jira-cli

A non-interactive CLI for Jira designed for AI agents and automation. All output is machine-readable JSON by default, making it ideal for jq pipelines and LLM tool calling.

Credit

This project is inspired by ankitpokhrel/jira-cli -- a feature-rich interactive Jira command line with a full TUI (tables, keyboard navigation, interactive prompts). Think of it as the k9s of Jira: powerful, visual, and built for humans at a terminal.

This project takes a different approach. It is the kubectl of Jira: non-interactive, scriptable, and designed for AI agents. No TUI, no prompts -- just structured output that machines can parse. If you want a great interactive experience, use ankitpokhrel/jira-cli. If you want to wire Jira into an AI agent, CI pipeline, or shell script, use this.

Install

npm (recommended)

npm install -g @888aaen/jira-cli

This installs the jira binary for your platform. Works on macOS (arm64, x64), Linux (x64, arm64), and Windows (x64).

Build from source

Prerequisites: Go 1.25+

git clone https://github.com/AndersSpringborg/jira-agent-cli.git
cd jira-agent-cli
sudo make install

This builds the binary and copies it to /usr/local/bin/jira.

To uninstall:

sudo make uninstall

Quick Start (AI Agent)

Give your AI agent Jira superpowers in one command:

npx skills add 888aaen/jira-cli -g -y

This installs the jira-cli skill into your agent's configuration. The skill teaches the agent how to authenticate, search, create, edit, and manage Jira issues -- no manual prompt engineering required.

After adding the skill, the agent will:

1. Check for an existing Jira auth session
2. Guide you through login if needed
3. Use the right jira command for any Jira-related request

Quick Start

1. Authenticate

Jira Cloud (*.atlassian.net):

1. Create an API token at https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens
2. Run:

jira auth login \
  --server https://your-org.atlassian.net \
  --email [email protected] \
  --token YOUR_API_TOKEN

Jira Server / Data Center (Personal Access Token):

1. In Jira, go to Profile > Personal Access Tokens
2. Run:

jira auth login \
  --server https://jira.example.com \
  --token YOUR_PAT

Your token is stored in the OS keychain -- never written to disk.

2. Verify connectivity

jira ping

3. Set a default project (optional)

The context system lets you set defaults so you don't have to repeat flags:

jira context set --project PROJ
jira context set --board-id 42

Now commands like jira issue list automatically filter to project PROJ.

4. Start using it

# List issues in your project
jira issue list

# View a specific issue
jira issue view PROJ-123

# Create an issue
jira issue create -p PROJ -s "Fix login bug" -t Bug

# Search with JQL
jira search jql "project = PROJ AND status = 'In Progress'"

# Pipe to jq
jira issue list | jq '.[].key'

Output Formats

| Flag | Description | |----------------------|------------------------------------------| | --format json | Machine-readable JSON (default) | | --format markdown | Structured markdown optimized for LLMs |

Set a persistent default with:

jira context set --display markdown

The --format flag always takes precedence over the context default.

Commands

| Command | Description | |-----------------|----------------------------------------------| | jira auth | Login, logout, status, whoami | | jira config | Manage profiles (init, list, show, set, use, delete) | | jira context | Set default filters (project, board, labels, etc.) | | jira issue | Full issue lifecycle (list, view, create, edit, delete, assign, move, comment, link, clone) | | jira board | List boards, view board issues | | jira sprint | List, start, close sprints; add issues | | jira project | List and view projects | | jira search | JQL and full-text search | | jira user | Search and get users | | jira me | Show current user | | jira open | Open project or issue in browser | | jira ping | Check connectivity to Jira |

Run jira <command> --help for details on any command.

Configuration

Config lives at ~/.config/jira-cli/config.yml. You normally don't need to edit it by hand -- use the jira config and jira context commands instead.

Profiles

Profiles let you manage multiple Jira instances:

# Create a profile for a second instance
jira config init --profile work --base-url https://work.atlassian.net
jira auth login --profile work --server https://work.atlassian.net \
  --email [email protected] --token YOUR_TOKEN

# Switch default profile
jira config use work

# Use a profile for a single command
jira issue list --profile work

Environment Variables

These override config file values and are useful in CI/automation:

| Variable | Description | |-------------------|-------------------------------------| | JIRA_BASE_URL | Jira server URL | | JIRA_TOKEN | API token (bypasses OS keychain) | | JIRA_EMAIL | User email | | JIRA_AUTH_TYPE | Auth type: basic or pat | | JIRABOT_PROFILE | Profile name to use |