Sync Magic

Triggering Jira Automation with BPMN Events

Sync Magic: Triggering Jira Automation with BPMN Events

Jira Automation rules run in the background, which makes them hard to track. With a throw event in your BPMN model, an automation becomes a visible step of the process, and your team sees when and why it runs. A throw event can also call external services.

Why Trigger Jira Automation from Flower?

Jira Automation lets you create event-driven rules that run predefined actions and reduce manual work. These rules run in the background, so it is often unclear when and why they ran.

If you call the rule from your BPMN model, the automation is part of the process flow:

Automation is visible in the process model.
Teams understand the trigger at a glance.
Workflows are more predictable and easier to track.

How It Works

Create a Jira Automation Rule

Create a rule with the Incoming webhook trigger and copy its webhook URL and secret.

Add a Throw Event to Your Model

Draw an intermediate throw event at the place in your process where the rule should run.

Link Both with the Webhook URL

Enter the webhook URL in the properties panel of the event.

Create the Jira Automation Rule

Jira Automation lets you create custom rules that react to events. A rule can, for example:

Assign work items dynamically based on priority or category.
Update fields when specific conditions are met.
Send notifications by Slack, email, or Jira comments.
Link work items, create subtasks, or transition work items.

Email Example

Jira Automation Rule

The rule in the screenshot sends an email when the webhook is called. To connect Flower with this rule, copy the webhook URL of the trigger and paste it into the BPMN event in Flower.

Webhook URL and Secret

Atlassian requires a secret for the incoming webhook trigger. Atlassian accepts it either in the header X-Automation-Webhook-Token or at the end of the URL. Flower does not send custom headers, so add the secret to the end of the URL:


<webhook URL>/<secret>

Without the secret, the call fails.

⚠️

Treat the complete URL like a password. Everyone who can open the model can read it.

If your model still contains an old URL that starts with https://automation.atlassian.com/pro/hooks/, replace it with the current URL and secret from your rule. Atlassian retired this legacy endpoint on 30 May 2025.

Fire the Event from Your Model

In Flower, throw events call Jira Automation rules. When the process token reaches an intermediate throw event, the event sends its request. Then the token continues along the sequence flow.

To call a rule, enter the webhook URL in the properties panel of the selected event:

Jira Automation Rule

Intermediate Throw Events

You can use any BPMN intermediate throw event to fire a webhook:

Icon	Event Type
	None Throw Event
	Message Throw Event
	Signal Throw Event
	Escalation Throw Event
	Compensation Throw Event
	Link Throw Event
	Multiple Throw Event

What Flower Sends

Flower sends an HTTP POST request with a JSON body that contains the key of the process instance:


{"issues": ["FLOWER-375"]}

Jira Automation understands this format: the rule runs for this work item. In the incoming webhook trigger, select the option that uses the work items provided in the web request. In the rule, you can read the data with the smart value {{webhookData}}.

An example request:


curl -X POST \
-H 'Content-type: application/json' \
"https://api-private.atlassian.com/automation/webhooks/jira/a/<id>/<id>/<secret>" \
--data '{"issues":["FLOWER-375"]}'

ℹ️

The request body will be more flexible in a future version of Flower.

Webhook Rules

Rule	Details
Protocol	The URL must start with `https://`.
Target	The target must be a public address. Internal addresses, such as `localhost` or private networks, are blocked.
Credentials	Do not put a user name and password in the URL.
Redirects	Flower does not follow redirects.
Response time	The target should answer within about 10 seconds.
Result	Flower adds a comment to the process instance with the status code of the response. If the request cannot be sent, Flower adds a general error comment without technical details.

In Jira Data Center, you can also enter a path relative to the Jira base URL, and internal addresses are not blocked.

Connect External Services

The same mechanism calls external services, such as your own microservice or the incoming webhook of a chat tool. The target receives the POST request with the key of the process instance. The target must follow the webhook rules above.

Flower mainly integrates with the Atlassian ecosystem (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket), and webhooks connect it to everything else.

Use Cases

Process	What the rule does	Benefit
Change management	After a change request is approved, the rule links it to the related implementation tasks and updates its status.	Better traceability and correct statuses without manual work.
IT service requests	The rule assigns the work item to the right person, based on component ownership, workload, or fixed rules. If there is no match, it notifies a team lead.	Work reaches the right person without delays.
Incident management	When an incident escalates, the rule adds a comment (“This incident has escalated to Level 2”) and sends a Slack or email notification.	Faster response and less follow-up work.
Customer onboarding	After a new client is approved, the rule creates a space from a template, configures work types, workflows, and permissions, and assigns the space lead.	No manual space setup, and a structured onboarding.
Marketing campaign	At the end of a campaign, the rule moves related work items to a final status such as Closed, moves completed work items to an archive space, and notifies stakeholders.	Jira stays organized, and old work items do not clutter active work.

What’s Next?

Configure the incoming webhook trigger : Atlassian’s guide to the trigger, the secret, and the new endpoint.
Jira automation triggers : All triggers and their smart values.
Jira Automation : Overview of the feature.