Jira CLI (jira-cli)

Overview

JiraCLI is an interactive command line tool for Atlassian Jira. Use it for ALL Jira operations: searching issues, viewing details, managing sprints/epics, transitioning tickets, and automating workflows.

Core principle: jira-cli is your primary interface to Jira. Use it for everything.

Authentication

Authentication is handled via ~/.netrc. No token prefix needed—just run commands directly:

bash

jira issue view ISSUE-123
jira issue list
jira me

The .netrc file contains:

code

machine wealthsimple.atlassian.net
login your-email@wealthsimple.com
password YOUR_API_TOKEN

Essential Commands

Quick Lookups

bash

# View issue details
jira issue view ISSUE-123

# View with recent comments
jira issue view ISSUE-123 --comments 5

# Get current user
jira me

# Open issue in browser
jira open ISSUE-123

Issue Management

bash

# List recent issues (interactive UI)
jira issue list

# List with filters
jira issue list -s"To Do"                    # By status
jira issue list -yHigh                        # By priority
jira issue list -a$(jira me)                  # Assigned to me
jira issue list -r$(jira me)                  # Reported by me
jira issue list --created week                # Created this week
jira issue list -lbackend                     # By label

# Combine filters (high priority, assigned to me, open)
jira issue list -yHigh -a$(jira me) -sopen

# Custom JQL within project context
jira issue list -q "summary ~ cli AND status = 'In Progress'"

# Plain output (for scripting)
jira issue list --plain --no-headers

# Raw JSON output
jira issue list --raw

# CSV output
jira issue list --csv

Writing Tickets

Every ticket description MUST have two sections:

1. Context - Explains the WHY

•Why does this work need to happen?
•What problem are we solving?
•What's the current state vs desired state?
•Any relevant background or dependencies

2. Acceptance Criteria - Explains the WHAT (bullet points)

•Concrete, verifiable conditions for completion
•Each bullet should be testable (yes/no)
•Cover the scope boundaries (what's in, what's out)
•Do NOT use [ ] checkbox syntax - JIRA doesn't render it correctly

Template:

markdown

## Context

[Explain why this work is needed. What problem does it solve?
What's the current behavior vs expected behavior?]

## Acceptance Criteria

- First verifiable condition
- Second verifiable condition
- Edge case or error handling requirement
- Any performance/security considerations

Example:

markdown

## Context

Users are receiving duplicate notification emails when their account
status changes. This happens because the status change event fires
twice - once from the API and once from the background job. This
creates a poor user experience and increases our email costs.

## Acceptance Criteria

- Status change events are deduplicated within a 5-second window
- Only one notification email is sent per status change
- Existing notification preferences are respected
- Deduplication logic is covered by unit tests

Create and Edit

bash

# Interactive creation
jira issue create

# Non-interactive creation
jira issue create -tBug -s"Bug summary" -yHigh -b"Description" --no-input

# Create with epic attachment
jira issue create -tStory -s"Story summary" -PEPIC-42

# Edit issue
jira issue edit ISSUE-123 -s"New summary" -yHigh

# Add/remove labels
jira issue edit ISSUE-123 --label p1 --label -p2  # Add p1, remove p2

Multiline Descriptions

For multiline ticket descriptions, use ANSI-C quoting ($'...') with \n for newlines:

bash

# ✅ CORRECT: Use $'...' syntax for multiline bodies
jira issue create -tTask -s"Title" -PEPIC-42 \
  -b$'## Context\n\nFirst paragraph explaining the problem.\n\n```\nError: Something went wrong\n```\n\n## Acceptance Criteria\n\n- First condition\n- Second condition' \
  --no-input

What works and what doesn't:

Approach	Result
`-b"Simple text"`	✅ Works for single line
`-b"text\ntext"` (double quotes)	⚠️ Shows literal `\n`
`-b$'text\ntext'` (ANSI-C quoting)	✅ Renders actual newlines
`-b"$(cat <<'EOF'...EOF)"` (heredoc)	❌ Hangs indefinitely

Two-step alternative if the description is very complex:

bash

# Step 1: Create with minimal info
jira issue create -tTask -s"Title" -PEPIC-42 --no-input
# Returns: ISSUE-123

# Step 2: Edit to add full description
jira issue edit ISSUE-123 -b'Full description with
actual newlines in single quotes' --no-input

Status Transitions

bash

# Interactive move
jira issue move

# Direct transition
jira issue move ISSUE-123 "In Progress"
jira issue move ISSUE-123 Done -RFixed -a$(jira me)  # With resolution and assignee

# Add comment during transition
jira issue move ISSUE-123 "In Progress" --comment "Starting work"

Assignment

bash

# Assign to self
jira issue assign ISSUE-123 $(jira me)

# Assign to user
jira issue assign ISSUE-123 "John Doe"

# Unassign
jira issue assign ISSUE-123 x

Comments and Worklog

bash

# Add comment
jira issue comment add ISSUE-123 "Comment text"

# Internal comment
jira issue comment add ISSUE-123 "Internal note" --internal

# Add worklog
jira issue worklog add ISSUE-123 "2h 30m" --comment "Work description" --no-input

Linking and Cloning

bash

# Link issues
jira issue link ISSUE-1 ISSUE-2 Blocks

# Clone issue
jira issue clone ISSUE-123

# Clone with modifications
jira issue clone ISSUE-123 -s"New summary" -yHigh -a$(jira me)

# Clone with text replacement
jira issue clone ISSUE-123 -H"find text:replace text"

Sprint Management

bash

# List sprints (interactive explorer)
jira sprint list

# Table view
jira sprint list --table

# Current sprint issues
jira sprint list --current

# Current sprint, assigned to me
jira sprint list --current -a$(jira me)

# Previous/next sprint
jira sprint list --prev
jira sprint list --next

# Specific sprint
jira sprint list SPRINT_ID

# Filter sprint issues by priority and assignee
jira sprint list SPRINT_ID -yHigh -a$(jira me)

# Add issues to sprint
jira sprint add SPRINT_ID ISSUE-1 ISSUE-2

Epic Management

bash

# List epics (interactive explorer)
jira epic list

# Table view
jira epic list --table

# Issues in specific epic
jira epic list EPIC-42

# Filter epic issues
jira epic list EPIC-42 -ax -yHigh  # Unassigned, high priority

# Create epic
jira epic create -n"Epic Name" -s"Epic Summary" -yHigh -b"Description"

# Add issues to epic
jira epic add EPIC-42 ISSUE-1 ISSUE-2

# Remove issues from epic
jira epic remove ISSUE-1 ISSUE-2

Interactive Navigation

The TUI (Text User Interface) provides:

Key	Action
`j/k` or arrows	Navigate up/down
`h/l`	Navigate left/right
`g/G`	Jump to top/bottom
`CTRL+f/b`	Page down/up
`v`	View issue details
`m`	Transition selected issue
`ENTER`	Open in browser
`c`	Copy URL to clipboard
`CTRL+k`	Copy issue key
`CTRL+r` or `F5`	Refresh
`w` or `TAB`	Toggle sidebar/content (explorer view)
`?`	Help
`q` or `ESC`	Quit

Scripting with jira-cli

For automation, use --plain flag to disable interactive UI:

bash

# Get issue keys only
jira issue list --plain --columns key --no-headers

# Count issues per sprint
for sprint in $(jira sprint list --table --plain --columns id --no-headers); do
  count=$(jira sprint list "$sprint" --plain --no-headers 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
  echo "Sprint $sprint: $count issues"
done

# Bulk assign issues
jira issue list -s"To Do" --plain --columns key --no-headers | while read key; do
  jira issue assign "$key" $(jira me)
done

Useful Script Patterns

bash

# Tickets created per day this month
jira issue list --created month --plain --columns created --no-headers | \
  awk '{print $2}' | awk -F'-' '{print $3}' | sort -n | uniq -c

# My open issues count
jira issue list -a$(jira me) -s~Done --plain --no-headers | wc -l

# Export issues to CSV
jira issue list --csv > issues.csv

Common Filter Patterns

bash

# Unassigned issues
jira issue list -ax

# Issues with specific resolution
jira issue list -R"Won't Do"

# Status is NOT done (tilde = NOT)
jira issue list -s~Done

# Created before 6 months ago
jira issue list --created-before -24w

# Created in last hour, updated in last 30 min
jira issue list --created -1h --updated -30m

# Issues I'm watching
jira issue list -w

# View history (recently viewed)
jira issue list --history

Multiple Projects

bash

# Use specific project
jira issue list -pPROJ

# Use different config file
JIRA_CONFIG_FILE=./other-project.yaml jira issue list

# Or with flag
jira issue list -c ./other-project.yaml

Quick Reference

Command	Description
`jira me`	Get current user
`jira open`	Open project in browser
`jira open KEY`	Open issue in browser
`jira project list`	List all projects
`jira board list`	List boards in project

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
401 Unauthorized	Check ~/.netrc has correct credentials
Issue types not found	Run `jira init` again
Epic creation fails	Check `epic.name` in config for non-English Jira

Integration with Workflow

Starting work:

bash

# Find my to-do items
jira sprint list --current -a$(jira me) -s"To Do"

# Pick one and move to in progress
jira issue move ISSUE-123 "In Progress"

Finishing work:

bash

# Move to review/done
jira issue move ISSUE-123 "In Review" --comment "Ready for review"

# Or complete with resolution
jira issue move ISSUE-123 Done -RFixed

Quick status check:

bash

# What's on my plate?
jira issue list -a$(jira me) -s~Done --plain