Jira Agent Skill

Jira

Natural language interaction with Jira. Supports multiple backends.

Backend Detection

Run this check first to determine which backend to use:

1. Check if jira CLI is available:
   → Run: which jira
   → If found: USE CLI BACKEND

2. If no CLI, check for Atlassian MCP:
   → Look for mcp__atlassian__* tools
   → If available: USE MCP BACKEND

3. If neither available:
   → GUIDE USER TO SETUP

| Backend | When to Use | Reference |

|---------|-------------|-----------|

| CLI | jira command available | references/commands.md |

| MCP | Atlassian MCP tools available | references/mcp.md |

| None | Neither available | Guide to install CLI |

Quick Reference (CLI)

> Skip this section if using MCP backend.

| Intent | Command |

|--------|---------|

| View issue | jira issue view ISSUE-KEY |

| List my issues | jira issue list -a$(jira me) |

| My in-progress | jira issue list -a$(jira me) -s"In Progress" |

| Create issue | jira issue create -tType -s"Summary" -b"Description" |

| Move/transition | jira issue move ISSUE-KEY "State" |

| Assign to me | jira issue assign ISSUE-KEY $(jira me) |

| Unassign | jira issue assign ISSUE-KEY x |

| Add comment | jira issue comment add ISSUE-KEY -b"Comment text" |

| Open in browser | jira open ISSUE-KEY |

| Current sprint | jira sprint list --state active |

| Who am I | jira me |

Quick Reference (MCP)

> Skip this section if using CLI backend.

| Intent | MCP Tool |

|--------|----------|

| Search issues | mcp__atlassian__searchJiraIssuesUsingJql |

| View issue | mcp__atlassian__getJiraIssue |

| Create issue | mcp__atlassian__createJiraIssue |

| Update issue | mcp__atlassian__editJiraIssue |

| Get transitions | mcp__atlassian__getTransitionsForJiraIssue |

| Transition | mcp__atlassian__transitionJiraIssue |

| Add comment | mcp__atlassian__addCommentToJiraIssue |

| User lookup | mcp__atlassian__lookupJiraAccountId |

| List projects | mcp__atlassian__getVisibleJiraProjects |

See references/mcp.md for full MCP patterns.

Triggers

• "create a jira ticket"
• "show me PROJ-123"
• "list my tickets"
• "move ticket to done"
• "what's in the current sprint"

Issue Key Detection

Issue keys follow the pattern: [A-Z]+-[0-9]+ (e.g., PROJ-123, ABC-1).

When a user mentions an issue key in conversation:

• CLI: jira issue view KEY or jira open KEY
• MCP: mcp__atlassian__jira_get_issue with the key

Workflow

Creating tickets:

• Research context if user references code/tickets/PRs
• Draft ticket content
• Review with user
• Create using appropriate backend

Updating tickets:

• Fetch issue details first
• Check status (careful with in-progress tickets)
• Show current vs proposed changes
• Get approval before updating
• Add comment explaining changes

Before Any Operation

Ask yourself:

• What's the current state? — Always fetch the issue first. Don't assume status, assignee, or fields are what user thinks they are.

• Who else is affected? — Check watchers, linked issues, parent epics. A "simple edit" might notify 10 people.

• Is this reversible? — Transitions may have one-way gates. Some workflows require intermediate states. Description edits have no undo.

• Do I have the right identifiers? — Issue keys, transition IDs, account IDs. Display names don't work for assignment (MCP).

NEVER

• NEVER transition without fetching current status — Workflows may require intermediate states. "To Do" → "Done" might fail silently if "In Progress" is required first.

• NEVER assign using display name (MCP) — Only account IDs work. Always call lookupJiraAccountId first, or assignment silently fails.

• NEVER edit description without showing original — Jira has no undo. User must see what they're replacing.

• NEVER use --no-input without all required fields (CLI) — Fails silently with cryptic errors. Check project's required fields first.

• NEVER assume transition names are universal — "Done", "Closed", "Complete" vary by project. Always get available transitions first.

• NEVER bulk-modify without explicit approval — Each ticket change notifies watchers. 10 edits = 10 notification storms.

Safety

• Always show the command/tool call before running it
• Always get approval before modifying tickets
• Preserve original information when editing
• Verify updates after applying
• Always surface authentication issues clearly so the user can resolve them

No Backend Available

If neither CLI nor MCP is available, guide the user:

To use Jira, you need one of:

1. **jira CLI** (recommended):
   https://github.com/ankitpokhrel/jira-cli

   Install: brew install ankitpokhrel/jira-cli/jira-cli
   Setup:   jira init

2. **Atlassian MCP**:
   Configure in your MCP settings with Atlassian credentials.

Deep Dive

LOAD reference when:

• Creating issues with complex fields or multi-line content
• Building JQL queries beyond simple filters
• Troubleshooting errors or authentication issues
• Working with transitions, linking, or sprints

Do NOT load reference for:

• Simple view/list operations (Quick Reference above is sufficient)
• Basic status checks (jira issue view KEY)
• Opening issues in browser

| Task | Load Reference? |

|------|-----------------|

| View single issue | No |

| List my tickets | No |

| Create with description | Yes — CLI needs /tmp pattern |

| Transition issue | Yes — need transition ID workflow |

| JQL search | Yes — for complex queries |

| Link issues | Yes — MCP limitation, need script |

References:

• CLI patterns: references/commands.md
• MCP patterns: references/mcp.md