Jira CLI Plugin (ACLI)
Prereq Check (First Use Per Session)
Run via bash:
code
acli jira auth status
- •If auth fails: Tell the user to run:
acli jira auth login --web --site <site>.atlassian.net - •If acli not found: Tell the user to run:
brew tap atlassian/homebrew-acli && brew install acli - •Do NOT automate auth — just check and inform.
Mode Selection (First Jira Invocation Per Session)
Present two options to the user:
- •Direct mode: "I'll run ACLI commands directly. Faster per-operation but output accumulates in our conversation. Best for a few quick operations."
- •Subagent mode: "I'll delegate to a Jira specialist agent in a separate context. Slightly slower per-operation but keeps our conversation clean. Best for bulk work or many operations."
Remember the user's choice for the rest of the session. The user can say "switch to direct/subagent" to change mid-session.
Workflow Routing
| User intent | Skill |
|---|---|
| "Show me ticket X", "pull context for X", "what's in X" | jira-context |
| "Start working on X", "mark X as done", "X is blocked", "send for review" | jira-progress |
| "Break this spec into tickets", "create tickets from this plan" | jira-decompose |
| "Work on X", "pick up X", "agent handle X" | jira-work |
Ad-hoc Operations
For intents that don't match a workflow (e.g., "just create a blank ticket", "search for bugs in PROJ", "delete PROJ-99"), handle directly using ACLI:
- •Create:
acli jira workitem create --summary "..." --project "PROJ" --type "Task" --yes - •Search:
acli jira workitem search --jql "..." --fields "key,summary,status,assignee" --csv - •Edit:
acli jira workitem edit --key "KEY-123" --summary "..." --yes - •Delete:
acli jira workitem delete --key "KEY-123" --yes
Always use --yes to skip confirmations and --fields to control output size.
Direct Mode
- •Invoke the relevant workflow skill or run ad-hoc ACLI commands
- •Present results to the user
Subagent Mode
- •Spawn
jira-agentvia the Task tool with the user's request - •The agent loads workflow skills and executes ACLI commands
- •Present the agent's compact summary to the user