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

Command Structure

acli <command> [<subcommand> ...] {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