acli

name	acli
description	Atlassian CLI (acli) reference for Jira Cloud. Use when the user needs to interact with Jira work items via the command line — searching, creating, viewing, editing, assigning, transitioning, commenting, linking, or bulk-operating on tickets. Triggers on mentions of "acli", "jira cli", "jira ticket", "work item", or any task involving Jira automation from the terminal.
disable-model-invocation	true

acli — Jira Cloud CLI

CLI for Jira Cloud. Commands follow acli jira <resource> <action> pattern.

Command Pattern

All workitem commands share consistent flags:

Flag	Short	Description
--key	-k	Ticket key(s), comma-separated
--jql	-j	JQL query string
--filter		Saved filter ID
--fields	-f	Fields to include (*all, *navigable, -field to exclude)
--limit	-l	Max results
--paginate		Fetch all pages
--json		Output as JSON
--csv		Output as CSV
--web	-w	Open in browser
--yes	-y	Skip confirmation
--ignore-errors		Continue on errors

Quick Reference

Search

acli jira workitem search --jql "project = PROJ AND assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved"
acli jira workitem search --jql "project = PROJ" --fields "key,status,summary"
acli jira workitem search --jql "project = PROJ" --limit 50 --paginate
acli jira workitem search --jql "project = PROJ" --count
acli jira workitem search --filter 10001 --web

Default fields: issuetype, key, assignee, priority, status, summary.

View

acli jira workitem view KEY-123
acli jira workitem view KEY-123 --fields "summary,comment"
acli jira workitem view KEY-123 --fields "*all" --json
acli jira workitem view KEY-123 --web

Create

acli jira workitem create --summary "New Task" --project PROJ --type Task
acli jira workitem create --summary "Bug title" --project PROJ --type Bug --assignee "[e-mail]" --label "bug,cli"
acli jira workitem create --from-json workitem.json
acli jira workitem create --generate-json    # scaffold a JSON template
acli jira workitem create --editor           # open editor for summary + description

Types: Epic, Story, Task, Bug. Assignee: email, account ID, @me, or default.

Edit

acli jira workitem edit --key KEY-123 --summary "New title"
acli jira workitem edit --key KEY-123 --description "New description"
acli jira workitem edit --key KEY-123 --description-file desc.txt
acli jira workitem edit --key KEY-123 --assignee "@me"
acli jira workitem edit --key KEY-123 --remove-assignee
acli jira workitem edit --key KEY-123 --labels "bug,urgent" --remove-labels "wontfix"
acli jira workitem edit --key KEY-123 --type Bug
acli jira workitem edit --jql "project = PROJ AND labels = old" --labels "new" --yes
acli jira workitem edit --from-json workitem.json

Rich ADF descriptions: --description-file only works for plain paragraphs. For headings, tables, lists, or any rich formatting, use --from-json with the ADF embedded in the workitem JSON. See references/adf.md for details.

Assign

acli jira workitem assign --key KEY-123 --assignee "@me"
acli jira workitem assign --jql "project = PROJ" --assignee "[e-mail]"
acli jira workitem assign --filter 10001 --remove-assignee --json

Transition

acli jira workitem transition --key KEY-123 --status "Done"
acli jira workitem transition --key "KEY-1,KEY-2" --status "In Progress"
acli jira workitem transition --jql "project = PROJ AND labels = ready" --status "Done" --yes

Comment

acli jira workitem comment create --key KEY-123 --body "Comment text"
acli jira workitem comment create --key KEY-123 --body-file comment.json
acli jira workitem comment create --key KEY-123 --editor
acli jira workitem comment create --key KEY-123 --edit-last
acli jira workitem comment create --jql "project = PROJ" --body "Bulk comment" --ignore-errors

Attachments

acli jira workitem attachment list --key KEY-123
acli jira workitem attachment delete --key KEY-123 --attachment-id 12345

Links

acli jira workitem link create --key KEY-123 --link-type "blocks" --outward-key KEY-456
acli jira workitem link list-types

Watchers

acli jira workitem watcher add --key KEY-123 --user "[e-mail]"
acli jira workitem watcher remove --key KEY-123 --user "[e-mail]"

Other Workitem Actions

acli jira workitem clone --key KEY-123
acli jira workitem archive --key KEY-123
acli jira workitem unarchive --key KEY-123
acli jira workitem delete --key KEY-123
acli jira workitem create-bulk

Projects

acli jira project list --recent
acli jira project view --key PROJ
acli jira project view --key PROJ --json

Batch Operations

Target multiple tickets with comma-separated keys or JQL:

# Multiple keys
acli jira workitem comment create --key "KEY-1,KEY-2,KEY-3" --body "Batch update"
acli jira workitem transition --key "KEY-1,KEY-2" --status "Done" --yes

# Via JQL
acli jira workitem edit --jql "project = PROJ AND labels = old" --labels "new" --yes

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

JQL Quick Reference

See references/jql.md for full syntax. Key rules:

• Single quotes for values with spaces: status = 'In Progress'
• Prefer NOT status = 'Done' over !=
• ~ is "contains" (text search)
• Functions: currentUser(), now(), startOfDay(), endOfWeek()
• Operators: AND, OR, NOT, IN, IS, IS NOT, ORDER BY

Rich Text (ADF)

Jira Cloud uses Atlassian Document Format (ADF) — a JSON structure — for descriptions, comments, and textarea custom fields. Plain \n newlines don't create formatting.

When creating or editing issue content that needs any formatting (headings, bold, lists, code blocks, tables, links, panels), read references/adf.md first for the full ADF syntax reference and recipes.

Key rules:

• Always write ADF JSON to a temp file, then use --description-file / --body-file. Never pass ADF inline — shell escaping will corrupt it.
• Wrap everything in {"version": 1, "type": "doc", "content": [...]}.
• Use marks (strong, em, code, link, strike, underline) on text nodes for inline formatting.

Tips

• Before creating a ticket, search the project for duplicates using search --jql "project = PROJ AND summary ~ 'keywords'". If similar issues exist, present them to the user and confirm before creating.
• Use --web to debug by viewing the ticket in Jira UI
• Transition errors usually mean the target status is invalid for the current workflow state
• JQL syntax errors — check quotes and escape characters
• Use --generate-json to scaffold create/edit payloads