JQL Keywords

Argon automatically indexes issue metadata and exposes it as searchable JQL keywords. These keywords can be used directly in JQL queries without any special syntax or function calls.

How Indexing Works

Argon maintains a real-time index of issue relationships and metadata:

1. Event-Driven Updates: When issues are created, updated, linked, or deleted, Argon's event listeners capture the changes
2. Indexed Storage: Metadata is stored and indexed on each issue
3. Automatic Indexing: Jira automatically indexes these values, making them searchable via JQL
4. Near Real-Time: Updates typically appear in search results within seconds

What Gets Indexed

Data Type	Trigger Events
Link counts	Issue linked, unlinked
Linked issue metadata	Linked issue updated (status, priority, type)
Child/Parent relationships	Parent field changed, subtask created
Time in status	Status transitions

Available Keywords

Link Keywords

Keyword	Type	Description
linksNumber	Number	Count of outgoing links from this issue
linkedByNumber	Number	Count of incoming links to this issue
linkedByIssue	String	Issue keys that link to this issue
linkedByStatus	String	Status names of issues linking to this issue
linkedByCategoryName	String	Status category of issues linking to this issue
linkedByPriority	String	Priority of issues linking to this issue
linkedByIssueType	String	Issue type of issues linking to this issue

Hierarchy Keywords

Keyword	Type	Description
childrenNumber	Number	Count of child issues (subtasks or children)
childrenIssueIds	String	IDs of child issues

Operators

Number Keywords

linksNumber, linkedByNumber, childrenNumber

Operator	Example	Description
=	linksNumber = 5	Exactly 5 outgoing links
!=	linkedByNumber != 0	Has at least one incoming link
>	childrenNumber > 3	More than 3 children
>=	linksNumber >= 1	At least 1 outgoing link
<	linkedByNumber < 10	Fewer than 10 incoming links
<=	childrenNumber <= 5	At most 5 children

String Keywords

linkedByIssue, linkedByStatus, linkedByCategoryName, linkedByPriority, linkedByIssueType

Operator	Example	Description
=	linkedByStatus = "Done"	Linked by issue with exact status
!=	linkedByPriority != "Low"	Not linked by low priority issue
~	linkedByIssue ~ "PROJ"	Linked by issue key containing "PROJ"
!~	linkedByStatus !~ "Progress"	Not linked by status containing "Progress"

Examples

Finding Issues by Link Count

-- Issues with many dependencies (incoming links)
linkedByNumber > 5

-- Issues that are well-connected (both directions)
linksNumber > 2 AND linkedByNumber > 2

-- Orphan issues (no links at all)
linksNumber = 0 AND linkedByNumber = 0

Finding Issues by Linked Issue Properties

-- Issues blocked by high-priority work
linkedByPriority = "High" AND linkedByStatus != "Done"

-- Issues linked to bugs
linkedByIssueType = "Bug"

-- Issues linked by completed work
linkedByStatus = "Done"

-- Issues in the "In Progress" status category chain
linkedByCategoryName = "In Progress"

Finding Issues by Hierarchy

-- Parent issues with many subtasks
childrenNumber >= 5

-- Issues that are parents (have children)
childrenNumber > 0

-- Leaf issues (no children)
childrenNumber = 0

Combining Keywords with Standard JQL

-- High-priority issues blocked by other high-priority issues
priority = High AND linkedByPriority = "High"

-- Epics with many child stories
issuetype = Epic AND childrenNumber > 10

-- Issues in a specific project with external dependencies
project = DEV AND linkedByIssue ~ "EXT"

Performance Considerations

• Indexed for Speed: JQL keywords are indexed by Jira, so queries are fast
• Combine Wisely: Complex queries with many keywords may still impact performance
• Use Specific Values: Exact matches (=) are faster than contains (~)
• Limit Scope: Add project or other filters to reduce result set size

Indexing Timing

• New Issues: Indexed immediately upon creation
• Updated Issues: Re-indexed within seconds of changes
• Linked Issues: Both source and target issues are re-indexed when links change
• Bulk Operations: May take longer to fully index

Troubleshooting

Keywords Not Appearing in Search

1. Wait a few seconds for indexing to complete
2. Verify the issue has the expected links/relationships
3. Check that Argon is properly installed and running

Unexpected Results

1. Remember linksNumber = outgoing, linkedByNumber = incoming
2. String comparisons are case-sensitive for = operator
3. Use ~ for partial/case-insensitive matching

Related

• JQL Functions - For more complex relationship queries
• linkedByQuery - Dynamic link queries
• childrenOf - Dynamic hierarchy queries