Time in Status (Forge) for Jira Cloud- What is a field context?
- How contexts work with Time in Status
- Configuring a field context
- Automatic context sync
- Tips
What is a field context?
In Jira, every custom field has one or more contexts. A context defines which projects and issue types the field applies to. By default, a new custom field has a single Global context that covers all projects and issue types.
You can create additional contexts to scope a field to specific projects or issue types. For example, you might have one context for “Project A, Bug type” and another for “All other projects.”
How contexts work with Time in Status
Each Time in Status field (Time in Status, Stopwatch, Timer, Time Between Dates, Calendar Select) is a standard Jira custom field. To make it calculate values, you need to bind each field context to a field setting.
The relationship is:
Jira custom field
└── Field context (scope: projects + issue types)
└── Field setting (calculation rules)
One field setting can serve multiple contexts. For example, you can create a single “Standard SLA” timer setting and bind it to contexts across several projects.
Configuring a field context
Step 1: Open the field’s context list
- Go to Jira Settings > Issues > Custom fields
- Find your Time in Status field in the list
- Click … (more actions) > Contexts and default value
You will see a list of all contexts for this field.
Step 2: Open context configuration
Click on a context name to open its configuration page. You will see the Time in Status configuration panel provided by the app.
Step 3: Select or create a field setting
The configuration panel lets you:
- Select an existing field setting from the dropdown - choose a setting you have already created in the admin panel
- Create a new field setting - opens the admin panel to create a new setting, then returns to bind it
Once a field setting is selected and saved, the app will start calculating values for all issues in this context.
Automatic context sync
The app automatically detects when field contexts are created, updated, or deleted in Jira. When you:
- Create a new context - the app registers it and waits for you to bind a field setting
- Update a context (change projects or issue types) - the app adjusts which issues are recalculated
- Delete a context - the app cleans up the binding and stops calculating for the removed scope
Tips
- Start with the admin panel: create your field settings, calendars, and events in the admin panel before configuring contexts. This way you will have settings ready to bind.
- One setting, many contexts: reuse the same field setting across multiple contexts to keep configuration consistent.
- Check recalculation: after binding a new context, go to the Recalculation tab to monitor progress and trigger a backfill for existing issues.
- Orphaned contexts: if a field is deleted from Jira but its context data remains, use the Recalculation tab to clean up orphaned entries.
