jira2cli

A flat CLI for Jira Cloud. Requires Python >=3.13.

jira2cli is published on PyPI. Install uv and run it with uvx jira2cli; for repository checkout and contributor setup, see the contributing guide.

It does not support Jira Server or Data Center, and does not provide dedicated issue assignment, issue delete/archive, sprint/board/epic, or admin-configuration operations.

Authentication and usage

Authenticate with either an explicit credentials file or environment variables:

export JIRA_URL="https://yourcompany.atlassian.net"
export JIRA_USER="you@company.com"
export JIRA_API_TOKEN="your-api-token"

uvx jira2cli auth-status
uvx jira2cli read PROJ-123 --fields summary,status --json

An explicit credentials file takes precedence over the environment:

uvx jira2cli --credentials-file ~/.config/jira-cloud.json me --json

{
  "url": "https://yourcompany.atlassian.net",
  "username": "you@company.com",
  "api_token": "your-api-token"
}

There is no default credentials-file path and no JIRA_CREDENTIALS_FILE environment variable. Create a token in your Atlassian account; do not commit, print, or share it.

Commands

Run uvx jira2cli --help for the current command and option help.

Identity

auth-status, me

Reads, search, and transitions

read, comments, search, transitions, transition

Metadata and saved filters

fields, project, projects, statuses, priorities, users, link-types, jql-syntax, filters, filter-run

Issues, comments, and links

create, edit, comment, comment-update, comment-delete, issue-links, add-link, delete-link

Attachments and worklogs

attachment, attachment-list, attachment-read, attachment-download, attachment-upload, attachment-delete, worklogs, worklog-add, worklog-update, worklog-delete, worklog-report

Most structured commands accept --json for helper output. --raw renders API-oriented output by parsing JSON when needed, then pretty-printing it with recursively sorted object keys; it does not emit untouched HTTP bytes. read does not support --raw; use its --json option for the unchanged Jira response. Do not combine --raw and --json on commands that support both. filter-run resolves a saved filter's JQL and returns the same search-shaped result as search.

read requires exactly one --fields FIELD[,FIELD...] option. Its CSV segments are trimmed, must be non-empty, and are forwarded in order as Jira field keys, IDs, or endpoint-supported selectors. --json bypasses text formatting and preserves the returned Jira object, including ADF. Selectors such as *all, *navigable, or negative selectors can still return broad responses; request only what is needed.

Multi-issue projected search and pagination

Unlike singular read, search and filter-run are multi-issue projected reads. Each invocation returns one page and requests the selected --fields for every issue in that page. A requested field can still be absent or null. Use structured --json or --raw to inspect arbitrary projected fields: plain output is a fixed compact view.

Each search or filter-run invocation returns exactly one page. --max-results defaults to 20 and has a 50-item ceiling; it is a per-page limit. Structured output preserves the opaque nextPageToken. When it is non-empty, pass it unchanged as --next-page-token on the next invocation; stop when it is absent or empty. Do not use total to decide whether to continue. Keep the JQL (or saved filter), requested --fields value, and --max-results unchanged for every page. Atlassian expires each nextPageToken in seven days, so complete pagination within that window; if it expires, rerun the search or filter from the first page.

--fields is optional and may appear at most once as comma-delimited selectors, for example --fields key,summary; values are trimmed and empty CSV segments are rejected. If omitted, fields default to summary, status, assignee, priority, issuetype, created, updated. Projection is whole-field: assignee may include Jira-permitted nested identity, email, and avatar data. Jira envelope metadata may remain, including issue-envelope members such as id, key, and self, plus search metadata such as isLast, nextPageToken, and optional warnings, names, or schema.

For a known issue list, search it as a batch with JQL. If Jira rejects a large query, split the keys into smaller key IN (...) batches and paginate each batch:

uvx jira2cli search 'key IN (PROJ-1, PROJ-2, PROJ-3) ORDER BY key' \
  --fields key,summary,status,customfield_12345 --max-results 50 --json

An embedded comment or worklog field in a search projection may be partial. For complete per-issue collections, use the dedicated paginated comments <KEY> or worklogs <KEY> command instead.

This Bash example uses arrays so the JQL and opaque token remain safely quoted, captures each complete page, and emits only issue keys:

jql='project = PROJ ORDER BY created DESC'
page_size=20
fields=(--fields key)
token=''
rows_received=0

while :; do
  command=(uvx jira2cli search "$jql" --max-results "$page_size" "${fields[@]}" --json)
  [[ -n "$token" ]] && command+=(--next-page-token "$token")

  page="$("${command[@]}")" || exit $?

  page_rows="$(jq '.issues | length' <<<"$page")" || exit $?
  rows_received=$((rows_received + page_rows))

  jq -r '.issues[].key' <<<"$page" || exit $?
  jq -c '.warnings[]? | {jira_warning: .}' <<<"$page" >&2 || exit $?

  token="$(jq -r '.nextPageToken // empty' <<<"$page")" || exit $?
  [[ -n "$token" ]] || break
done

printf '{"rows_received":%d}\n' "$rows_received" >&2

page_rows is the number of issue rows received on that page, and rows_received is the sum of rows observed across fetched pages. It is not an authoritative Jira-wide total or necessarily a unique-issue count: search results can change while paging, so duplicates or omissions remain possible. .warnings contains optional Jira/API warnings; they do not report clipping imposed by an agent harness, terminal, or other external consumer. Absence of Jira warnings does not prove that an external display retained all output. This technique protects callers when clipping occurs after shell capture. If a harness terminates or limits subprocess output before command substitution completes, reduction must happen inside that boundary; this option deliberately adds no built-in compact mode.

For saved filters, use the same loop with filter-run <FILTER_ID> in place of search <JQL>, retaining the exact filter ID, fields, and page size. The same counts and warning limitations apply. Do not edit the saved filter until the continuation is complete.

Examples

# Discover accessible projects and create/edit fields before a write.
uvx jira2cli projects --json
uvx jira2cli fields --project-key PROJ --issue-type Task --json

# Read and search.
uvx jira2cli read PROJ-123 --fields summary,labels --json
uvx jira2cli search 'project = PROJ ORDER BY created DESC' --fields key,summary --json

# Inspect workflow choices before applying one.
uvx jira2cli transitions PROJ-123 --json
uvx jira2cli transition PROJ-123 "Start Progress" --json

# Reuse a saved filter.
uvx jira2cli filters --query mine --json
uvx jira2cli filter-run 10400 --fields key,summary --json

# Inspect attachments and worklogs.
uvx jira2cli attachment-list PROJ-123 --json
uvx jira2cli worklogs PROJ-123 --json
uvx jira2cli worklog-report --start-date 2026-06-12 --end-date 2026-06-13 --jql 'issue = PROJ-123' --json

Worklog-report dates are UTC and the end date is inclusive. It selects issues only with --jql; --max-issues defaults to 100 and limits the scanned issues. Results depend on the configured account's issue and worklog visibility.

Local checkout contributors

From the repository root after workspace setup, contributors can run the checked-out CLI with:

uv run --locked jira2cli --help

Safety and capabilities

Descriptions and comments accept Markdown. Plain read output renders selected rich-text Jira fields as Markdown, while read --json preserves the raw Jira data. Use fields before create or edit; users before choosing a user; transitions before changing status; and link-types before creating links. Read the current issue before an update or destructive action, use exact IDs, and confirm the intended fields, transition, comment, attachment, link, or worklog before mutating Jira. Jira permissions control what the configured account can read or write.

The optional Pi skill is a source-checkout template for agent workflows. Load it explicitly as <path-to-jira2ai>/skills/jira2cli; UVX runs the CLI but does not install or auto-discover the skill.

License

MIT