Atlassian CLI (acli) — agent guide

This skill helps you construct correct, safe acli commands. It does not bundle the binary — the user must have acli installed and authenticated. Work goal-first: pick the command from the recipe map, then pull exact flags from the linked references/ file.

Canonical reference: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/acli/reference/commands/

Prerequisites & authentication

Always verify availability before running anything:

acli --help            # binary present?
acli jira auth status  # jira authed?
acli admin auth status # admin authed?

If acli is missing, point the user to the install guide: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/acli/guides/install-acli/

Three auth methods:

OAuth (interactive, default):

acli jira auth login --web

API token (non-interactive / CI) — read from env, never inline:

echo "$API_TOKEN" | acli jira auth login --site "example.atlassian.net" --email "you@example.com" --token

Admin API key (admin commands only):

echo "$API_KEY" | acli admin auth login --email "you@example.com" --token

Switch accounts with acli jira auth switch / acli admin auth switch.

Full jira auth flags: references/jira-auth.md.

Choose by goal

Find the goal, use the one-liner, then open the linked reference for full flags.

I want to create something

acli jira workitem create --summary "..." --project PROJECT-KEY --type Task        # references/jira-workitem.md
acli jira workitem create-bulk --from-json issues.json                              # references/jira-workitem.md
acli jira project create --key NEW --name "New Project"                             # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md

I want to find / list

acli jira workitem search --jql "project = PROJECT-KEY" --json                     # references/jira-workitem.md
acli jira workitem view WORK-123                                                    # references/jira-workitem.md
acli jira project list --paginate                                                  # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md
acli jira board search --project PROJECT-KEY                                       # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md
acli jira filter search --name "report"                                            # references/jira-filter-dashboard-field.md
acli jira dashboard search                                                         # references/jira-filter-dashboard-field.md

I want to update / assign / comment

acli jira workitem edit --key WORK-123 --summary "..."                             # references/jira-workitem.md
acli jira workitem assign --key WORK-123 --assignee "@me"                          # references/jira-workitem.md
acli jira workitem comment create --key WORK-123 --body "..."                      # references/jira-workitem.md
acli jira project update --project-key PROJECT-KEY --name "..."                    # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md

I want to move / link / organize

acli jira workitem transition --key WORK-123 --status "In Progress"               # references/jira-workitem.md
acli jira workitem link create --out WORK-1 --in WORK-2 --type Blocks             # references/jira-workitem.md
acli jira board list-sprints --id 1 --state active                                 # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md
acli jira sprint list-workitems --sprint 1 --board 6                               # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md

I want to manage boards or sprints

acli jira board create --name "..." --type scrum --location-type project --project PROJ  # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md
acli jira board delete --id 12,34                                            (confirm)  # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md
acli jira sprint create --name "Sprint 1" --board 5 --start 2025-01-01 --end 2025-01-14   # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md
acli jira sprint update --id 37 --state closed                                          # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md
acli jira sprint delete --id 37,42                                            (confirm)  # references/jira-project-board-sprint.md

I want to work in Confluence

acli confluence space list --json                                                    # references/confluence.md
acli confluence space create --key SPACEKEY --name "Team Space"                      # references/confluence.md
acli confluence space view --id 123456                                               # references/confluence.md (view is by --id)
acli confluence blog create --space-id 12345 --title "..." --body "<p>...</p>"       # references/confluence.md
acli confluence page view --id 123456789                                             # references/confluence.md

I want to administer the org (HIGH blast radius — see Safety)

acli admin user activate --email you@example.com                                   # references/admin.md
acli admin user deactivate --email you@example.com                                 # references/admin.md  (confirm + enumerate)
acli admin user delete --email you@example.com                                     # references/admin.md  (destructive)

I want Rovo Dev or to send feedback

acli rovodev auth login                                                            # references/rovodev.md
acli feedback --summary "..." --details "..." --email you@example.com             # references/rovodev.md

Command catalog

One line per command. Open the linked file for flags and examples.

jira auth → references/jira-auth.md login / logout / status / switch

jira workitem → references/jira-workitem.md create · create-bulk · edit · view · search · assign · transition · delete · clone · archive · unarchive · comment (create/update/delete/list/visibility) · link (create/delete/list/type) · attachment (list/delete) · list-watchers · watcher remove (watcher list deprecated → list-watchers)

jira project / board / sprint → references/jira-project-board-sprint.md project (list/view/create/update/delete/archive/restore) · board (create/view/delete/list-projects/search/list-sprints) (get deprecated → view) · sprint (create/view/update/delete/list-workitems)

jira filter / dashboard / field → references/jira-filter-dashboard-field.md filter (list/search/view/update/add-favourite/change-owner/list-columns/reset-columns) (get deprecated → view, get-columns deprecated → list-columns) · dashboard (search) · field (create/update/delete/restore) (cancel-delete deprecated → restore)

confluence → references/confluence.md auth (login/logout/status/switch) · space (list/view/create/update/archive/restore) · blog (create/list/view) · page (view)

admin → references/admin.md auth (login/logout/status/switch) · user (activate/deactivate/delete/cancel-delete)

rovodev / feedback → references/rovodev.md rovodev auth (login/logout/status) · rovodev run (interactive agent) · feedback

Shared flags (--json, --csv, --limit, --paginate, --yes, --ignore-errors, bulk targeting): references/common-flags.md

Safety checklist (read before destructive or admin commands)

Apply these before running. Details and rationale: references/common-flags.md and each command's callout.

1. Secrets — tokens/keys come from env vars ($API_TOKEN, $API_KEY) or stdin (< token.txt). Never hardcode, echo, or log them. Prefer OAuth (--web) for interactive use.
2. Irreversible deletes — jira workitem delete, jira project delete, jira field delete, admin user delete: confirm in the current turn even if --yes is available.
3. Bulk targeting — before any destructive/impactful command using --jql/--filter/--from-file/comma --key, first run a search with the same query and show the affected set. Do not add --yes to destructive bulk runs unless the user explicitly wants unattended execution.
4. Reversible-but-impactful — archive/unarchive, project restore, admin user cancel-delete, field restore: lighter confirmation; note they are reversible.
5. Org-wide admin tier — acli admin user * is org-scoped, not project-scoped:
   • Require fresh confirmation this turn; earlier approval does not carry over.
   • Enumerate targets first: resolve --email/--id/--from-file to a concrete list (count + entries) and show it.
   • Never combine --ignore-errors with admin user delete or admin user deactivate.

Command shape

acli <group> [<subgroup> ...] <command> {required flags} [optional flags]

Groups: jira (Cloud), confluence (Cloud), admin (org), rovodev (AI agent, Beta), feedback. Other top-level commands: auth (router), config, completion (shell completions).

Global commands

acli auth is a global OAuth router that authenticates/switches all products at once (separate from the per-product jira auth / confluence auth / admin auth / rovodev auth):

acli auth login        # global OAuth (browser)
acli auth status       # show global account status
acli auth switch [--site X --email Y]   # switch all products at once
acli auth logout       # log out of all active OAuth accounts

acli config gov-cloud toggles the Atlassian Government Cloud environment (--enable / --enable=false / --status). Note GovCloud support is limited.