Use Duration fields

This page explains what the Duration field is and how to use it in everyday work — entering values, editing inline, and understanding auto-normalization.

What the Duration field is

The Duration field is a custom field type that stores a single time value — for example 2d 4h or 30m. Unlike the Time Tracking field, it does not separate original estimate, time spent, and remaining time. There is no work-logging workflow; you simply enter or update the duration directly.

The Duration field stores one value. If you need to track original estimate, time spent, and remaining time separately, use the Time Tracking field instead.

Use a Duration field when you need a straightforward time value on an issue — for example, an SLA limit, a meeting duration, a time budget, or any threshold expressed in time.

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Where you see the field

Depending on how your admin configured it, the Duration field may appear:

• On the Create Issue screen — to set an initial duration.

• On the issue view / edit screen — to view or update the value inline.

• On transition screens — if the admin added it to a workflow transition (for example, when moving to "In Progress" or "Done").

• On customer portals — if exposed on a request form in Jira Service Management.

If you don't see the field on a given project or issue type, it usually means it hasn't been added to those screens. Ask your Jira admin to check.

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Entering a duration value

Duration format

Enter time using Jira-style duration strings:

• 30m — 30 minutes

• 2h — 2 hours

• 1d — 1 day (by default 8 hours; your admin can change this)

• 1w — 1 week (by default 5 days)

• 1d 3h — 1 day and 3 hours

• 2w 1d 4h 30m — combine any units

You can also enter a plain number (for example 30). Whether this is interpreted as minutes or hours depends on your admin's configuration. A helper message below the input will tell you which one applies.

If the value can't be interpreted as a duration, the field will show an error:

"Please enter duration in the correct format (e.g., 2w 1d 3h 4m)"

When creating an issue

1. Open Create issue.

2. Find your Duration field (for example "SLA Limit").

3. Enter the duration value, for example 4h or 1d 2h.

4. Create the issue.

The value is saved immediately as both a human-readable string and a numeric value in seconds, so it's ready for search and reporting.

On existing issues

On an existing issue, the Duration field displays the formatted value (for example 2d 4h). If no value has been set, it shows None.

To edit the value:

1. Click on the field to open the inline editor.

2. Enter a new duration (or clear the field if it's not required).

3. Click away or press Enter to save.

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Auto-normalization

The Duration field automatically normalizes your input into the most readable form. For example:

• You enter 90m → the field displays 1h 30m

• You enter 10h → the field displays 1d 2h (assuming the default of 8 hours per day)

• You enter 50h → the field displays 1w 1d 2h (assuming 8h/day, 5d/week)

This normalization happens when you leave the input field (on blur) and when you save.

Normalization depends on your field's hours per day and **days per week ** configuration. If your admin set hours per day to 6, then 6h would normalize to 1d, not just 6h. Check with your admin if the results seem unexpected.

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Validation

The Duration field validates your input and shows clear error messages:

• Invalid format — if you enter something the field can't parse (for example not-a-duration or 2x), you'll see: "Please enter duration in the correct format (e.g., 2w 1d 3h 4m)"

• Required field — if the admin made the field required and you leave it empty, you'll see: "Duration is required."

• Non-negative — the field does not accept negative durations. If a value somehow becomes negative, you'll see: "Duration value must be non-negative."

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Search and reporting

Duration fields are fully searchable in JQL. If your field is called SLA Limit, you can use:

• "SLA Limit".DurationSeconds — the numeric value in seconds (for comparisons)

• "SLA Limit".Duration — the formatted string value (for text matching)

Example: find all issues where the SLA limit is more than 4 hours:

"SLA Limit".DurationSeconds > 14400

For more JQL examples, dashboard tips, and automation patterns, see **Search & Reporting **.

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Duration vs Time Tracking — when to use which

	Duration	Time Tracking
Values stored	1 (a single duration)	3 (original estimate, time spent, remaining)
Work logging	No	Yes — log time and track remaining
Auto remaining	N/A	Remaining time decreases as you log work
JQL aliases	Duration, DurationSeconds	OriginalEstimate*, TimeSpent*, RemainingEstimate*
Best for	SLA limits, budgets, meeting durations, simple thresholds	Dev/QA estimates, contract hours, effort tracking

Rule of thumb: If you'll log work against this field over time, use Time Tracking. If you just need to * record a time value*, use Duration.

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See also

Use Time Tracking fieldsSearch & Reporting