Emoji Reactions to Issue Watchers
Your team member adds a reaction to a Slack message about an issue, signaling interest. Instantly, they're added as a watcher in Jira, so they'll get all updates on that work.
Trigger
Message Reaction Added
Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Action
Add Watcher to Issue
Adds a user to an issue's watcher list by account id.
Why this helps
Neurodivergent founders struggle to maintain stakeholder awareness. Issues are assigned to one person, but others need updates too. Adding watchers in Jira requires context-switching. Many team members don't know they can add themselves as watchers, so they miss updates.
- Turn Slack reactions into Jira watcher assignments—one gesture, instant notifications
- Give team members a lightweight way to signal interest in an issue
- Build natural stakeholder lists based on who's engaged in Slack
- Reduce the need for 'FYI' emails or messages—watchers get official Jira updates
- Create transparency about who cares about what
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Slack and Jira to Notis (one-time setup)
- 2Create an automation with this prompt: 'When someone reacts with an eye emoji to a Slack message, add them as a watcher to the Jira issue referenced in that message.'
- 3Select 'Message Reaction Added' as your trigger and choose your watcher emoji (e.g., eyes, eye, đź‘€)
- 4Choose your Notis notification channel for confirmations
- 5Test it: find a Slack message with an issue key, react with your emoji, and watch yourself appear in the Jira issue's watcher list
Questions about this workflow
Will the new watcher be notified they're watching?
Not by default—Jira just silently adds them. You can customize your automation to DM them a confirmation if you want.
Can I use different emojis for different watcher types?
Absolutely. Use eyes to 'watch for updates', a star to 'prioritize this for me', or a pin to 'mark as important'. Each emoji is a separate automation.
What if someone removes their reaction?
By default, Notis only adds watchers on reactions. You can set up a separate automation to remove watchers when reactions are removed.
Does the issue assignee see watchers?
Yes. In Jira, watchers appear in the issue sidebar. The assignee can see who's watching and contact them if needed.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Slack to Jira. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Slack triggers
Jira actions
New Channel Created Trigger
Triggered when a new channel is created in Slack.
Add Attachment
Uploads and attaches a file to a jira issue.
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Add Comment
Adds a comment using atlassian document format (adf) for rich text to an existing jira issue.
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Add Watcher to Issue
Adds a user to an issue's watcher list by account id.
Message Reaction Added
Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Assign Issue
Assigns a jira issue to a user, default assignee, or unassigns; supports email/name lookup.
Message Reaction Removed
Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Bulk Create Issues
Creates multiple jira issues (up to 50 per call) with full feature support including markdown, assignee resolution, and priority handling.
Reaction Added Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_ADDED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack.
Create Issue
Creates a new jira issue (e.g., bug, task, story) in a specified project.
Reaction Removed Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_REMOVED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message.
Link Issues
Links two jira issues using a specified link type with optional comment.
New Bot Message Received Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_CHANNEL_MESSAGE_RECEIVED` with `is_bot_message=true` instead. Triggered when a new bot message is posted to a Slack channel.
Create Project
Creates a new jira project with required lead, template, and type configuration.
Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.
Not just Slack and Jira. Any combination from 985+ integrations.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
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