Atlassian CLI (acli) - Jira Command Reference

Search Commands

acli jira workitem search --jql "project = <PROJECT> AND assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved" acli jira workitem search --jql "project = <PROJECT>" --fields "key,status,summary" acli jira workitem search --jql "project = <PROJECT>" --limit 50 --paginate acli jira workitem search --jql "project = <PROJECT>" --count

Output flags: --json , --csv , --web

JQL Syntax

• Single quotes for values with spaces: status = 'Some Status'

• Avoid != with backslash - use NOT status = 'Done' instead

• Functions: currentUser() , now() , startOfDay() , endOfWeek()

• Status categories: statusCategory = Done , statusCategory = 'In Progress'

• Operators: AND , OR , NOT , IN , IS , IS NOT , ~ (contains), ORDER BY

Common JQL Patterns

project = <PROJECT> AND assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved project = <PROJECT> AND status = '<status-name>' project = <PROJECT> AND statusCategory = 'In Progress' project = <PROJECT> AND updated >= -7d ORDER BY updated DESC project = <PROJECT> AND Sprint = '<sprint-name>' project = <PROJECT> AND component = <component>

View Commands

acli jira workitem view <KEY> acli jira workitem view <KEY> --fields "summary,description,status,comment" acli jira workitem view <KEY> --fields "*all" --json

Field values: *all (all fields), *navigable (navigable fields), -fieldname (exclude field)

Comment Commands

acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --body "Comment text" acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --body-file comment.txt acli jira workitem comment create --jql "project = <PROJECT> AND labels = needs-review" --body "Reviewed" acli jira workitem comment list --key <KEY> acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --edit-last --body "Updated comment" acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --editor

ADF (Atlassian Document Format)

Jira Cloud uses ADF (JSON-based). Plain \n newlines don't create paragraph breaks.

acli limitations: Headings, text marks (bold/italic/code), and code block syntax highlighting are rejected or stripped.

Supported: Paragraphs, bullet/ordered lists, code blocks (no highlighting).

{"version":1,"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Your text"}]}]}

{"version":1,"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"bulletList","content":[{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Item one"}]}]}]}]}

{"version":1,"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"codeBlock","attrs":{"language":"python"},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"def hello():\n print('Hello')"}]}]}

acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --body '{"version":1,"type":"doc","content":[...]}' acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --body-file comment.json

Transition Commands

acli jira workitem transition --key <KEY> --status "Done" acli jira workitem transition --key "<KEY1>,<KEY2>" --status "<status>" acli jira workitem transition --jql "project = <PROJECT> AND labels = ready" --status "Done" --yes acli jira workitem transition --filter 10001 --status "Done"

Edit Commands

acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --summary "New title" acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --description "New description" acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --description-file desc.txt acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --assignee "user@example.com" # or "@me" or "default" acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --remove-assignee acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --labels "bug,urgent" acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --remove-labels "wontfix" acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --type "Bug" acli jira workitem edit --jql "project = <PROJECT> AND labels = old" --labels "new" --yes acli jira workitem edit --from-json workitem.json acli jira workitem edit --generate-json

Other Commands

Attachments

acli jira workitem attachment list --key <KEY> acli jira workitem attachment delete --key <KEY> --attachment-id 12345

Links

acli jira workitem link create --key <KEY> --link-type "blocks" --outward-key <OTHER-KEY> acli jira workitem link list-types

Watchers

acli jira workitem watcher add --key <KEY> --user "user@example.com" acli jira workitem watcher remove --key <KEY> --user "user@example.com"

Misc

acli jira workitem clone --key <KEY> acli jira workitem archive --key <KEY> acli jira workitem unarchive --key <KEY> acli jira workitem delete --key <KEY>

Project Commands

acli jira project list --recent acli jira project view --key <PROJECT> acli jira project view --key <PROJECT> --json

Common Flags

Flag Short Description

--key

-k

Ticket key(s), comma-separated

--jql

-j

JQL query string

--filter

Saved filter ID

--json

Output as JSON

--csv

Output as CSV

--web

-w

Open in browser

--yes

-y

Skip confirmation prompts

--limit

-l

Maximum results

--paginate

Fetch all results

--fields

-f

Fields to include

--ignore-errors

Continue on errors

Workflow Patterns

Review Tickets Workflow

When reviewing ticket status against codebase:

• List open tickets: acli jira workitem search --jql "assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved" --fields "key,status,summary"

• For each ticket, search git history: git log --oneline --grep="<KEY>"

• Check if work is deployed: compare commits against release tags

• Transition or comment as needed

Transitions

Transition syntax: acli jira workitem transition --key <KEY> --status "<target-status>"

Common workflow patterns vary by organization. Consult your team's workflow documentation for valid status transitions.

Batch Operations

Add same comment to multiple tickets

acli jira workitem comment create --key "<KEY1>,<KEY2>,<KEY3>" --body "Batch update: <message>"

Transition multiple tickets

acli jira workitem transition --key "<KEY1>,<KEY2>" --status "Done" --yes

Error Handling

• Use --ignore-errors to continue when some operations fail

• JQL errors often indicate syntax issues - check quotes and escapes

• Transition errors may indicate invalid target status for current state

• Use --web to debug by viewing in Jira UI