tool-acli

name	tool-acli
description	Atlassian CLI (acli) command reference for Jira work items, comments, transitions, search, and Confluence operations

Overview

The acli command is the Atlassian CLI (installed via Homebrew: brew install atlassian-labs/tap/acli).

• Top-level commands: jira, confluence, admin, auth, config
• Jira subcommands: workitem, board, dashboard, field, filter, project, sprint
• Use --json flag for machine-readable output where supported

Authentication

acli auth              # interactive auth flow
acli jira auth         # authenticate for Jira specifically

Jira Work Items

acli jira workitem view --key "BW-1234"              # view a work item
acli jira workitem search --jql "project = BW"       # search with JQL
acli jira workitem create --project "BW" --type "Task" --summary "Title"
acli jira workitem edit --key "BW-1234" --summary "New title"
acli jira workitem transition --key "BW-1234"        # transition status
acli jira workitem assign --key "BW-1234"            # assign work item
acli jira workitem delete --key "BW-1234"            # delete work item

Comments

acli jira workitem comment create --key "BW-1234" --body "Comment text"
acli jira workitem comment create --key "BW-1234" --body-file "comment.txt"
acli jira workitem comment create --jql "project = BW" --body "Bulk comment"
acli jira workitem comment create --key "BW-1234" --editor   # open text editor
acli jira workitem comment list --key "BW-1234"
acli jira workitem comment update --key "BW-1234"
acli jira workitem comment delete --key "BW-1234"

Comment Flags

Flag	Description
-b, --body	Comment body (plain text or ADF)
-F, --body-file	Path to file with comment body
-e, --edit-last	Edit the last comment from same author
--editor	Open text editor for body
--jql	Apply to multiple work items via JQL
--filter	Filter ID of work items
-k, --key	Work item key(s)
--ignore-errors	Continue on errors
--json	JSON output

Attachments

acli jira workitem attachment           # manage attachments

Search

acli jira workitem search --jql "assignee = currentUser() AND status != Done"
acli jira workitem search --jql "project = BW AND sprint in openSprints()"

Boards and Sprints

acli jira board list
acli jira sprint list --board "Board Name"

Gotchas and Tips

• The --key flag accepts a single key or comma-separated keys for bulk operations
• Use --ignore-errors when operating on multiple items to skip failures
• Comment body is plain text only — neither markdown (##, **, triple backticks) nor Jira wiki markup (h2., *bold*, {code}) are rendered. They appear as raw characters. Use ALL CAPS for headers, dashes for lists, and indentation for structure. Use ADF JSON only if rich formatting is required.
• Escape double quotes in --body strings with backslash
• For multiline comments, prefer --body-file with a temp file or --editor