jira

Jira issue workflows for search, issue updates, transitions, comments, and field discovery via the Jira REST API. Use when you need to search with JQL, inspect…

Jira Skill

Overview

This skill provides a Python CLI for common Jira REST API workflows:

Search with JQL
Get issue details
Create and update issues with JSON payloads
Transition issues by name or ID
Add comments and list existing comments
Discover issue types and required fields for creation

The skill supports Jira Cloud with email plus API token authentication and Jira Server or Data Center with a personal access token.

Use --fields on read commands by default to keep output concise. The script supports dot-notation such as fields.status.name and prints tab-separated output for lists.

Prerequisites

Set the required environment variables before running the script.

Platform	Runtime
Cross-platform	Python 3.11+

Authentication Variables

Variable	When required	Purpose
`JIRA_BASE_URL`	Always	Jira base URL, for example `https://company.atlassian.net`
`JIRA_USER_EMAIL`	Jira Cloud	Account email used for basic authentication
`JIRA_API_TOKEN`	Jira Cloud	API token paired with the Jira Cloud email
`JIRA_PAT`	Jira Server or Data Center	Personal access token used for bearer authentication

Authentication is selected automatically:

If JIRA_PAT is set, the script uses bearer authentication for Jira Server or Data Center.
Otherwise, the script expects JIRA_USER_EMAIL and JIRA_API_TOKEN for Jira Cloud.

Operational Variables

Variable	When required	Purpose
`JIRA_AUDIT_LOG`	Optional	Path to a JSON Lines audit log. When set, every request is audited (see Audit Logging).
`JIRA_AUDIT_ACTOR`	Optional	Overrides the recorded actor identity (for example, a CI service principal).

Audit Logging

When JIRA_AUDIT_LOG is set, the script writes a structured JSON Lines audit trail for every API request. Auditing is fail-closed and write-ahead:

An attempt record is written before the request is sent. If the audit log cannot be written, the operation is aborted and nothing is sent to Jira.
An outcome record (success or error, with HTTP status on failure) is written after the request completes.

Each record includes a UTC timestamp, the actor (from JIRA_AUDIT_ACTOR, otherwise JIRA_USER_EMAIL or jira-pat), the operation, HTTP method, and the request path. Credentials, authorization headers, and query strings are never written. Audit failures after the request emit a warning without altering the result.

Credential Rotation

The script reads credentials from the environment on every invocation, so an external rotator can swap JIRA_API_TOKEN or JIRA_PAT between calls without code changes. A 401 or 403 response indicates the token may be expired or revoked; rotate the credential through your Atlassian account or instance token settings. Full OAuth-style refresh flows are out of scope for this CLI.

Quick Start

Search for your current Jira issues and return a compact table:

python scripts/jira.py search 'assignee = currentUser() ORDER BY updated DESC' --fields key,fields.summary,fields.status.name

Inspect one issue with a compact field list:

python scripts/jira.py get PROJ-123 --fields key,fields.summary,fields.status.name,fields.assignee.displayName

Create an issue from JSON piped through stdin:

cat <<'EOF' | python scripts/jira.py create
{
  "fields": {
    "project": { "key": "PROJ" },
    "summary": "Fix login timeout on mobile",
    "issuetype": { "name": "Bug" }
  }
}
EOF

Parameters Reference

Command or option	Syntax	Default	Description
`search`	`python scripts/jira.py search '<jql>' [max_results]`	`max_results = 50`	Search for issues with JQL
`get`	`python scripts/jira.py get <ISSUE-KEY>`	None	Get one issue
`create`	`python scripts/jira.py create '<json>'`	Reads stdin if omitted	Create an issue from JSON
`update`	`python scripts/jira.py update <ISSUE-KEY> '<json>'`	Reads stdin if omitted	Update an issue from JSON
`transition`	`python scripts/jira.py transition <ISSUE-KEY> '<name-or-id>'`	None	Move an issue to another workflow state
`comment`	`python scripts/jira.py comment <ISSUE-KEY> '<body>'`	Reads stdin if omitted	Add a comment to an issue
`comments`	`python scripts/jira.py comments <ISSUE-KEY> [ISSUE-KEY ...]`	None	List comments across one or more issues
`fields`	`python scripts/jira.py fields <PROJECT-KEY> [issue-type-id]`	None	Discover issue types or required create fields
`--fields`	`--fields key,fields.summary,...`	None	Extract selected fields from `search`, `get`, and `comments` output

Script Reference

Search for Issues

Use bounded JQL for Jira Cloud queries. Include a project, assignee, sprint, or another filter instead of a bare ORDER BY query. See JQL Reference for the query patterns this skill expects.

python scripts/jira.py search 'project = PROJ AND status = "In Progress"' --fields key,fields.summary,fields.status.name
python scripts/jira.py search 'assignee = currentUser() ORDER BY updated DESC' 10 --fields key,fields.summary

Get One Issue

python scripts/jira.py get PROJ-123 --fields key,fields.summary,fields.priority.name,fields.status.name

Create an Issue

Discover valid issue types first:

python scripts/jira.py fields PROJ

Inspect required fields for one issue type:

python scripts/jira.py fields PROJ 10045

Create the issue:

python scripts/jira.py create '{
  "fields": {
    "project": { "key": "PROJ" },
    "summary": "Document rollout checklist",
    "issuetype": { "name": "Task" },
    "labels": ["docs", "release"]
  }
}'

Update an Issue

python scripts/jira.py update PROJ-123 '{
  "fields": {
    "summary": "Updated summary",
    "priority": { "name": "High" },
    "labels": ["backend", "urgent"]
  }
}'

Transition an Issue

Use a transition display name or a numeric transition ID:

python scripts/jira.py transition PROJ-123 'In Progress'
python scripts/jira.py transition PROJ-123 31

If a transition name is not found, the script returns the available transition names in the error output.

Comment on an Issue

python scripts/jira.py comment PROJ-123 'PR #42 addresses this issue.'
printf 'Deployed to staging.\n' | python scripts/jira.py comment PROJ-123

List Comments

python scripts/jira.py comments PROJ-123 PROJ-456 --fields _issue,author.displayName,created,body

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Resolution
`JIRA_BASE_URL is not set`	Base URL is missing	Export `JIRA_BASE_URL` in the current shell
Authentication error	Wrong token or missing auth variables	Verify `JIRA_PAT` for Jira Server or Data Center, or verify `JIRA_USER_EMAIL` and `JIRA_API_TOKEN` for Jira Cloud
`Invalid issue key`	Issue key format is malformed	Use keys in the form `PROJ-123`
Transition not found	The requested workflow transition is unavailable	Re-run the command with the transition name returned in the error output
JSON payload error	Invalid JSON was passed to `create` or `update`	Validate the payload and retry with well-formed JSON
Network connection error	Jira instance URL is unreachable	Verify the base URL and local network access