Atlassian CLI (acli) - Jira Command Reference

Search Commands

acli jira workitem search --jql "project = <PROJECT> AND assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved"
acli jira workitem search --jql "project = <PROJECT>" --fields "key,status,summary"
acli jira workitem search --jql "project = <PROJECT>" --limit 50 --paginate
acli jira workitem search --jql "project = <PROJECT>" --count

Output flags: --json, --csv, --web

JQL Syntax

• Single quotes for values with spaces: status = 'Some Status'
• Avoid != with backslash - use NOT status = 'Done' instead
• Functions: currentUser(), now(), startOfDay(), endOfWeek()
• Status categories: statusCategory = Done, statusCategory = 'In Progress'
• Operators: AND, OR, NOT, IN, IS, IS NOT, ~ (contains), ORDER BY

Common JQL Patterns

project = <PROJECT> AND assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved
project = <PROJECT> AND status = '<status-name>'
project = <PROJECT> AND statusCategory = 'In Progress'
project = <PROJECT> AND updated >= -7d ORDER BY updated DESC
project = <PROJECT> AND Sprint = '<sprint-name>'
project = <PROJECT> AND component = <component>

View Commands

acli jira workitem view <KEY>
acli jira workitem view <KEY> --fields "summary,description,status,comment"
acli jira workitem view <KEY> --fields "*all" --json

Field values: *all (all fields), *navigable (navigable fields), -fieldname (exclude field)

Comment Commands

acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --body "Comment text"
acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --body-file comment.txt
acli jira workitem comment create --jql "project = <PROJECT> AND labels = needs-review" --body "Reviewed"
acli jira workitem comment list --key <KEY>
acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --edit-last --body "Updated comment"
acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --editor

ADF (Atlassian Document Format)

Jira Cloud uses ADF (JSON-based). Plain \n newlines don't create paragraph breaks.

acli limitations: Headings, text marks (bold/italic/code), and code block syntax highlighting are rejected or stripped.

Supported: Paragraphs, bullet/ordered lists, code blocks (no highlighting).

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

{"version":1,"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"bulletList","content":[{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Item one"}]}]}]}]}

{"version":1,"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"codeBlock","attrs":{"language":"python"},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"def hello():\n    print('Hello')"}]}]}

acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --body '{"version":1,"type":"doc","content":[...]}'
acli jira workitem comment create --key <KEY> --body-file comment.json

Transition Commands

acli jira workitem transition --key <KEY> --status "Done"
acli jira workitem transition --key "<KEY1>,<KEY2>" --status "<status>"
acli jira workitem transition --jql "project = <PROJECT> AND labels = ready" --status "Done" --yes
acli jira workitem transition --filter 10001 --status "Done"

Edit Commands

acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --summary "New title"
acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --description "New description"
acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --description-file desc.txt
acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --assignee "user@example.com"  # or "@me" or "default"
acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --remove-assignee
acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --labels "bug,urgent"
acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --remove-labels "wontfix"
acli jira workitem edit --key <KEY> --type "Bug"
acli jira workitem edit --jql "project = <PROJECT> AND labels = old" --labels "new" --yes
acli jira workitem edit --from-json workitem.json
acli jira workitem edit --generate-json

Other Commands

# Attachments
acli jira workitem attachment list --key <KEY>
acli jira workitem attachment delete --key <KEY> --attachment-id 12345

# Links
acli jira workitem link create --key <KEY> --link-type "blocks" --outward-key <OTHER-KEY>
acli jira workitem link list-types

# Watchers
acli jira workitem watcher add --key <KEY> --user "user@example.com"
acli jira workitem watcher remove --key <KEY> --user "user@example.com"

# Misc
acli jira workitem clone --key <KEY>
acli jira workitem archive --key <KEY>
acli jira workitem unarchive --key <KEY>
acli jira workitem delete --key <KEY>

Project Commands

acli jira project list --recent
acli jira project view --key <PROJECT>
acli jira project view --key <PROJECT> --json

Common Flags

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

Workflow Patterns

Review Tickets Workflow

When reviewing ticket status against codebase:

1. List open tickets: acli jira workitem search --jql "assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved" --fields "key,status,summary"
2. For each ticket, search git history: git log --oneline --grep="<KEY>"
3. Check if work is deployed: compare commits against release tags
4. Transition or comment as needed

Transitions

Transition syntax: acli jira workitem transition --key <KEY> --status "<target-status>"

Common workflow patterns vary by organization. Consult your team's workflow documentation for valid status transitions.

Batch Operations

# Add same comment to multiple tickets
acli jira workitem comment create --key "<KEY1>,<KEY2>,<KEY3>" --body "Batch update: <message>"

# Transition multiple tickets
acli jira workitem transition --key "<KEY1>,<KEY2>" --status "Done" --yes

Error Handling

• Use --ignore-errors to continue when some operations fail
• JQL errors often indicate syntax issues - check quotes and escapes
• Transition errors may indicate invalid target status for current state
• Use --web to debug by viewing in Jira UI