Atlassian CLI

atlassian-cli — Agent Skill

Use the open-source atlassian-cli tool for all Jira and Confluence operations.

Install: pipx install cli-atlassian

Setup: atlassian-cli auth login — prompts for site URL, email, and API token. Create a token at https://id.atlassian.com/manage/api-tokens.

Verify: atlassian-cli auth status

Jira Commands

Search

atlassian-cli jira issue search --jql "<JQL>" --limit 10
atlassian-cli jira issue search --jql "<JQL>" --fields "key,summary,status" --limit 10
atlassian-cli jira issue search --jql "<JQL>" --count   # just the count

Always set --limit. Default is 10. Use --count first if unsure how large the result set is.

View

atlassian-cli jira issue view PROJ-123
atlassian-cli jira issue view PROJ-123 --output json
atlassian-cli jira issue view PROJ-123 --dev          # show linked commits, branches, PRs

Create

atlassian-cli jira issue create --project PROJ --type Task --summary "Title"
atlassian-cli jira issue create --project PROJ --type Story --summary "Title" --description "Details" --assignee "@me" --priority "High"
atlassian-cli jira issue create --project PROJ --type Sub-task --summary "Sub-task" --parent PROJ-100

--assignee: email or @me. --type: Epic, Story, Task, Bug, Sub-task. --priority: Highest, High, Medium, Low, Lowest.

Edit

atlassian-cli jira issue edit PROJ-123 --summary "New title"
atlassian-cli jira issue edit PROJ-123 --assignee "user@example.com" --priority "High" --labels "bug,urgent"

Assign / Transition / Delete

atlassian-cli jira issue assign PROJ-123 --user "@me"
atlassian-cli jira issue assign PROJ-123 --unassign
atlassian-cli jira issue transition PROJ-123 --status "Done"
atlassian-cli jira issue delete PROJ-123 --yes

The transition tool finds the right transition from the status name. If invalid, it shows available options.

Comment

atlassian-cli jira issue comment add PROJ-123 --body "Comment text"
atlassian-cli jira issue comment list PROJ-123 --limit 5
atlassian-cli jira issue comment edit PROJ-123 --id <COMMENT-ID> --body "Updated"
atlassian-cli jira issue comment delete PROJ-123 --id <COMMENT-ID>

For rich formatting, use ADF JSON in the body. See adf-reference.md.

Links

atlassian-cli jira issue link add PROJ-123 --target PROJ-456 --type "Blocks"
atlassian-cli jira issue link list PROJ-123
atlassian-cli jira issue link types

Project / Board / Sprint

atlassian-cli jira project list --recent 5
atlassian-cli jira board list --project PROJ
atlassian-cli jira board sprints 42 --state active

atlassian-cli jira sprint view 100
atlassian-cli jira sprint issues 100 --limit 20
atlassian-cli jira sprint create --board 42 --name "Sprint 5" --start 2026-03-15 --end 2026-03-29 --goal "Ship auth"
atlassian-cli jira sprint update 100 --state active    # start
atlassian-cli jira sprint update 100 --state closed    # close
atlassian-cli jira sprint move 100 --keys "PROJ-1,PROJ-2,PROJ-3"

JQL Reference

-- My open work
assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved

-- Bugs from the last 7 days
project = "PROJ" AND type = Bug AND created >= -7d

-- High-priority in current sprint
project = "PROJ" AND priority in (High, Highest) AND sprint in openSprints()

-- Text search
project = "PROJ" AND text ~ "payment error"

-- Overdue
project = "PROJ" AND due < now() AND status != Done

-- Everything in an epic
"Epic Link" = PROJ-100

-- What shipped this week
project = "PROJ" AND status changed to Done AFTER startOfWeek()

Syntax: Quote values with spaces (status = 'In Progress'). Operators: =, !=, ~, in, is EMPTY. Functions: currentUser(), openSprints(), startOfDay(), now(). Relative dates: -7d, -24h.

See advanced-jql-reference.md for date functions, sprint queries, status-change tracking, and complex combinations.

Confluence Commands

Page

atlassian-cli confluence page view <PAGE-ID>
atlassian-cli confluence page view <PAGE-ID> --version 3                      # view specific historical version
atlassian-cli confluence page versions <PAGE-ID>                              # list version history
atlassian-cli confluence page create --space <SPACE-ID> --title "Title" --body "# Heading\n\nContent here."
atlassian-cli confluence page create --space <SPACE-ID> --title "Title" --body-file page.md
atlassian-cli confluence page edit <PAGE-ID> --body "# Updated\n\nNew content."
atlassian-cli confluence page edit <PAGE-ID> --body "## New Section" --append  # append to existing content
atlassian-cli confluence page search --cql "space = 'ENG' AND title = 'Design Doc'" --limit 10

Blog

atlassian-cli confluence blog list --space <SPACE-ID> --limit 10
atlassian-cli confluence blog view <BLOG-ID>
atlassian-cli confluence blog create --space <SPACE-ID> --title "Title" --body "# Post\n\nContent." --status draft

Space

atlassian-cli confluence space list
atlassian-cli confluence space view <SPACE-ID>
atlassian-cli confluence space create --key NEWSPACE --name "Space Name"

Body format: Reads and writes default to markdown. Write body content in standard markdown — it is converted to HTML automatically. Other write formats (--format): wiki, storage, atlas_doc_format. Other read formats (--body-format): storage, view, atlas_doc_format.

Common Options

Decision Patterns

Use --append when adding to a doc. When iteratively building up a Confluence page, always use --append to add new sections. Use plain edit only when replacing the full content.

Zoom in, don't dump. Start broad (epics, --limit 10), summarize, drill in only if asked. Don't pull every issue.

Always leave a comment when modifying issues. Especially when triaging, reassigning, or transitioning. Silent changes erode trust.

Confirm destructive actions. Before bulk-transitioning, deleting, or making sweeping edits, show the user what you plan to do and ask for approval.

Inspect before guessing. When unsure about fields (especially custom fields), fetch an existing issue with --output json to see the structure.

Writing Tickets

Issue Types

Stories vs Tasks

Stories describe what the user needs — not how to build it. No technology choices, no component names, no architecture. A Story should survive a framework swap. AC describes what the user observes, not what the code does. Tech suggestions go in a separate "Technical Notes" section if needed.

Tasks describe engineering work. Tech choices, libraries, and approach ARE the content. The audience is the engineer.

Workflow Recipes

Daily Stand-up

# Done yesterday
atlassian-cli jira issue search --jql "assignee = currentUser() AND status changed to Done AFTER startOfDay('-1d')" --limit 20

# In progress
atlassian-cli jira issue search --jql "assignee = currentUser() AND sprint in openSprints() AND statusCategory = 'In Progress'" --limit 20

Bug Triage

atlassian-cli jira issue view PROJ-456
atlassian-cli jira issue search --jql "project = PROJ AND type = Bug AND text ~ '<keywords>'" --limit 5
atlassian-cli jira issue edit PROJ-456 --priority "High" --labels "triaged"
atlassian-cli jira issue assign PROJ-456 --user "dev@example.com"
atlassian-cli jira issue comment add PROJ-456 --body "Triaged: P1. No duplicates found."

Publish Release Notes

atlassian-cli jira issue search --jql "project = PROJ AND fixVersion = 'v2.5' AND status = Done" --output json > shipped.json
atlassian-cli confluence blog create --space <SPACE-ID> --title "Release Notes — v2.5" --body-file release-notes.md

Auth & Profiles

atlassian-cli auth login --profile prod --site https://team.atlassian.net --email you@company.com --token <TOKEN>
atlassian-cli auth status
atlassian-cli jira issue search --jql "..." --profile prod

Config: ~/.config/atlassian-cli/config.json. Env var ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN overrides stored tokens.

Instance Memory

After first use, cache these constants so you don't rediscover them each session:

• Site URL, project key(s), board ID(s), Confluence space ID(s)

Don't cache: sprint IDs (change every cycle — use board sprints --state active), issue counts or statuses (always query live).

Error Reference

Reference Files

• ADF Reference — Atlassian Document Format for rich text
• Advanced JQL — Date functions, sprint queries, complex combinations

Source: ankitmundada/atlassian-cli-skill — distributed by TomeVault.