jira

name	jira
description	Jira Cloud REST API v3 integration for issue tracking, project management, and agile workflows. Use for creating/updating issues, searching tickets, managing sprints, tracking progress, handling comments, managing workflows, and automating project tasks. Supports issues, projects, boards, sprints, comments, transitions, and JQL queries.

Jira Cloud API Integration

Interact with Jira programmatically for issue management, project tracking, sprint planning, and workflow automation.

When to Use

• Issue management: Create, update, search, assign issues
• Project tracking: Monitor progress, check sprint status
• Workflow: Transition issues, update status
• Collaboration: Add comments, @ mentions, watch issues
• Reporting: Generate reports, extract metrics, analyze velocity
• Automation: Bulk operations, integrate with CI/CD

Authentication

API Token (Recommended)

1. Generate API token:

   • Go to https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens
   • Click "Create API token"
   • Copy token (shown only once)

2. Set environment variables:

   export JIRA_EMAIL="[e-mail]"
   export JIRA_API_TOKEN="your_token_here"
   export JIRA_DOMAIN="your-company.atlassian.net"
   

3. Use Basic Auth:

   # Encode credentials
   echo -n "[e-mail]:api_token" | base64
   
   # Use in requests
   curl -H "Authorization: Basic {base64_credentials}" \
     "https://your-company.atlassian.net/rest/api/3/myself"
   

API Base URL

https://{your-domain}.atlassian.net/rest/api/3

Common Workflows

1. Search Issues (JQL)

Use Jira Query Language to find issues:

curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/search?jql=assignee=currentUser()+AND+status=Open&fields=summary,status,assignee"

Common JQL queries:

• My open issues: assignee = currentUser() AND status != Done
• Sprint issues: sprint = "Sprint 23"
• Recent updates: updated >= -7d
• High priority bugs: type = Bug AND priority = High
• Unassigned: assignee is EMPTY AND status != Done

2. Get Issue Details

Fetch complete issue information:

curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/PROJ-123"

Include specific fields:

curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/PROJ-123?fields=summary,status,assignee,description,comment"

3. Create Issue

Create a new issue/ticket:

curl -X POST \
  -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "fields": {
      "project": {"key": "PROJ"},
      "summary": "Issue summary",
      "description": {
        "type": "doc",
        "version": 1,
        "content": [
          {
            "type": "paragraph",
            "content": [
              {
                "type": "text",
                "text": "Issue description"
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      "issuetype": {"name": "Task"},
      "priority": {"name": "High"}
    }
  }' \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue"

4. Update Issue

Update existing issue fields:

curl -X PUT \
  -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "fields": {
      "summary": "Updated summary",
      "assignee": {"accountId": "5b10ac8d82e05b22cc7d4ef5"}
    }
  }' \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/PROJ-123"

5. Transition Issue

Move issue through workflow (e.g., To Do → In Progress → Done):

# Get available transitions
curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/PROJ-123/transitions"

# Perform transition
curl -X POST \
  -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "transition": {"id": "31"},
    "fields": {
      "resolution": {"name": "Done"}
    }
  }' \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/PROJ-123/transitions"

6. Add Comment

Post comment on an issue:

curl -X POST \
  -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "body": {
      "type": "doc",
      "version": 1,
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "paragraph",
          "content": [
            {
              "type": "text",
              "text": "This is a comment"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }' \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/PROJ-123/comment"

7. Assign Issue

Assign issue to a user:

curl -X PUT \
  -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"accountId": "5b10ac8d82e05b22cc7d4ef5"}' \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/PROJ-123/assignee"

8. Get Board

Fetch board information:

curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/agile/1.0/board/42"

9. Get Active Sprint

Get current sprint for a board:

curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/agile/1.0/board/42/sprint?state=active"

10. Get Sprint Issues

List issues in a sprint:

curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/agile/1.0/sprint/123/issue"

Key Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Purpose
/rest/api/3/search	POST	Search issues (JQL)
/rest/api/3/issue/{issueKey}	GET	Get issue
/rest/api/3/issue	POST	Create issue
/rest/api/3/issue/{issueKey}	PUT	Update issue
/rest/api/3/issue/{issueKey}/transitions	POST	Transition issue
/rest/api/3/issue/{issueKey}/comment	POST	Add comment
/rest/api/3/issue/{issueKey}/assignee	PUT	Assign issue
/rest/api/3/myself	GET	Current user info
/rest/api/3/project	GET	List projects
/rest/agile/1.0/board	GET	List boards
/rest/agile/1.0/sprint/{id}/issue	GET	Sprint issues

JQL (Jira Query Language)

Common Operators

• =: Equals
• !=: Not equals
• >, <, >=, <=: Comparison
• IN: Match any value in list
• NOT IN: Not in list
• ~: Contains text
• !~: Does not contain text
• IS EMPTY: Field is empty
• IS NOT EMPTY: Field is not empty

Common Fields

• project: Project key
• type / issuetype: Issue type
• status: Current status
• priority: Priority level
• assignee: Assigned user
• reporter: Issue creator
• created: Creation date
• updated: Last update
• resolved: Resolution date
• sprint: Sprint name
• labels: Issue labels
• component: Component name
• fixVersion: Target version

Useful JQL Examples

My tickets this sprint:

assignee = currentUser() AND sprint in openSprints()

Bugs needing triage:

type = Bug AND status = "To Do" AND priority is EMPTY

Recently updated high priority:

priority in (High, Highest) AND updated >= -3d

Blocked issues:

status = Blocked OR labels = blocked

Unassigned in current sprint:

sprint in openSprints() AND assignee is EMPTY

Overdue issues:

duedate < now() AND status != Done

Atlassian Document Format (ADF)

Jira uses ADF for rich text (descriptions, comments).

Simple Text

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

With Formatting

{
  "type": "doc",
  "version": 1,
  "content": [
    {
      "type": "paragraph",
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "Bold text",
          "marks": [{ "type": "strong" }]
        },
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": " and "
        },
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "italic text",
          "marks": [{ "type": "em" }]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Mentions

{
  "type": "mention",
  "attrs": {
    "id": "5b10ac8d82e05b22cc7d4ef5",
    "text": "@John Doe"
  }
}

Code Block

{
  "type": "codeBlock",
  "attrs": { "language": "javascript" },
  "content": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "text": "console.log('hello');"
    }
  ]
}

Common Use Cases

Daily Standup Report

Get your updates since yesterday:

# Issues you worked on
curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/search?jql=assignee=currentUser()+AND+updated>=-1d&fields=summary,status"

Sprint Planning

1. Get sprint capacity
2. List unassigned stories
3. Estimate and assign

# Unassigned stories in backlog
curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/search?jql=project=PROJ+AND+type=Story+AND+assignee+is+EMPTY+AND+status='To+Do'"

Bug Triage

Identify and prioritize bugs:

# New bugs without priority
curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/search?jql=type=Bug+AND+priority+is+EMPTY+AND+status='To+Do'&fields=summary,reporter,created"

Release Checklist

Track release progress:

# Issues for version
curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/search?jql=fixVersion='v2.0'+AND+status!=Done&fields=summary,status,assignee"

Blocked Work

Find and resolve blockers:

# All blocked issues
curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/search?jql=status=Blocked+OR+labels=blocked&fields=summary,assignee,updated"

Bulk Operations

Bulk Create Issues

curl -X POST \
  -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "issueUpdates": [
      {
        "fields": {
          "project": {"key": "PROJ"},
          "summary": "Issue 1",
          "issuetype": {"name": "Task"}
        }
      },
      {
        "fields": {
          "project": {"key": "PROJ"},
          "summary": "Issue 2",
          "issuetype": {"name": "Task"}
        }
      }
    ]
  }' \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/bulk"

Bulk Update Issues

Use JQL to filter, then update:

# Get issues
ISSUES=$(curl -s -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/search?jql=labels=needs-update&fields=key" | \
  jq -r '.issues[].key')

# Update each
for issue in $ISSUES; do
  curl -X PUT \
    -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"fields":{"labels":["updated"]}}' \
    "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/$issue"
done

Tips & Best Practices

Rate Limits

• Cloud: No hard limit, but throttling applies
• Recommendation: Max 300 requests/minute
• Use pagination for large result sets
• Implement exponential backoff

Pagination

# Paginate through results
curl -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/search?jql=project=PROJ&startAt=0&maxResults=50"

• startAt: Starting index (0-based)
• maxResults: Results per page (max 100)
• Check total in response

Field Names

• Custom fields use IDs: customfield_10000
• Find field IDs: /rest/api/3/field
• Use field names in JQL: "Epic Link" = PROJ-123

Account IDs

• Jira Cloud uses account IDs, not usernames
• Get your account ID: /rest/api/3/myself
• Search users: /rest/api/3/user/search?query=email

Performance

• Request only needed fields: ?fields=summary,status
• Use JQL filters to reduce dataset
• Cache frequently accessed data
• Use webhooks instead of polling

Error Handling

Code	Meaning	Solution
400	Bad request	Check request body syntax
401	Unauthorized	Verify credentials, check token expiry
403	Forbidden	Check permissions for resource
404	Not found	Verify issue key/project exists
429	Too many requests	Implement rate limiting
500	Server error	Retry with exponential backoff

Useful Scripts

Create Issue from CLI

#!/bin/bash
SUMMARY="$1"
DESCRIPTION="$2"

curl -X POST \
  -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"fields\": {
      \"project\": {\"key\": \"PROJ\"},
      \"summary\": \"$SUMMARY\",
      \"description\": {
        \"type\": \"doc\",
        \"version\": 1,
        \"content\": [{
          \"type\": \"paragraph\",
          \"content\": [{\"type\": \"text\", \"text\": \"$DESCRIPTION\"}]
        }]
      },
      \"issuetype\": {\"name\": \"Task\"}
    }
  }" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue" | jq -r '.key'

My Issues Today

#!/bin/bash
curl -s -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/search?jql=assignee=currentUser()+AND+status!=Done&fields=summary,status" | \
  jq -r '.issues[] | "\(.key): \(.fields.summary) [\(.fields.status.name)]"'

Sprint Velocity

#!/bin/bash
SPRINT_ID="$1"
curl -s -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/agile/1.0/sprint/$SPRINT_ID/issue?fields=customfield_10016" | \
  jq '[.issues[].fields.customfield_10016 // 0] | add'

Integration Examples

CI/CD Integration

Transition on deployment:

# Get issue from commit message
ISSUE_KEY=$(git log -1 --pretty=%B | grep -oE '[A-Z]+-[0-9]+')

# Transition to Done
curl -X POST \
  -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"transition":{"id":"31"}}' \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/$ISSUE_KEY/transitions"

Slack → Jira

Create issue from Slack message:

curl -X POST \
  -u "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"fields\": {
      \"project\": {\"key\": \"SUP\"},
      \"summary\": \"$SLACK_MESSAGE\",
      \"issuetype\": {\"name\": \"Bug\"}
    }
  }" \
  "https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue"

Resources

• Official Docs: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rest/v3/
• JQL Reference: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-service-management-cloud/docs/use-advanced-search-with-jira-query-language-jql/
• ADF Spec: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/apis/document/structure/
• Status Page: https://status.atlassian.com

Troubleshooting

Problem: "Field does not exist" error Solution: Check field availability for issue type. Use /rest/api/3/issue/createmeta to get valid fields.

Problem: Can't find custom field Solution: List all fields with /rest/api/3/field. Custom fields use customfield_XXXXX format.

Problem: ADF format errors Solution: Use simple ADF structure. Test with Jira's ADF builder or validate against spec.

Problem: Transitions not working Solution: Get valid transitions for issue: /rest/api/3/issue/{key}/transitions. Use returned ID.

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Pro tip: Use Jira Automation rules (in UI) for complex workflows. Reserve API for integrations and bulk operations.