Jira REST API

Jira REST API Skill

Interact with Jira Cloud via the official REST API v3 using a Python helper script. All requests are made through ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py, which reads credentials from environment variables — no shell variable expansion is needed in commands.

Source of truth for all API details: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rest/v3/intro/

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Prerequisites

Three environment variables must be set before using any command:

Variable	Description	Example
JIRA_URL	Base URL of the Jira instance	https://mycompany.atlassian.net
JIRA_USERNAME	Atlassian account email	you@example.com
JIRA_PERSONAL_TOKEN	Atlassian API token	sometoken…

See references/authentication.md for how to generate a token and verify the setup.

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How to Run Commands

Use the Python script at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py for all API calls:

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py METHOD ENDPOINT [JSON_BODY]

The script handles authentication, JSON formatting, URL encoding, and error reporting internally. Output is always pretty-printed JSON.

GET requests

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py GET /rest/api/3/myself
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py GET /rest/api/3/issue/FOO-123
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py GET /rest/api/3/issue/FOO-123 --fields summary,status,assignee

JQL search

Use the search subcommand — it uses POST /rest/api/3/search/jql (the current API) and handles encoding automatically:

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py search 'project=FOO AND status=Open' --max-results 20
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py search 'assignee=currentUser() AND resolution=Unresolved' --max-results 50
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py search 'parent = ANSTRAT-1899' --fields summary,issuetype,status

For pagination, use the nextPageToken from the response with --next-page:

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py search 'project=FOO' --max-results 20 --next-page 'TOKEN_FROM_PREVIOUS_RESPONSE'

Note: The old GET /rest/api/3/search endpoint is deprecated (returns 410). Always use the search subcommand instead.

POST / PUT / DELETE

Pass the JSON body as the third argument:

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py POST /rest/api/3/issue '{"fields": {"project": {"key": "FOO"}, "summary": "New bug", "issuetype": {"name": "Bug"}, "description": {"type": "doc", "version": 1, "content": [{"type": "paragraph", "content": [{"type": "text", "text": "Description here."}]}]}}}'

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py PUT /rest/api/3/issue/FOO-123 '{"fields": {"summary": "Updated summary"}}'

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py DELETE /rest/api/3/issue/FOO-123

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Supported Operations

Issues

Action	Method	Endpoint
Get issue	GET	/rest/api/3/issue/{key}
Create issue	POST	/rest/api/3/issue
Update issue	PUT	/rest/api/3/issue/{key}
Delete issue	DELETE	/rest/api/3/issue/{key}
Get transitions	GET	/rest/api/3/issue/{key}/transitions
Transition issue	POST	/rest/api/3/issue/{key}/transitions (requires ID from GET transitions)
Assign issue	PUT	/rest/api/3/issue/{key}/assignee

Comments

Action	Method	Endpoint
List comments	GET	/rest/api/3/issue/{key}/comment
Add comment	POST	/rest/api/3/issue/{key}/comment

Search

Action	Method	Endpoint
JQL search	search subcommand	POST /rest/api/3/search/jql (use search 'JQL' --max-results N)

Projects

Action	Method	Endpoint
List projects	GET	/rest/api/3/project
Get project	GET	/rest/api/3/project/{key}

Agile (boards / sprints)

Action	Method	Endpoint
List boards	GET	/rest/agile/1.0/board
List sprints	GET	/rest/agile/1.0/board/{boardId}/sprint
Get sprint issues	GET	/rest/agile/1.0/sprint/{sprintId}/issue

Metadata

Action	Method	Endpoint
Get current user	GET	/rest/api/3/myself
List issue types	GET	/rest/api/3/issuetype
List statuses	GET	/rest/api/3/status
List priorities	GET	/rest/api/3/priority
Get create metadata	GET	/rest/api/3/issue/createmeta

Full curl examples for every operation are in references/api-operations.md.

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Important Notes

• ADF format: Always wrap description and comment body text in Atlassian Document Format (ADF) — Jira REST API v3 rejects plain strings for rich-text fields. Use the ADF structure shown in the POST example above.
• JQL search: Always use the search subcommand for JQL queries — it uses the current POST /rest/api/3/search/jql API. The old GET /rest/api/3/search endpoint is deprecated and returns 410.
• Pagination: The new search API uses cursor-based pagination. Use --max-results to set page size (default 50). For the next page, pass the nextPageToken from the response via --next-page. Check isLast to know when to stop.
• Cross-project hierarchy: Issues can have parents in other projects. When creating an Epic under a Feature from another project, set project to the Epic's project and parent.key to the parent issue key.
• HTTP errors: On any 4xx response, the script prints the full error JSON including errorMessages to help diagnose authentication, permission, or payload failures.

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JQL Reference

See references/jql-reference.md for JQL syntax, common fields, operators, and example queries.

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Additional Resources

• ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/jira/scripts/jira-api.py — The Python API client used for all operations
• references/authentication.md — Token generation, env var setup, auth verification
• references/api-operations.md — Complete curl examples for every supported operation
• references/jql-reference.md — JQL syntax guide and query examples
• Atlassian REST API v3 docs — https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rest/v3/intro/