jira-lifecycle

Workflow and lifecycle management for JIRA issues.

Risk Levels

Operation	Risk	Notes
List transitions	`-`	Read-only
List versions/components	`-`	Read-only
Transition issue	`!`	Can transition back
Assign/unassign	`!`	Can reassign
Resolve issue	`!`	Can reopen
Reopen issue	`!`	Can resolve again
Create version/component	`-`	Easily reversible
Update version/component	`!`	Can be undone
Release version	`!`	Can unrelease
Archive version	`!`	Can unarchive
Delete component	`!!`	Issues lose component association

Risk Legend: - Safe, read-only | ! Caution, modifiable | !! Warning, destructive but recoverable | !!! Danger, irreversible

Quick Discovery

Use this skill to: Drive issues through workflows, assign ownership, manage releases and components.

Not for: Creating/editing issue content (use jira-issue) or finding issues (use jira-search).

Also see: Workflow Guide | JSM Workflows | Best Practices

What this skill does

IMPORTANT: Always use the jira-as CLI. Never run Python scripts directly.

7 command categories for complete lifecycle management:

Category	Purpose	Example
Transitions	Move issues between statuses	`jira-as lifecycle transition PROJ-123 --to "In Progress"`
Assignments	Control ownership	`jira-as lifecycle assign PROJ-123 --self` or `--user email`
Resolution	Mark issues complete	`jira-as lifecycle resolve PROJ-123 --resolution Fixed`
Reopen	Restore resolved issues	`jira-as lifecycle reopen PROJ-123`
Versions	Plan and track releases	`jira-as lifecycle version create PROJ --name "v2.0.0"`
Components	Organize by subsystem	`jira-as lifecycle component create PROJ --name "API"`
Discovery	View available options	`jira-as lifecycle transitions PROJ-123`

All commands support --help for full option documentation.

Available Commands

Workflow Transitions

bash

jira-as lifecycle transitions PROJ-123                    # List available transitions
jira-as lifecycle transitions PROJ-123 --output json      # Output as JSON
jira-as lifecycle transition PROJ-123 --to "In Progress"  # Transition by status name
jira-as lifecycle transition PROJ-123 --id 31             # Transition by ID
jira-as lifecycle transition PROJ-123 --to Done --resolution Fixed  # With resolution
jira-as lifecycle transition PROJ-123 --to "In Progress" --comment "Starting work"  # With comment
jira-as lifecycle transition PROJ-123 --to "In Progress" --sprint 42  # Move to sprint after transition
jira-as lifecycle transition PROJ-123 --to Done --dry-run             # Preview without executing
jira-as lifecycle transition PROJ-123 --to Done --fields '{"customfield_10001": "value"}'  # With custom fields

Assignments

bash

jira-as lifecycle assign PROJ-123 --self                  # Assign to yourself
jira-as lifecycle assign PROJ-123 --user email@example.com  # Assign to user
jira-as lifecycle assign PROJ-123 --unassign              # Remove assignee

Resolution

bash

jira-as lifecycle resolve PROJ-123                         # Resolve issue (may require --resolution)
jira-as lifecycle resolve PROJ-123 --resolution Fixed      # Resolve with specific resolution
jira-as lifecycle resolve PROJ-123 --resolution Fixed --comment "Fixed in v1.2.0"  # With comment
jira-as lifecycle reopen PROJ-123                          # Reopen issue
jira-as lifecycle reopen PROJ-123 --comment "Reopening for additional work"  # Reopen with comment

Version Management

bash

jira-as lifecycle version list PROJ                       # List versions
jira-as lifecycle version list PROJ --output json         # Output as JSON
jira-as lifecycle version list PROJ --unreleased          # Show only unreleased versions
jira-as lifecycle version list PROJ --archived            # Include archived versions
jira-as lifecycle version create PROJ --name "v2.0.0"     # Create version
jira-as lifecycle version create PROJ --name "v2.0.0" --description "Major release"  # With description
jira-as lifecycle version create PROJ --name "v2.0.0" --start-date 2026-01-01 --release-date 2026-03-01
jira-as lifecycle version create PROJ --name "v2.0.0" --released --dry-run  # Preview creation
jira-as lifecycle version create PROJ --name "v2.0.0" --archived  # Create as archived
jira-as lifecycle version release PROJ "v1.0.0"           # Release a version
jira-as lifecycle version release PROJ "v1.0.0" --move-unfixed "v1.1.0"  # Move unfixed issues to another version
jira-as lifecycle version archive PROJ "v0.9.0"           # Archive a version

Component Management

Note: Component update and delete operations require the component ID (not name). Use jira-as lifecycle component list PROJ to find component IDs. The --lead option requires an account ID, not email.

bash

jira-as lifecycle component list PROJ                     # List components (shows IDs)
jira-as lifecycle component list PROJ --output json       # Output as JSON
jira-as lifecycle component create PROJ --name "API"      # Create component
jira-as lifecycle component create PROJ --name "API" --description "REST API layer"  # With description
jira-as lifecycle component create PROJ --name "Backend" --lead 5b10a2844c20165700ede21g
jira-as lifecycle component create PROJ --name "Frontend" --assignee-type COMPONENT_LEAD
jira-as lifecycle component update --id 10000 --name "New Name"           # Update by ID
jira-as lifecycle component update --id 10000 --description "Updated description"  # Update description
jira-as lifecycle component update --id 10000 --lead 5b10a2844c20165700ede22h
jira-as lifecycle component update --id 10000 --assignee-type PROJECT_LEAD --dry-run
jira-as lifecycle component delete --id 10000             # Delete with confirmation prompt
jira-as lifecycle component delete --id 10000 --yes       # Delete without confirmation
jira-as lifecycle component delete --id 10000 --move-to 10001  # Move issues before deletion
jira-as lifecycle component delete --id 10000 --dry-run   # Preview deletion

Common Options

All commands support these options:

Option	Description
`--help`	Show help message and exit

Output Formats by Command

Command	Supported Formats
`transitions`	text, json
`transition`	text, json
`assign`	text, json
`resolve`	text, json
`reopen`	text, json
`version list`	table, json
`version create/release/archive`	text, json
`component list`	table, json
`component create/update/delete`	text, json

Dry Run Support

Most modification commands support --dry-run to preview changes without executing:

bash

jira-as lifecycle transition PROJ-123 --to Done --dry-run
jira-as lifecycle assign PROJ-123 --self --dry-run
jira-as lifecycle version create PROJ --name "v1.0.0" --dry-run
jira-as lifecycle component create PROJ --name "API" --dry-run
jira-as lifecycle component update --id 10000 --name "New Name" --dry-run
jira-as lifecycle component delete --id 10000 --dry-run

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success - operation completed successfully
1	Error - operation failed (check stderr for details)

Examples

See examples/LIFECYCLE_EXAMPLES.md for comprehensive copy-paste examples.

Workflow Compatibility

Works with standard JIRA workflows, custom workflows, JIRA Service Management workflows, and simplified workflows. Scripts automatically adapt to different configurations.

Troubleshooting

See references/TROUBLESHOOTING.md for common issues and solutions.

Quick fixes:

•"No transition found" - Run jira-as lifecycle transitions ISSUE-KEY to see available transitions
•"Transition requires fields" - Use --fields '{"field": "value"}' option
•"User not found" - Verify user email and project permissions

Configuration

Requires JIRA credentials via environment variables (JIRA_SITE_URL, JIRA_EMAIL, JIRA_API_TOKEN).

Best Practices

See docs/BEST_PRACTICES.md for:

•Workflow Design - For JIRA admins designing workflows
•Daily Operations - For developers and team leads

Workflow Patterns

Pre-built patterns in references/patterns/:

•standard_workflow.md - Simple 3-status workflow
•software_dev_workflow.md - Development with review/QA
•jsm_request_workflow.md - Service desk requests
•incident_workflow.md - Incident management

Related skills

•jira-issue: For creating and updating issues
•jira-search: For finding issues to transition
•jira-collaborate: For adding comments during transitions
•jira-agile: For sprint management and Agile workflows