JIRA Sync Skill
Coordinates JIRA synchronization by delegating to jira-mapper agent.
Sync Behavior: Content (specs, tasks) syncs SpecWeave → JIRA. Status (open/closed) syncs JIRA → SpecWeave.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: This skill provides HELP and GUIDANCE about JIRA sync. For actual syncing, users should use the /sw-jira:sync command directly. This skill should NOT auto-activate when the command is being invoked.
When to Activate
✅ Do activate when:
-
User asks: "How do I set up JIRA sync?"
-
User asks: "What JIRA credentials do I need?"
-
User asks: "How does JIRA sync work?"
-
User needs help configuring JIRA integration
❌ Do NOT activate when:
-
User invokes /sw-jira:sync command (command handles it)
-
Command is already running (avoid duplicate invocation)
-
Task completion hook is syncing (automatic process)
Responsibilities
-
Answer questions about JIRA sync configuration
-
Help validate prerequisites (JIRA credentials, increment structure)
-
Explain sync directions: content (SpecWeave→JIRA), status (JIRA→SpecWeave)
-
Provide troubleshooting guidance
⚠️ CRITICAL: Secrets Required (MANDATORY CHECK)
BEFORE attempting JIRA sync, CHECK for JIRA credentials.
Step 1: Check If Credentials Exist
Check .env file for both required credentials
if [ -f .env ] && grep -q "JIRA_API_TOKEN" .env && grep -q "JIRA_EMAIL" .env; then echo "✅ JIRA credentials found" else
Credentials NOT found - STOP and prompt user
fi
Step 2: If Credentials Missing, STOP and Show This Message
🔐 JIRA API Token and Email Required
I need your JIRA API token and email to sync with JIRA.
How to get it:
- Go to: https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens
- Log in with your Atlassian account
- Click "Create API token"
- Give it a label (e.g., "specweave-sync")
- Click "Create"
- Copy the token immediately (you can't see it again!)
Where I'll save it:
- File:
.env(gitignored, secure) - Format:
JIRA_API_TOKEN=your-jira-api-token-here JIRA_EMAIL=your-email@example.com JIRA_DOMAIN=your-domain.atlassian.net
Security: ✅ .env is in .gitignore (never committed to git) ✅ Token is random alphanumeric string (variable length) ✅ Stored locally only (not in source code)
Please provide:
- Your JIRA API token:
- Your JIRA email:
- Your JIRA domain (e.g., company.atlassian.net):
Step 3: Validate Credentials Format
Validate email format
if [[ ! "$JIRA_EMAIL" =~ ^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$ ]]; then echo "⚠️ Warning: Email format unexpected" echo "Expected: valid email address" echo "Got: $JIRA_EMAIL" fi
Validate domain format
if [[ ! "$JIRA_DOMAIN" =~ .atlassian.net$ ]]; then echo "⚠️ Warning: Domain format unexpected" echo "Expected: *.atlassian.net" echo "Got: $JIRA_DOMAIN" echo "Note: Self-hosted JIRA may have different domain format" fi
Token validation (just check it's not empty)
if [ -z "$JIRA_API_TOKEN" ]; then echo "❌ Error: JIRA API token is empty" exit 1 fi
Step 4: Save Credentials Securely
Save to .env
cat >> .env << EOF JIRA_API_TOKEN=$JIRA_API_TOKEN JIRA_EMAIL=$JIRA_EMAIL JIRA_DOMAIN=$JIRA_DOMAIN EOF
Ensure .env is gitignored
if ! grep -q "^\.env$" .gitignore; then echo ".env" >> .gitignore fi
Create .env.example for team
cat > .env.example << 'EOF'
JIRA API Token
Get from: https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens
JIRA_API_TOKEN=your-jira-api-token JIRA_EMAIL=your-email@example.com JIRA_DOMAIN=your-domain.atlassian.net EOF
echo "✅ Credentials saved to .env (gitignored)" echo "✅ Created .env.example for team (commit this)"
Step 5: Use Credentials in Sync
Export for JIRA API calls (read from .env without displaying values)
export JIRA_API_TOKEN=$(grep '^JIRA_API_TOKEN=' .env | cut -d '=' -f2-) export JIRA_EMAIL=$(grep '^JIRA_EMAIL=' .env | cut -d '=' -f2-) export JIRA_DOMAIN=$(grep '^JIRA_DOMAIN=' .env | cut -d '=' -f2-)
Create Basic Auth header (JIRA uses email:token)
AUTH=$(echo -n "$JIRA_EMAIL:$JIRA_API_TOKEN" | base64)
Use in JIRA API calls
curl -H "Authorization: Basic $AUTH"
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
https://$JIRA_DOMAIN/rest/api/3/issue/PROJ-123
Step 6: Never Log Secrets
❌ WRONG - Logs secret
echo "Using token: $JIRA_API_TOKEN"
✅ CORRECT - Masks secret
echo "Using JIRA credentials (token present: ✅, email: $JIRA_EMAIL)"
Step 7: Error Handling
If API call fails with 401 Unauthorized
if [ $? -eq 401 ]; then echo "❌ JIRA credentials invalid" echo "" echo "Possible causes:" echo "1. API token expired or revoked" echo "2. Email address incorrect" echo "3. Domain incorrect (check: $JIRA_DOMAIN)" echo "4. Account lacks permissions (need: project admin or issue create/edit)" echo "" echo "Please verify credentials:" echo "https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens" fi
If API call fails with 403 Forbidden
if [ $? -eq 403 ]; then echo "❌ JIRA permission denied" echo "" echo "Your account lacks permissions for this operation." echo "Required permissions:" echo "- Browse projects" echo "- Create issues" echo "- Edit issues" echo "- Administer projects (for Epic creation)" echo "" echo "Contact your JIRA administrator." fi
Step 8: Production Recommendations
For production deployments, use OAuth 2.0 instead of API tokens:
Why OAuth 2.0?
-
✅ More secure (no long-lived credentials)
-
✅ Fine-grained permissions (scopes)
-
✅ Automatic token refresh
-
✅ Audit trail in JIRA
How to set up OAuth 2.0:
-
Create a new app
-
Configure OAuth 2.0 credentials
-
Add required scopes (read:jira-work, write:jira-work)
-
Use OAuth flow instead of API token
For self-hosted JIRA: Use Personal Access Tokens (PAT) instead of API tokens.
Usage
Export: /sync-jira export 0001
Import: /sync-jira import PROJ-123
Sync: /sync-jira sync 0001
All conversion logic is handled by the jira-mapper agent.
Confluence Page Sync
JIRA and Confluence are both Atlassian products and often used together. This skill can also help with Confluence page sync.
Confluence Credentials
Same authentication pattern as JIRA (Basic Auth with email:api_token):
.env (gitignored)
CONFLUENCE_API_TOKEN=your-api-token # Same as JIRA token works CONFLUENCE_EMAIL=your-email@example.com CONFLUENCE_DOMAIN=your-domain.atlassian.net CONFLUENCE_SPACE_KEY=PROJ
Key Confluence Operations
Operation Endpoint Method
Get page /wiki/api/v2/pages/{id}?body-format=storage
GET
Update page /wiki/api/v2/pages/{id}
PUT
Create page /wiki/api/v2/pages
POST
Critical: Version Increment
Every page update MUST increment the version number:
1. Get current version
curl -s GET ".../pages/{id}" | jq '.version.number'
Returns: 5
2. Update with version + 1
PUT ".../pages/{id}" { "version": { "number": 6 } }
Error if version not incremented:
409 Conflict: "Version must be incremented on update. Current version is: 5"
Reference Documentation
For complete Confluence API details, see:
- confluence-page-api.md
When to Use Confluence Sync
-
Sync increment specs to Confluence for stakeholder visibility
-
Publish living docs to Confluence wiki
-
Sync task completion status to Confluence task lists
-
Create Confluence pages for PRDs, HLDs, ADRs