Add "=" operator for JQL operations using text to return only exact match and exclude additional results

Issue Summary

JQL should have the option to filter for a strict exact match for text operations. Currently, the exact match will return all issues containing that exact phrase/word, however, we currently don't have a way to return only issues with that specific word, excluding any other results with extra wording.

Expected Results

Let's assume I have a short text Custom Field called "ABC", and I want to filter exclusively for issues with "BCA" result set for this Custom Field.

If I try to filter using:

"ABC[Short Text]" ~ "\"BCA\""

Although the exact match will return all issues containing the exact word "BCA", it will also return issues containing any phrases with "BCA" such as "1 - BCA", "BCA - 2", or ".....BCA.....".

Some customers would benefit from having the option to filter exclusively for the strict match "BCA", and exclude all other matches with additional wording.

Actual Results

Currently, this query will return every issue containing "BCA" word, however, we should offer the option to filter strictly for "BCA" exact match, excluding any matches with additional wording.

Workaround 1

In case you are dealing with a limited amount of data, and your text field is not actively updated, you can always opt to utilize the following option as a workaround:

• Excluded term

This way you can apply for example the following JQL:

"ABC[Short Text]" ~ "\"BCA\"" AND "ABC[Short Text]" ~ "-Unwanted -Word -EFG -HIJ"

So in case you had an unwanted output "BCA EFG", as you have Excluded it explicitly, this result wouldn't be returned.

Workaround 2

In case the customer has ScriptRunner, they can opt to utilize the following function:

issueFunction in issueFieldExactMatch(subquery, fieldName, regularExpression)