Find duplicate bugs: Jira, GitHub and Azure DevOps searches

Before you search: what to search for

Pick a few kinds of terms and try them one at a time.

• The symptom in a user's words: the message on screen, the screen name, the action that failed.
• The error text: an exception name, a status code or a message, copied exactly.
• Synonyms: crash, freeze, hang and spinner can describe one fault. Login, sign in and authenticate can too.

Jira: JQL searches

Open the issue search, switch to JQL, and paste one of these. The text field searches the main text of an issue, including the summary, description and comments. Change the project key and the words to match yours.

Open bugs that mention the symptom:

project = KAN AND issuetype = Bug AND statusCategory != Done AND text ~ "sign in" ORDER BY created DESC

An exact phrase, such as an error message. The inner quotes are escaped with a backslash:

project = KAN AND text ~ "\"token refresh\"" ORDER BY updated DESC

Word starts and near misses. A star matches the rest of a word, and a tilde after a word allows small spelling differences:

project = KAN AND (text ~ "authent*" OR text ~ "timeout~") ORDER BY created DESC

Search only the summary, which is where people put the short version of the problem:

project = KAN AND summary ~ "spinner" ORDER BY created DESC

Recently closed bugs, in case the one you found was fixed and has come back:

project = KAN AND issuetype = Bug AND statusCategory = Done AND resolved >= -90d AND text ~ "sign in" ORDER BY resolved DESC

Narrow by area when the list is long:

project = KAN AND issuetype = Bug AND component = Checkout AND statusCategory != Done ORDER BY created DESC

A few Jira tips. Put the star at the end of a word. Try the same search with text and then with summary, since the two find different tickets. If your site uses the Duplicate resolution, search for it to see which bugs were already merged: resolution = Duplicate.

GitHub Issues: search qualifiers

Use the search box on the Issues tab, or the search page, and paste one of these. Quotes keep a phrase together. A minus sign in front of a qualifier excludes it. Searches are not case sensitive.

Open issues that mention the symptom in the title or the body:

is:issue is:open "sign in" in:title,body

Search only the comments, which is where people often paste the error:

is:issue "token refresh" in:comments

Include closed issues, because the bug may have been closed too early:

is:issue "sign in" in:title,body sort:updated-desc

Bugs with a label, in one repository:

repo:OWNER/REPO is:issue label:bug is:open timeout

Issues that nobody has labelled yet, which are easy to overlook:

repo:OWNER/REPO is:issue is:open no:label "sign in"

Recent activity only:

repo:OWNER/REPO is:issue "sign in" created:>2026-01-01

Closed issues that were closed as not planned, in case you are about to rediscover a decision:

repo:OWNER/REPO is:issue is:closed reason:"not planned" "sign in"

Dates use the year, month and day order. To search every repository in an organization, use org:YOURORG in place of repo:OWNER/REPO.

Azure DevOps: WIQL and search tips

Azure DevOps gives you a search box and queries. The search box finds work items quickly. A query, written in WIQL or built in the query editor, gives you a list you can sort and share.

In the search box, type words and add quick filters. These examples come from the work item search filters:

sign in t:Bug s:Active
t:Bug tags:regression
t:Bug "token refresh" area:Contoso/Mobile
t:Bug CreatedDate> @Today-30

The filters t: for work item type and s: for state are shortcuts, and you can also type a field name followed by a colon, such as tags:. Quotes group words, but they do not require the exact phrase, so check the results by eye. Search matches word forms, so updating also finds update.

For a query, open Boards, then Queries, and use the WIQL editor or the query editor. This query lists bugs that are not closed and that mention a word in the title:

SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [System.State]
FROM workitems
WHERE [System.TeamProject] = @project
  AND [System.WorkItemType] = 'Bug'
  AND [System.State] <> 'Closed'
  AND [System.Title] CONTAINS 'sign in'
ORDER BY [System.CreatedDate] DESC

Search the long text fields as well, by words rather than by substring:

SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [System.State]
FROM workitems
WHERE [System.TeamProject] = @project
  AND [System.WorkItemType] = 'Bug'
  AND [Microsoft.VSTS.TCM.ReproSteps] CONTAINS WORDS 'token refresh'
ORDER BY [System.ChangedDate] DESC

Bugs changed in the last month under one area:

SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [System.State]
FROM workitems
WHERE [System.TeamProject] = @project
  AND [System.WorkItemType] = 'Bug'
  AND [System.AreaPath] UNDER 'Contoso\Mobile'
  AND [System.ChangedDate] >= @Today - 30
ORDER BY [System.ChangedDate] DESC

State names depend on your process. The Agile process uses New, Active, Resolved and Closed, while other processes use their own words, so adjust the State line to match yours. Field names that contain spaces or periods go in square brackets.

When you find a match

A match is a pointer, not a verdict. Read it and choose the move that fits.

• Same bug, new evidence: add your steps, build and log to the existing ticket instead of filing a second one.
• Related, not the same: file a new ticket and link the two, using Related in Azure DevOps, a link in Jira, or a mention of the issue number in GitHub.
• Looks the same but closed: say what is different now, and ask for the ticket to be reopened or file a new one that points to it.