Jira "The value X does not exist for the field Y" in CI

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

Jira validates set-field values against the field configuration. If you send a component, version, or select option that is not defined for the project, it returns 400 with "The value X does not exist for the field Y."

What this error means

Creating or updating an issue fails with 400 and "components":"The value 'API' does not exist for the field 'components'." while other fields succeed.

HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
{"errorMessages":[],"errors":{"components":"The value 'API' does not exist for the field 'components'."}}

Common causes

The option is not defined for this project

Components, versions, and select options are project-scoped. A value valid in one project is rejected in another that lacks it.

Setting a value by name that must be an id

Some fields resolve by id, not display name. A close-but-wrong name (case or spacing) fails to match any allowed value.

How to fix it

List the allowed values with createmeta

1. Query create metadata with fields expanded for the project and issue type.
2. Read the exact allowed component, version, or option names or ids.
3. Send a value that appears in that list.

curl -sf -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://your-domain.atlassian.net/rest/api/3/issue/createmeta?projectKeys=ABC&expand=projects.issuetypes.fields"

Reference the value by id when names are ambiguous

For components and versions, set by id to avoid name-matching pitfalls.

-d '{"fields":{"components":[{"id":"10001"}]}}'

How to prevent it

• Resolve components, versions, and options from createmeta per project.
• Prefer ids over display names for option-backed fields.
• Create missing components or versions before the CI job runs.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation