use-youtrack

name

use-youtrack

description

General-purpose YouTrack operations for the kotlinx-rpc project (KRPC). Use this skill whenever the user wants to search, read, update, comment on, link, tag, or otherwise interact with existing YouTrack issues — anything that isn't creating a brand new issue. Also use it when the user asks about issue status, sprint progress, who's working on what, backlog queries, or wants to browse/filter issues. Trigger this even if the user doesn't say "YouTrack" explicitly — if they mention a KRPC-### issue ID, ask about tickets, want to check on an issue, update a status, or log work, this is the right skill. Do NOT use this skill for creating new issues — use file-youtrack-issue instead.

YouTrack Operations for kotlinx-rpc (KRPC)

General-purpose skill for interacting with the KRPC YouTrack project. Project key: KRPC | URL: https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/KRPC-*

For creating new issues, use the file-youtrack-issue skill instead.

Agent workflow override

When this skill is invoked from the fix-issue skill (autonomous issue-fixing workflow), all YouTrack operations must use the agent identity instead of the user's:

• MCP server: youtrack-agent (not youtrack)
• REST API token: $YOUTRACK_AGENT_TOKEN (not $YOUTRACK_TOKEN)

The fix-issue skill's Authentication section has full details. Outside of fix-issue, the defaults below apply.

Tools Available

Use mcp__youtrack__* MCP tools for standard operations. When MCP tools lack a capability (bulk updates, custom queries, attachment management, etc.), fall back to the YouTrack REST API via YOUTRACK_TOKEN:

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $YOUTRACK_TOKEN" \
  "https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/api/<endpoint>?fields=<fields>"

REST API base: https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/api Docs: YouTrack REST API

Searching Issues

Read references/query-syntax.md for the full query syntax reference and common search patterns (sprint work, backlog, recently closed, etc.).

Key point: YouTrack has no semantic search — always run multiple queries with different keywords to get good coverage.

Reading Issues

Use mcp__youtrack__get_issue with the issue ID (e.g., KRPC-531). This returns:

• Summary, description, reporter, timestamps
• Custom fields (Type, State, Priority, Scope, Assignee, Target Release, Planning Period)
• Recent comments (configurable count via recentCommentsCount)
• Tags, votes, linked issue counts, attachments

For full comment history, use mcp__youtrack__get_issue_comments.

Updating Issues

Read references/update-operations.md for the full reference on changing fields, assignees, tags, comments, links, and logging work.

Key rules:

• Scope must be a JSON array, even for a single value
• Multiline text fields need actual newlines, not literal \n escape sequences
• Always add the Vibe-report tag alongside any other tags the user requests

KRPC Project Reference

For full field definitions (scopes with determination logic, types, priorities, tags, optional fields, team members), read file-youtrack-issue/references/krpc-fields.md (relative to .claude/skills/).

Quick lists for common lookups:

Scopes

Compiler Plugin, kRPC, kRPC. Client, kRPC. Server, kRPC. Transport, gRPC, gRPC. Client, gRPC. Server, gRPC. Web, Core, Protoc Plugin, Gradle Plugin, Infra, Housekeeping, Documentation, Other

States

Submitted, Open, In progress, In design, Fixed in branch, Fixed, Wait for reply, Duplicate, Closed

Types

Bug, Feature, Task, Usability Problem, Performance Problem, Meta Issue, Security Problem

Knowledge Base Articles

YouTrack also hosts articles (wiki-like docs). Use:

• mcp__youtrack__search_articles — find articles by keyword
• mcp__youtrack__get_article — read a specific article
• mcp__youtrack__create_article / mcp__youtrack__update_article — manage articles

Important Terminology

kRPC and gRPC are protocols, not transports. This matters in issue descriptions, comments, and when choosing scopes. kRPC is the custom RPC protocol; gRPC is HTTP/2 + Protocol Buffers. Both support multiple serialization formats.