jira-search

name	jira-search
description	Search Jira issues using JQL queries. Use when filtering issues by project, status, assignee, date, or building reports.

Jira Search Skill

Purpose

Search for issues using JQL (Jira Query Language). Supports filtering, pagination, and field selection.

When to Use

• Searching issues by project, status, assignee, date
• Building issue lists and reports
• Finding specific issues by criteria
• Bulk operations on filtered issues

Prerequisites

• Authenticated JiraClient (see jira-auth skill)
• Project access permissions

Implementation Pattern

Step 1: Define Search Types

interface SearchOptions {
  jql: string;
  startAt?: number;
  maxResults?: number;
  fields?: string[];
  expand?: string[];
}

interface SearchResponse {
  startAt: number;
  maxResults: number;
  total: number;
  issues: JiraIssue[];
}

Step 2: Basic Search

async function searchIssues(
  client: JiraClient,
  options: SearchOptions
): Promise<SearchResponse> {
  return client.request<SearchResponse>('/search', {
    method: 'POST',
    body: JSON.stringify({
      jql: options.jql,
      startAt: options.startAt ?? 0,
      maxResults: options.maxResults ?? 50,
      fields: options.fields ?? ['key', 'summary', 'status', 'assignee', 'created'],
      expand: options.expand,
    }),
  });
}

Step 3: Search All (Paginated)

async function searchAllIssues(
  client: JiraClient,
  jql: string,
  fields: string[] = ['key', 'summary', 'status']
): Promise<JiraIssue[]> {
  const allIssues: JiraIssue[] = [];
  let startAt = 0;
  const maxResults = 100;

  while (true) {
    const response = await searchIssues(client, {
      jql,
      startAt,
      maxResults,
      fields,
    });

    allIssues.push(...response.issues);

    if (startAt + response.issues.length >= response.total) {
      break;
    }

    startAt += maxResults;
  }

  return allIssues;
}

Step 4: Common Search Builders

// Search by project
function searchByProject(projectKey: string): string {
  return `project = ${projectKey}`;
}

// Search by status
function searchByStatus(status: string | string[]): string {
  if (Array.isArray(status)) {
    return `status IN (${status.map(s => `'${s}'`).join(', ')})`;
  }
  return `status = '${status}'`;
}

// Search by assignee
function searchByAssignee(accountId: string): string {
  return `assignee = '${accountId}'`;
}

// Search my issues
function searchMyIssues(): string {
  return `assignee = currentUser()`;
}

// Search by date range
function searchByCreatedDate(daysAgo: number): string {
  return `created >= -${daysAgo}d`;
}

// Combine conditions
function combineJql(...conditions: string[]): string {
  return conditions.join(' AND ');
}

Step 5: Advanced Search Examples

// Find all open issues in project
async function findOpenIssues(client: JiraClient, projectKey: string) {
  return searchAllIssues(
    client,
    combineJql(
      searchByProject(projectKey),
      `status NOT IN (Done, Closed)`
    )
  );
}

// Find my recent issues
async function findMyRecentIssues(client: JiraClient, daysAgo: number = 7) {
  return searchAllIssues(
    client,
    combineJql(
      searchMyIssues(),
      searchByCreatedDate(daysAgo)
    )
  );
}

// Find issues by label
async function findByLabel(client: JiraClient, projectKey: string, label: string) {
  return searchAllIssues(
    client,
    combineJql(
      searchByProject(projectKey),
      `labels = '${label}'`
    )
  );
}

// Find unassigned issues
async function findUnassigned(client: JiraClient, projectKey: string) {
  return searchAllIssues(
    client,
    combineJql(
      searchByProject(projectKey),
      `assignee IS EMPTY`
    )
  );
}

JQL Quick Reference

Operators

Operator	Example	Description
=	status = Done	Equals
!=	status != Done	Not equals
IN	status IN (Done, Closed)	One of
NOT IN	status NOT IN (Done)	Not one of
~	summary ~ "bug"	Contains
IS EMPTY	assignee IS EMPTY	Is null
IS NOT EMPTY	assignee IS NOT EMPTY	Is not null
>=	created >= -7d	Greater/equal
<=	created <= 2025-01-01	Less/equal

Date Formats

Format	Example	Description
Relative	-7d	7 days ago
Relative	-2w	2 weeks ago
Relative	-1m	1 month ago
Absolute	2025-01-15	Specific date
Function	startOfDay()	Today midnight
Function	startOfWeek()	Monday

Common JQL Patterns

# All issues in project
project = SCRUM

# Open issues
project = SCRUM AND status != Done

# My issues
assignee = currentUser()

# High priority open issues
project = SCRUM AND priority = High AND status != Done

# Created this week
project = SCRUM AND created >= startOfWeek()

# Updated recently
project = SCRUM AND updated >= -7d

# Unassigned bugs
project = SCRUM AND issuetype = Bug AND assignee IS EMPTY

# Issues with specific label
project = SCRUM AND labels = "urgent"

# Text search in summary
project = SCRUM AND summary ~ "authentication"

curl Examples

Basic Search

curl -X POST "$JIRA_BASE_URL/rest/api/3/search" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic $(echo -n 'email:token' | base64)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "jql": "project = SCRUM AND status != Done",
    "startAt": 0,
    "maxResults": 50,
    "fields": ["key", "summary", "status", "assignee"]
  }'

Search with Pagination

curl -X POST "$JIRA_BASE_URL/rest/api/3/search" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic $(echo -n 'email:token' | base64)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "jql": "project = SCRUM",
    "startAt": 50,
    "maxResults": 50,
    "fields": ["key", "summary"]
  }'

Search with Changelog Expand

curl -X POST "$JIRA_BASE_URL/rest/api/3/search" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic $(echo -n 'email:token' | base64)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "jql": "project = SCRUM AND updated >= -7d",
    "maxResults": 50,
    "fields": ["key", "summary", "status"],
    "expand": ["changelog"]
  }'

Response Structure

{
  "startAt": 0,
  "maxResults": 50,
  "total": 150,
  "issues": [
    {
      "id": "10001",
      "key": "SCRUM-1",
      "self": "$JIRA_BASE_URL/rest/api/3/issue/10001",
      "fields": {
        "summary": "Issue summary",
        "status": { "name": "To Do" },
        "assignee": { "displayName": "John Doe" }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Pagination Formula

Total pages = ceil(total / maxResults)
Current page = floor(startAt / maxResults) + 1
Has more = (startAt + issues.length) < total
Next startAt = startAt + maxResults

Common Mistakes

• Not quoting status values with spaces
• Using email instead of accountId for assignee
• Forgetting pagination for large result sets
• Not escaping special characters in search text

References

• Search API
• JQL Reference

Version History

• 2025-12-10: Created