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Atlassian aCLI Reference Skill for Jira and Confluence

by @peetzweg

Reference guide for the Atlassian CLI (acli) - a command-line tool for interacting with Jira Cloud and Atlassian organization administration. Use this skill...

Versionv1.1.0
Downloads1,770
Stars⭐ 1
TERMINAL
clawhub install atlassian-cli

πŸ“– About This Skill


name: acli description: "Reference guide for the Atlassian CLI (acli) - a command-line tool for interacting with Jira Cloud and Atlassian organization administration. Use this skill when the user wants to perform Jira operations (create/edit/search/transition work items, manage projects, boards, sprints, filters, dashboards), administer Atlassian organizations (manage users, authentication), or automate Atlassian workflows from the terminal. Covers all acli commands including: jira workitem (create, edit, search, assign, transition, comment, clone, link, archive), jira project (create, list, update, archive), jira board/sprint, jira filter/dashboard, admin user management, and rovodev (Rovo Dev AI agent). Requires an authenticated acli binary already installed on the system." compatibility: "Requires the acli binary (https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/acli/guides/install-acli/) installed and authenticated. Optional env vars: API_TOKEN (Jira API token for non-interactive auth), API_KEY (Admin API key for org-admin commands). Interactive OAuth via acli jira auth login --web is the default." metadata: required_tools: "acli" optional_env_vars: "API_TOKEN,API_KEY"

Atlassian CLI (acli) Reference

Prerequisites

This skill requires acli to be installed and authenticated. The binary is NOT bundled with this skill.

If acli is not installed, guide the user to: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/acli/guides/install-acli/

Verify availability:

acli --help

Authentication

Check auth status before running commands:

acli jira auth status
acli admin auth status

If not authenticated, there are three methods:

OAuth (interactive, recommended for users):

acli jira auth login --web

API Token (non-interactive, recommended for CI/automation):

echo "$API_TOKEN" | acli jira auth login --site "mysite.atlassian.net" --email "user@atlassian.com" --token

Admin API Key (for admin commands only):

echo "$API_KEY" | acli admin auth login --email "admin@atlassian.com" --token

Switch between accounts:

acli jira auth switch --site mysite.atlassian.net --email user@atlassian.com
acli admin auth switch --org myorgname

Security

Secret Handling

  • Never hardcode tokens or API keys in commands. Always use environment variables ($API_TOKEN, $API_KEY) or file-based input (< token.txt).
  • Never log, echo, or display tokens in output. Avoid piping secrets through intermediate files that persist on disk.
  • Prefer OAuth (--web) for interactive use. Only use token-based auth for CI/automation where OAuth is not feasible.
  • Do not store tokens in shell history. If using echo "$API_TOKEN" | acli ..., ensure the variable is set in the environment rather than inlined as a literal value.
  • Destructive Operations

    The following commands are destructive or irreversible β€” always confirm with the user before executing:
  • acli jira workitem delete β€” permanently deletes work items
  • acli jira project delete β€” permanently deletes a project and all its work items
  • acli admin user delete β€” deletes managed user accounts
  • acli admin user deactivate β€” deactivates user accounts
  • acli jira field delete β€” moves custom fields to trash
  • These commands are impactful but reversible:

  • acli jira workitem archive / unarchive
  • acli jira project archive / restore
  • acli admin user cancel-delete β€” cancels pending deletion
  • acli jira field cancel-delete β€” restores field from trash
  • Agent safety rules: 1. Never run destructive commands without explicit user confirmation, even if --yes is available. 2. When bulk-targeting via --jql or --filter, first run a search with the same query to show the user what will be affected. 3. Prefer --json output to verify targets before applying destructive changes. 4. Do not combine --yes with destructive bulk operations unless the user explicitly requests unattended execution.

    Organization Admin Commands

    Commands under acli admin (including admin user activate, deactivate, delete, cancel-delete) affect the entire Atlassian organization β€” the blast radius is org-wide, not scoped to a single project or site. Treat them as a separate tier from other destructive operations:

    1. Require fresh user confirmation in the current turn. Prior approval from earlier in the session does not carry over to the next admin command. Always re-confirm, even if the user authorized a similar admin command moments ago. 2. Enumerate resolved targets before executing. For any admin user command, first resolve --email, --id, or --from-file inputs to a concrete list (count plus each email/account ID) and show it to the user. This catches typos in comma-separated lists, stale entries in files, and ambiguous partial matches. 3. Never use --ignore-errors with admin user delete or admin user deactivate. A partial failure in a bulk admin operation is a signal to stop and investigate, not to continue silently β€” half-applied deactivations are harder to audit than a clean halt.

    Command Structure

    acli  [ ...] {MANDATORY FLAGS} [OPTIONAL FLAGS]
    

    Four top-level command groups:

  • acli jira - Jira Cloud operations (workitems, projects, boards, sprints, filters, dashboards, fields)
  • acli admin - Organization administration (user management, auth)
  • acli rovodev - Rovo Dev AI coding agent (Beta)
  • acli feedback - Submit feedback/bug reports
  • Common Patterns

    Output Formats

    Most list/search commands support: --json, --csv, and default table output.

    Bulk Operations

    Target multiple items via:
  • --key "KEY-1,KEY-2,KEY-3" - comma-separated keys
  • --jql "project = TEAM AND status = 'To Do'" - JQL query
  • --filter 10001 - saved filter ID
  • --from-file "items.txt" - file with keys/IDs (comma/whitespace/newline separated)
  • Use --ignore-errors to continue past failures in bulk operations. Use --yes / -y to skip confirmation prompts (useful for automation).

    Pagination

  • --limit N - max items to return (defaults vary: 30-50)
  • --paginate - fetch all pages automatically (overrides --limit)
  • JSON Templates

    Many create/edit commands support --generate-json to produce a template, and --from-json to consume it:
    acli jira workitem create --generate-json > template.json
    

    edit template.json

    acli jira workitem create --from-json template.json

    Quick Reference: Most Common Operations

    Work Items

    # Create
    acli jira workitem create --summary "Fix login bug" --project "TEAM" --type "Bug"
    acli jira workitem create --summary "New feature" --project "TEAM" --type "Story" --assignee "@me" --label "frontend,p1"

    Search

    acli jira workitem search --jql "project = TEAM AND assignee = currentUser()" --json acli jira workitem search --jql "project = TEAM AND status = 'In Progress'" --fields "key,summary,assignee" --csv

    View

    acli jira workitem view KEY-123 acli jira workitem view KEY-123 --json --fields "*all"

    Edit

    acli jira workitem edit --key "KEY-123" --summary "Updated title" --assignee "user@atlassian.com"

    Transition

    acli jira workitem transition --key "KEY-123" --status "Done" acli jira workitem transition --jql "project = TEAM AND sprint in openSprints()" --status "In Progress"

    Assign

    acli jira workitem assign --key "KEY-123" --assignee "@me"

    Comment

    acli jira workitem comment create --key "KEY-123" --body "Work completed"

    Bulk create

    acli jira workitem create-bulk --from-csv issues.csv

    Projects

    acli jira project list --paginate --json
    acli jira project view --key "TEAM" --json
    acli jira project create --from-project "TEAM" --key "NEW" --name "New Project"
    

    Boards & Sprints

    acli jira board search --project "TEAM"
    acli jira board list-sprints --id 123 --state active
    acli jira sprint list-workitems --sprint 1 --board 6
    

    Detailed Command Reference

    For complete flag details, parameters, and examples for every command:

  • Jira work item commands (create, edit, search, assign, transition, comment, clone, link, archive, attachment, watcher): See references/jira-workitem-commands.md
  • All other commands (jira project/board/sprint/filter/dashboard/field, admin, rovodev, feedback): See references/other-commands.md
  • βš™οΈ Configuration

    This skill requires acli to be installed and authenticated. The binary is NOT bundled with this skill.

    If acli is not installed, guide the user to: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/acli/guides/install-acli/

    Verify availability:

    acli --help