Jira CLI Quick Reference

The jira CLI is a command-line tool for Jira interaction. This is a quick reference for common workflows—for comprehensive docs, see https://github.com/ankitpokhrel/jira-cli

Getting Help

jira --help # List all commands jira <command> --help # Help for specific command jira me # Show current user

Discovery Patterns

jira <command> --plain # Plain output for scripting jira <command> --raw # JSON output jira <command> --csv # CSV output for spreadsheets jira issue list --limit N # Limit results (avoid large output) jira open [ISSUE-KEY] # Open in browser

Use --no-input to skip interactive prompts when automating.

Important: Always use --limit when querying to avoid overwhelming output.

Common Workflows

Issue Management

List and search

jira issue list jira issue list -a$(jira me) # Assigned to me jira issue list -a$(jira me) --created week jira issue list -s"To Do" # By status jira issue list -yHigh -tBug # High priority bugs

View details

jira issue view ISSUE-KEY jira issue view ISSUE-KEY --comments

Create (use with caution!)

jira issue create -tBug -s"Summary" -yHigh --no-input

Edit and transition

jira issue edit ISSUE-KEY jira issue move ISSUE-KEY "In Progress" jira issue assign ISSUE-KEY USERNAME

Comment and log work

jira issue comment add ISSUE-KEY "comment text" jira issue worklog add ISSUE-KEY "2h 30m"

Sprint Workflow

View sprints

jira sprint list jira sprint list --current # Active sprint issues jira sprint list --state active

Manage sprint items

jira sprint add SPRINT-ID ISSUE-1 ISSUE-2

Epic Management

List and create

jira epic list jira epic create --name "Epic Name" --summary "Description"

Manage epic items

jira epic add EPIC-KEY ISSUE-1 ISSUE-2 jira epic remove ISSUE-1 ISSUE-2

Core Commands Quick Reference

Issue Commands

jira issue list [-a ASSIGNEE] [-s STATUS] [-y PRIORITY] [-t TYPE] [-l LABEL] jira issue view ISSUE-KEY [--comments] jira issue create -t TYPE -s "Summary" [-y PRIORITY] [-l LABEL] jira issue edit ISSUE-KEY jira issue move ISSUE-KEY "STATUS" jira issue assign ISSUE-KEY USERNAME jira issue link TYPE INWARD OUTWARD jira issue clone ISSUE-KEY

Sprint Commands

jira sprint list [--current] [--state active|future|closed] jira sprint add SPRINT-ID ISSUE-1 [ISSUE-2...]

Epic Commands

jira epic list jira epic create --name "Name" --summary "Summary" jira epic add EPIC-KEY ISSUE-1 [ISSUE-2...] jira epic remove ISSUE-1 [ISSUE-2...]

Project & Board

jira project list jira board list jira open [ISSUE-KEY] # Open in browser

Powerful Filtering

The jira CLI supports rich filtering for issue list :

By assignee

-a$(jira me) # Me -aUSERNAME # Specific user -ax # Unassigned

By reporter

-r$(jira me) # Reported by me

By status

-s"To Do" # Specific status -s~Done # NOT Done

By priority

-yHigh # High priority -yMedium -yLow # Medium or Low

By type

-tBug -tStory # Bugs or Stories

By labels

-lbackend -lurgent # Multiple labels

By component

-CBackend -CFrontend # Multiple components

By date

--created week # Created this week --created -7d # Last 7 days --updated -30m # Updated in last 30 minutes

By watching

-w # Issues I'm watching

History

--history # Issues I recently viewed

Output Formats

Default: Interactive table

jira issue list

Plain text (for scripting)

jira issue list --plain

JSON (for parsing)

jira issue list --raw

CSV (for spreadsheets)

jira issue list --csv

Common Patterns

Find My Work

What's assigned to me

jira issue list -a$(jira me)

What I created this week

jira issue list -r$(jira me) --created week

What I worked on today

jira issue list --history

Current sprint items

jira sprint list --current

Filtering Examples

High priority bugs assigned to me

jira issue list -a$(jira me) -yHigh -tBug

Unassigned stories in "To Do"

jira issue list -ax -tStory -s"To Do"

Recent updates with specific labels

jira issue list -lurgent --updated -2d

Not done, watching, high priority

jira issue list -w -s~Done -yHigh

Scripting with JSON

Get raw JSON data

jira issue list -a$(jira me) --raw

Process with jq

jira issue list --raw | jq '.issues[] | {key, summary, status}'

Best Practices

Use $(jira me) to reference current user
Combine filters for powerful queries
Use --limit to avoid large result sets
Use --plain or --raw for scripting
Use --no-input to skip prompts in automation
Always check syntax with --help when uncertain