jira-pm

SKILL.md

Mode: Cognitive/Prompt-Driven - No standalone utility script; use via agent context.

Required:

  • JIRA_URL - Base URL of your Jira instance (e.g., https://yourcompany.atlassian.net)
  • JIRA_API_TOKEN - API token for authentication (generate at Jira Account Settings -> Security -> API Tokens)
  • JIRA_USER_EMAIL - Email address associated with the API token

Optional:

  • JIRA_DEFAULT_PROJECT - Default project key for operations (e.g., PROJ)
  • JIRA_API_VERSION - API version (default: 3)

<tool_categories>

Issues

Tool Description Confirmation Required
search Search issues using JQL No
get-issue Get detailed issue information No
create-issue Create a new issue Yes
update-issue Update existing issue fields Yes
transition Change issue status/workflow state Yes

Projects

Tool Description
list-projects List all accessible projects
project-info Get detailed project information

Sprints

Tool Description
active-sprint Get currently active sprint for a board
sprint-issues List all issues in a specific sprint

Comments

Tool Description
get-comments Retrieve all comments on an issue
add-comment Add a comment to an issue

</tool_categories>

<usage_patterns>

Common Workflows

Issue Creation: List projects -> Get project info -> Create issue -> Add comment

Sprint Management: Get active sprint -> List sprint issues -> Update issue status -> Add comments

Issue Search: Use JQL for targeted searches -> Retrieve issue details -> Update issues

</usage_patterns>

<agent_integration>

Primary Agent: planner

  • Use Case: Project backlog management, sprint planning, requirement tracking
  • Common Operations: Create issues, update priorities, manage sprints

Secondary Agent: developer

  • Use Case: Issue tracking during development, status updates
  • Common Operations: Search assigned issues, transition issues, add comments

</agent_integration>

<error_handling>

Common Error Scenarios

  • Authentication Errors: Missing or invalid API token, expired credentials, insufficient permissions
  • Rate Limiting: Too many API requests in short period, implement exponential backoff
  • Invalid Inputs: Non-existent project keys, invalid issue types, invalid transition IDs
  • Network Errors: Connection timeouts, unreachable Jira instance

</error_handling>

<best_practices>

  1. Use JQL Efficiently: Craft precise JQL queries to reduce result sets and API calls
  2. Cache Metadata: Store project keys, issue types, and transitions locally
  3. Verify Before Create: Always verify project and issue type before creating issues
  4. Use Transitions: Respect workflow states when changing issue status
  5. Batch Operations: Group related API calls when possible
  6. Handle Errors Gracefully: Provide clear error messages and recovery suggestions
  7. Respect Rate Limits: Implement backoff strategies for high-volume operations

</best_practices>

<progressive_disclosure>

Context Optimization

  1. Lazy Loading: Only load issue details when explicitly requested
  2. Field Selection: Request only necessary fields from Jira API
  3. Caching: Store frequently accessed metadata (projects, issue types)
  4. Streaming: Not supported - all responses are complete payloads
  5. Pagination: Automatically handle large result sets

Context Savings: 90%+ compared to loading full Jira MCP server </progressive_disclosure>

<api_reference>

Jira REST API Endpoints Used

  • /rest/api/3/search - JQL search
  • /rest/api/3/issue/{issueKey} - Get/update issue
  • /rest/api/3/issue - Create issue
  • /rest/api/3/issue/{issueKey}/transitions - Transition issue
  • /rest/api/3/project - List projects
  • /rest/api/3/project/{projectKey} - Get project details
  • /rest/agile/1.0/board/{boardId}/sprint - Get sprints
  • /rest/agile/1.0/sprint/{sprintId}/issue - Get sprint issues
  • /rest/api/3/issue/{issueKey}/comment - Get/add comments

See https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rest/v3/ for full reference. </api_reference>

Iron Laws

  1. ALWAYS verify the project key exists before creating an issue — Jira silently ignores invalid project keys in some API versions, creating orphaned issues or returning cryptic errors.
  2. NEVER use PUT /issue to change status — Jira status changes must go through valid workflow transitions via POST /issue/{key}/transitions; direct field updates bypass workflow validators and automation rules.
  3. ALWAYS use JQL for issue searches rather than fetching all issues and filtering client-side — returning all issues wastes quota and causes timeouts on projects with thousands of tickets.
  4. NEVER create duplicate issues without first searching for existing ones — duplicate tickets fragment tracking, confuse assignees, and produce misleading velocity metrics.
  5. ALWAYS include summary, issuetype, and project fields when creating an issue — these three fields are the minimum required by Jira Cloud REST API v3; missing any produces a 400 error.

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern Why It Fails Correct Approach
Updating status via field PUT Bypasses workflow guards; invalid state transitions succeed silently; automation rules don't fire Use POST /issue/{key}/transitions with the correct transition ID
Fetching all issues and filtering locally Times out on large projects; wastes API quota; slow for paginated results Always use JQL with specific project/sprint/status filters
Creating issues without duplication check Splits work tracking; team sees multiple tickets for same task Search with JQL (project = X AND summary ~ "keyword") before creating
Hardcoding field IDs (e.g., customfield_10016) Field IDs differ between Jira instances and cloud/server; breaks across projects Discover field IDs dynamically via /rest/api/3/field endpoint
No error handling for rate limits (429) Jira Cloud rate limits at ~300 requests/minute; unhandled 429 crashes automation Implement exponential backoff; check Retry-After header on 429 responses

Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)

Before starting: Read .claude/context/memory/learnings.md

After completing:

  • New pattern -> .claude/context/memory/learnings.md
  • Issue found -> .claude/context/memory/issues.md
  • Decision made -> .claude/context/memory/decisions.md

ASSUME INTERRUPTION: If it is not in memory, it did not happen.

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