Workflows

In YouTrack, a workflow is a set of rules that can be attached to a project. These rules define a lifecycle for issues in a project and automate changes that can be applied to issues.

When you create a workflow, you can attach it to a project and activate specific rules. A workflow can contain several rules, but you can choose which combination of rules you want to activate in different projects. YouTrack lets you attach a workflow to several projects and enable or disable rules for each project individually. For detailed instructions, see Manage Workflows for Multiple Projects.

YouTrack provides several default workflows that cover the most general use cases. For example, workflows that automatically assign an issue to a subsystem owner or process duplicate issue.

Many default workflows are auto-attached. These workflows are attached automatically to all new projects.

For a complete list of the workflows that are bundled with YouTrack, see Default Workflows.

If you need a workflow that supports a specific use case, you can write your own. You can either customize a default workflow to support your use case or create a new workflow. For more information, see Edit a Workflow and Create a Workflow.

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YouTrack Workflow Community

If you're having a difficult time getting your custom workflow to do what you want, join us in Slack. Get help in real time directly from the development team. Connect with other users to find real solutions to challenging situations.

You can also use custom workflows that have been uploaded to the Custom Workflow Repository in GitHub.

The Workflow Constructor is a no-code tool that lets you transform a routine process into an automated workflow. Mix and match various conditions to determine exactly when the workflow rule should run, then specify what you want to happen with a range of available actions.

The constructor doesn't support all the conditions and actions that are available using workflows, but it covers the most typical use cases.

Workflows in YouTrack are written in JavaScript, even when built using the Workflow Constructor. If you're comfortable writing code, you can script automations that aren't supported using the drag-and-drop interface. You can write a workflow in any IDE that supports JavaScript, pack it into a ZIP file and upload it to YouTrack.

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Webinar

Watch a webinar that shows you how to work with the built-in workflow editor and write workflows in JavaScript.

In addition, we built a web-based workflow editor inside YouTrack. Here, you can write a workflow from scratch without leaving YouTrack.

For more information about workflows in JavaScript, please refer to the corresponding section in the Developer Portal for YouTrack and Hub.