Jira Skill

Overview

This skill provides a Python CLI for common Jira REST API workflows:

• Search with JQL
• Get issue details
• Create and update issues with JSON payloads
• Transition issues by name or ID
• Add comments and list existing comments
• Discover issue types and required fields for creation

The skill supports Jira Cloud with email plus API token authentication and Jira Server or Data Center with a personal access token.

Use --fields on read commands by default to keep output concise. The script supports dot-notation such as fields.status.name and prints tab-separated output for lists.

Prerequisites

Set the required environment variables before running the script.

Platform	Runtime
Cross-platform	Python 3.11+

Authentication Variables

Variable	When required	Purpose
JIRA_BASE_URL	Always	Jira base URL, for example https://company.atlassian.net
JIRA_USER_EMAIL	Jira Cloud	Account email used for basic authentication
JIRA_API_TOKEN	Jira Cloud	API token paired with the Jira Cloud email
JIRA_PAT	Jira Server or Data Center	Personal access token used for bearer authentication

Authentication is selected automatically:

• If JIRA_PAT is set, the script uses bearer authentication for Jira Server or Data Center.
• Otherwise, the script expects JIRA_USER_EMAIL and JIRA_API_TOKEN for Jira Cloud.

Operational Variables

Variable	When required	Purpose
JIRA_AUDIT_LOG	Optional	Path to a JSON Lines audit log. When set, every request is audited (see Audit Logging).
JIRA_AUDIT_ACTOR	Optional	Overrides the recorded actor identity (for example, a CI service principal).

Audit Logging

When JIRA_AUDIT_LOG is set, the script writes a structured JSON Lines audit trail for every API request. Auditing is fail-closed and write-ahead:

• An attempt record is written before the request is sent. If the audit log cannot be written, the operation is aborted and nothing is sent to Jira.
• An outcome record (success or error, with HTTP status on failure) is written after the request completes.

Each record includes a UTC timestamp, the actor (from JIRA_AUDIT_ACTOR, otherwise JIRA_USER_EMAIL or jira-pat), the operation, HTTP method, and the request path. Credentials, authorization headers, and query strings are never written. Audit failures after the request emit a warning without altering the result.

Credential Rotation

The script reads credentials from the environment on every invocation, so an external rotator can swap JIRA_API_TOKEN or JIRA_PAT between calls without code changes. A 401 or 403 response indicates the token may be expired or revoked; rotate the credential through your Atlassian account or instance token settings. Full OAuth-style refresh flows are out of scope for this CLI.

Credential Setup

Run this workflow when credentials are missing, incomplete, or failing. It is verification-first and non-destructive: it audits the current state, guides acquisition, writes only non-secret values, and validates connectivity after the user supplies the credential themselves.

Safety boundary

These rules are not adjustable by autonomy mode or user request.

• Never ask for, accept, or echo a token or PAT in chat. Display this warning whenever instructing the user to add one:

  ⚠️ NEVER paste your API token or PAT into this chat.
     Tokens entered here are sent through the AI model and are not secure.
     Edit the credentials file directly in the editor instead.

• Never write a credential value. Non-secret values (base URL, email) may be written; the token line is a placeholder the user replaces in their editor.

• Never write credentials to a tracked file. ~/.jira.env lives in the user's home directory, outside any repository, so it cannot be accidentally committed. Do not write to .vscode/mcp.json or any repository file.

• Never modify a shell profile without explicit user confirmation.

• Never display a token value or any part of one, including a prefix. A credential variable is reported only as set or missing.

• Never run a command that prints an environment value. printenv | grep -i JIRA and any other filtered dump are prohibited: grep selects which lines print, it does not mask them, so a live token reaches standard output and enters the transcript. Use the set-or-missing probe in the Protocol below instead. Never include raw credential values, full request headers, or verbose or trace HTTP output in a response, even while troubleshooting.

• Send nothing over the network until the user explicitly confirms connectivity testing.

Terminal session isolation

The agent's terminal and the user's terminal are separate sessions, so an export in one is invisible to the other. The environment file is the mechanism that bridges them:

1. Create ~/.jira.env with non-secret values filled in and placeholder lines for credentials.
2. Resolve and display the absolute path so the user knows exactly which file to edit.
3. Open it with code ~/.jira.env.
4. The user replaces the placeholders and saves.
5. Source it (set -a && source ~/.jira.env && set +a) before running any command.

Protocol

1. Audit. Probe the known variable names and classify each as set or missing, without printing any value:

   for v in JIRA_BASE_URL JIRA_USER_EMAIL JIRA_API_TOKEN JIRA_PAT JIRA_AUDIT_LOG JIRA_AUDIT_ACTOR; do
     if printenv "$v" >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo "$v: set"; else echo "$v: missing"; fi
   done

   printenv exits zero only when the variable exists, and its output is discarded, so the classification never reveals a value. Use no modifying command during the audit. Check for an existing ~/.jira.env.

2. Detect the platform. JIRA_PAT set indicates Server or Data Center. JIRA_USER_EMAIL with JIRA_API_TOKEN indicates Cloud. When mixed or ambiguous, ask which platform the user has rather than guessing, because the wrong choice produces an authentication failure that looks like a bad credential.

3. Validate what exists. Confirm JIRA_BASE_URL starts with https:// and flag a malformed value. Identify which required variables are missing for the detected platform.

4. Guide acquisition. Direct the user to their Atlassian account token page for Cloud, or their instance personal-access-token settings for Server or Data Center. Give the steps; never request the result.

5. Write the file. Create or update ~/.jira.env with non-secret values and credential placeholders, including a do-not-commit warning comment.

6. Validate connectivity. After the user confirms the credential is saved, source the file and run one read-only call. A 401 or 403 means the credential is wrong, expired, or revoked; a connection error means the base URL is wrong.

7. Summarize. Report what changed, what remains, and the set-or-missing state of each variable.

Completion

Setup is complete when every required variable for the detected platform is set, the base URL is well-formed, and one read-only call succeeds. Anything short of that is reported as incomplete with the specific remaining step, never as a qualified success.

Quick Start

Search for your current Jira issues and return a compact table:

python scripts/jira.py search 'assignee = currentUser() ORDER BY updated DESC' --fields key,fields.summary,fields.status.name

Inspect one issue with a compact field list:

python scripts/jira.py get PROJ-123 --fields key,fields.summary,fields.status.name,fields.assignee.displayName

Create an issue from JSON piped through stdin:

cat <<'EOF' | python scripts/jira.py create
{
  "fields": {
    "project": { "key": "PROJ" },
    "summary": "Fix login timeout on mobile",
    "issuetype": { "name": "Bug" }
  }
}
EOF

Parameters Reference

Command or option	Syntax	Default	Description
search	python scripts/jira.py search '<jql>' [max_results]	max_results = 50	Search for issues with JQL
get	python scripts/jira.py get <ISSUE-KEY>	None	Get one issue
create	python scripts/jira.py create '<json>'	Reads stdin if omitted	Create an issue from JSON
update	python scripts/jira.py update <ISSUE-KEY> '<json>'	Reads stdin if omitted	Update an issue from JSON
transition	python scripts/jira.py transition <ISSUE-KEY> '<name-or-id>'	None	Move an issue to another workflow state
comment	python scripts/jira.py comment <ISSUE-KEY> '<body>'	Reads stdin if omitted	Add a comment to an issue
comments	python scripts/jira.py comments <ISSUE-KEY> [ISSUE-KEY ...]	None	List comments across one or more issues
fields	python scripts/jira.py fields <PROJECT-KEY> [issue-type-id]	None	Discover issue types or required create fields
--fields	--fields key,fields.summary,...	None	Extract selected fields from search, get, and comments output

Script Reference

Search for Issues

Use bounded JQL for Jira Cloud queries. Include a project, assignee, sprint, or another filter instead of a bare ORDER BY query.
See JQL Reference for the query patterns this
skill expects.

python scripts/jira.py search 'project = PROJ AND status = "In Progress"' --fields key,fields.summary,fields.status.name
python scripts/jira.py search 'assignee = currentUser() ORDER BY updated DESC' 10 --fields key,fields.summary

Get One Issue

python scripts/jira.py get PROJ-123 --fields key,fields.summary,fields.priority.name,fields.status.name

Create an Issue

Discover valid issue types first:

python scripts/jira.py fields PROJ

Inspect required fields for one issue type:

python scripts/jira.py fields PROJ 10045

Create the issue:

python scripts/jira.py create '{
  "fields": {
    "project": { "key": "PROJ" },
    "summary": "Document rollout checklist",
    "issuetype": { "name": "Task" },
    "labels": ["docs", "release"]
  }
}'

Update an Issue

python scripts/jira.py update PROJ-123 '{
  "fields": {
    "summary": "Updated summary",
    "priority": { "name": "High" },
    "labels": ["backend", "urgent"]
  }
}'

Transition an Issue

Use a transition display name or a numeric transition ID:

python scripts/jira.py transition PROJ-123 'In Progress'
python scripts/jira.py transition PROJ-123 31

If a transition name is not found, the script returns the available transition names in the error output.

Comment on an Issue

python scripts/jira.py comment PROJ-123 'PR #42 addresses this issue.'
printf 'Deployed to staging.\n' | python scripts/jira.py comment PROJ-123

List Comments

python scripts/jira.py comments PROJ-123 PROJ-456 --fields _issue,author.displayName,created,body

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Resolution
JIRA_BASE_URL is not set	Base URL is missing	Export JIRA_BASE_URL in the current shell
Authentication error	Wrong token or missing auth variables	Verify JIRA_PAT for Jira Server or Data Center, or verify JIRA_USER_EMAIL and JIRA_API_TOKEN for Jira Cloud
Invalid issue key	Issue key format is malformed	Use keys in the form PROJ-123
Transition not found	The requested workflow transition is unavailable	Re-run the command with the transition name returned in the error output
JSON payload error	Invalid JSON was passed to create or update	Validate the payload and retry with well-formed JSON
Network connection error	Jira instance URL is unreachable	Verify the base URL and local network access