocks or missed tasks by filtering unresolved issues.

• Epics and stories: Generate a high-level view of progress by sorting for data on a project's big picture.

• Due soon: Keep an assignee on schedule by identifying issues with approaching deadlines.

• Updates: Monitor team activity and adjustments by filtering for recently updated issues.

• Component or version: Analyze work on specific project areas by sorting according to component or fix version.

• QA: Assign issues for quality assurance testing based on status.

• Reports: Create period-based filters to generate reports on sprint progress, velocity, cycle time, or other metrics.

With this level of data access, teams stay current on progress, manage their workflows, and hit individual timelines without chasing status updates.

Basic vs. advanced search in Jira: What's the difference?

Jira has two search modes: Basic and advanced. Basic search is the default, using keyword-based queries across fields like issue summaries or descriptions. It's fast and easy to learn, but results are limited in granularity and personalization.

Advanced search uses Jira Query Language (JQL) to conduct customized searches based on precise criteria, including:

• Project assignees

• Date ranges

• Custom fields

• Priority

• Labels

Advanced search returns exactly the data you're after, making JQL the foundation for filters that are reusable and sharable across workflows.

Using filters in Jira

Jira's search function lets you navigate and manage project data by building and applying customized filters based on specific query criteria.

How to create a filter in Jira

To create a new filter in Jira:

1. Open the Search Issues page by clicking the "Issues" option from the Jira menu. 1. Define query parameters using either the Basic or Advanced Search option. 1. Search and refine the query until it returns the desired results. 1. Click "Save Filter" and give the filter a meaningful name and description for easy reference. 1. Select "Issues" and navigate to "View All Filters" to access and manage saved filters.

How to edit and update Jira filters

Managing filters in Jira is a straightforward process. To edit or update a filter:

1. From the Issues menu, click "Filters." 1. Select the name of the filter you wish to edit. 1. To refine the criteria, click the "+" or "-" button next to each field. 1. To change the field order, click and drag it up and down. 1. Click "Save."

To delete a Jira filter:

1. Click "Filters" > "View all filters" from the navigation bar. 1. Select the filter you wish to delete. 1. Click "•••" > "Delete filter."

Filters can only be deleted by their owners or the Jira administrator.

Sharing filters with your team in Jira

Filters get more useful the more people rely on them. Jira lets you share filters with groups, projects, or roles to improve collaboration and streamline workflows.

To share a Jira filter:

1. Click "Issues" > "Manage filters." 1. Select the "My" tab. 1. Choose a filter to share. 1. Click "Details." 1. Select "Edit permissions" to open the "Edit current filter" dropdown. 1. Click "Add shares" to open the dialogue box, and then select "Everyone," "Group," or "Project." 1. Click the "Add" button to open a dropdown and select filter recipients. 1. Save your changes.

How to subscribe to Jira filters

Subscriptions send scheduled updates whenever an owner runs a filter, so you don't have to open Jira to see what's changed. To subscribe:

1. Select "Filters" from the navigation bar. 1. Click "View all filters." 1. Choose "New subscriptions" to open a configuration dropdown. 1. Identify subscribers, delivery frequency, intervals, and delivery method. 1. Click "Save."

One caveat: The subscription system doesn't push updates in real time. If someone modifies the underlying query after Jira sends the report, subscribers won't know until the next scheduled delivery.

Best practices for managing filters in Jira

A few habits keep filters useful instead of turning them into clutter:

Avoid complexity

Don't create a filter for a one-off query or a search you won't rerun. Too many filters clutter the system and make the queries that matter harder to find.

Use project-specific filters

Create custom filters for each project so you can access and track issues without getting distracted by unrelated work.

Leverage keywords

Name your filters with relevant keywords and a consistent naming convention so anyone on the team can find them. Clear names also help teammates avoid creating duplicates.

Take advantage of quick filters

Jira's quick filters sort issues on Scrum or Kanban boards, displaying a specific issue type or presenting a custom view of the backlog tailored to the team's needs.

Consider other team members before editing queries

Jira lets you plug filters into gadgets and export them to dashboards for real-time monitoring. Before you edit a query, check who else depends on it — a small tweak can break someone else's report.

Enhance Jira filters with Tempo

Tempo tools fully integrate with the Jira platform, expanding the data available to filter and sharpening the queries themselves. Structure PPM users can apply Jira filters to structures to focus on a subset of issues without those changes affecting anyone else. Custom Charts for Jira turns JQL queries into flexible charts and dashboards that surface team delivery, capacity, and speed across multiple projects.

Together, Tempo and Jira filters take the raw output of a search and turn it into something a team can actually act on.