Situation

Currently, when importing watchers via CSV in Jira, it is only possible to use the Atlassian Account ID (AAID) to specify users. This process can be time-consuming, especially when handling large numbers of users, as it requires obtaining the AAID for each user beforehand.

Proposed Improvement

Allow the use of user email addresses to specify watchers during CSV import. This would streamline the process significantly, as email addresses are more readily available and easier to manage.

Current Workaround

The current workaround involves using the Jira REST API to retrieve the Atlassian Account ID using the user's email address. The process is as follows:

1. Use the endpoint provided by the Jira REST API: GET /rest/api/3/user
2. Formulate the request as follows:

   GET https://[instancename].atlassian.net/rest/api/3/user/search?query=user@domain.com

3. Extract the "accountId" from the API response.