Creating custom warning popup during Jira workflow transitions

[Grace_31Dance]

I’m working on a Jira plugin that needs to show a confirmation dialog when users try to transition an issue. The idea is to check some conditions and if they’re not met, display a warning popup that lets the user either proceed anyway or cancel the transition.

This is different from regular workflow validators because those just block the transition completely with an error message. I want to give users the choice to continue even when conditions aren’t perfect.

I’ve built webwork plugins before but I’m not sure how to hook into the workflow transition process to trigger my custom dialog. Is this even technically possible in Jira? If yes, would a webwork plugin be the right approach or should I look at other plugin types?

Any guidance from experienced Jira developers would be really helpful.

[Pete_Magic]

Yeah, this is totally doable - just needs a different approach than regular validators. I built something like this using workflow conditions plus custom web resources. Here’s the trick: create a workflow condition that always returns true, but run your validation logic in the background. Then add a web resource with JavaScript that hooks into Jira’s transition events. When someone hits the transition, your script validates via REST and shows a custom dialog if there’s an issue. The dialog lets users either push through with the transition or cancel it. Works great because you keep server logic separate from the UI stuff, and users get the flexibility they’re after.

[Luke_Brilliant]

for sure! you can use a webpanel to catch the transition and pop up a JS alert. just check your conditions via a REST call first. it’ll require some adjustments, but it allows users to have some choice. best of luck with it!

[josephk]

Skip the webwork plugin - you want a workflow post function plus client-side JavaScript instead. Set up the post function to handle your conditions server-side, then inject JavaScript into the transition screen to intercept form submissions. When someone submits the form, your JavaScript makes an AJAX call to check conditions and shows a custom modal if needed. Add two buttons - proceed or cancel. This gives you complete control over the UX while playing nice with Jira’s workflow engine. I’ve built this exact setup before and it’s solid across different Jira versions.