---
title: "User guide"
canonical: "https://support.appfire.com/space/AW/3221585958/User%20guide"
format: markdown
---
> Macro (aura-html)

Autowatch for Jira lets you define rules that automatically add watchers to issues as they are created or updated. Rules are set up per project by any project administrator and run in the background — no manual watcher management required.

## Accessing autowatch rules

To access the autowatch rules page, go to the project of interest and select **Project Settings → Apps → Autowatch Rules**.

> ⚠️ You must have project administrator permissions to access the Autowatch Rules page.

## Creating and editing autowatch rules

On the Autowatch Rules page, enter the JQL you want to filter issues on, then add the users who should be automatically added to the watchers list. Click **Add** to save the rule.

> ℹ️ Rules are enabled immediately when added. They do **not** apply retroactively to existing issues. However, if an already-created issue is updated to match a rule's JQL, the specified watchers will be added at that point.

## How rules run

Autowatch rules run in the background whenever an issue is created or updated in the project. When an issue matches a rule's JQL, the specified users are added to the watchers list automatically. Rules run as if the user who created the rule were adding the watchers manually, so that user's permissions apply.

Note that Autowatch only adds watchers — it does not remove them if an issue later stops matching a rule's JQL.