jira
Use when the user mentions Jira issues (e.g., "PROJ-123"), asks about tickets, wants to create/view/update issues, check sprint status, or manage their Jira workflow. Triggers on keywords like "jira", "issue", "ticket", "sprint", "backlog", or issue key patterns.
By softaworks · 747 installs
npx skills add softaworks/agent-toolkit --skill jira
Source repository · Upstream listing
Jira
Natural language interaction with Jira. Supports multiple backends.
Backend Detection
Run this check first to determine which backend to use:
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:
1. Research context if user references code/tickets/PRs
2. Draft ticket content
3. Review with user
4. Create using appropriate backend
Updating tickets:
1. Fetch issue details first
2. Check status (careful with in progress tickets)
3. Show current vs proposed changes
4. Get approval before updating
5. Add comment explaining changes
Before Any Operation
Ask yourself:
1. What's the current state? — Always fetch the issue first. Don't assume status, assignee, or fields are what user thinks they are.
2. Who else is affected? — Check watchers, linked issues, parent epics. A "simple edit" might notify 10 people.
3. Is this reversible? — Transitions may have one way gates. Some workflows require intermediate states. Description edits have no undo.
4. 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:
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