acli

Atlassian CLI (acli) Reference

Prerequisites

This skill requires acli to be installed and authenticated. The binary is NOT bundled with this skill.

If acli is not installed, guide the user to: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/acli/guides/install-acli/

Verify availability:

acli --help

Authentication

Check auth status before running commands:

acli jira auth status
acli admin auth status

If not authenticated, there are three methods:

OAuth (interactive, recommended for users):

acli jira auth login

API Token (non-interactive, recommended for CI/automation):

Admin API Key (for admin commands only):

Switch between accounts:

Security

Secret Handling

• Never hardcode tokens or API keys in commands. Always use environment variables ($API_TOKEN, $API_KEY) or file-based input (< token.txt).
• Never log, echo, or display tokens in output. Avoid piping secrets through intermediate files that persist on disk.
• Prefer OAuth (--web) for interactive use. Only use token-based auth for CI/automation where OAuth is not feasible.
• Do not store tokens in shell history. If using echo "$API_TOKEN" | acli ..., ensure the variable is set in the environment rather than inlined as a literal value.

Destructive Operations

The following commands are destructive or irreversible — always confirm with the user before executing:

• acli jira workitem delete — permanently deletes work items
• acli jira project delete — permanently deletes a project and all its work items
• acli admin user delete — deletes managed user accounts
• acli admin user deactivate — deactivates user accounts
• acli jira field delete — moves custom fields to trash

These commands are impactful but reversible:

• acli jira workitem archive / unarchive
• acli jira project archive / restore
• acli admin user cancel-delete — cancels pending deletion
• acli jira field cancel-delete — restores field from trash

Agent safety rules:

1. Never run destructive commands without explicit user confirmation, even if --yes is available.
2. When bulk-targeting via --jql or --filter, first run a search with the same query to show the user what will be affected.
3. Prefer --json output to verify targets before applying destructive changes.
4. Do not combine --yes with destructive bulk operations unless the user explicitly requests unattended execution.

Organization Admin Commands

Commands under acli admin (including admin user activate, deactivate, delete, cancel-delete) affect the entire Atlassian organization — the blast radius is org-wide, not scoped to a single project or site. Treat them as a separate tier from other destructive operations:

1. Require fresh user confirmation in the current turn. Prior approval from earlier in the session does not carry over to the next admin command. Always re-confirm, even if the user authorized a similar admin command moments ago.
2. Enumerate resolved targets before executing. For any admin user command, first resolve --email, --id, or --from-file inputs to a concrete list (count plus each email/account ID) and show it to the user. This catches typos in comma-separated lists, stale entries in files, and ambiguous partial matches.
3. Never use --ignore-errors with admin user delete or admin user deactivate. A partial failure in a bulk admin operation is a signal to stop and investigate, not to continue silently — half-applied deactivations are harder to audit than a clean halt.

Command Structure

Four top-level command groups:

• acli jira - Jira Cloud operations (workitems, projects, boards, sprints, filters, dashboards, fields)
• acli admin - Organization administration (user management, auth)
• acli rovodev - Rovo Dev AI coding agent (Beta)
• acli feedback - Submit feedback/bug reports

Common Patterns

Output Formats

Most list/search commands support: --json, --csv, and default table output.

Bulk Operations

Target multiple items via:

• --key "KEY-1,KEY-2,KEY-3" - comma-separated keys
• --jql "project = TEAM AND status = 'To Do'" - JQL query
• --filter 10001 - saved filter ID
• --from-file "items.txt" - file with keys/IDs (comma/whitespace/newline separated)

Use --ignore-errors to continue past failures in bulk operations. Use --yes / -y to skip confirmation prompts (useful for automation).

Pagination

• --limit N - max items to return (defaults vary: 30-50)
• --paginate - fetch all pages automatically (overrides --limit)

JSON Templates

Many create/edit commands support --generate-json to produce a template, and --from-json to consume it:

Quick Reference: Most Common Operations

Work Items

Projects

Boards & Sprints

Detailed Command Reference

For complete flag details, parameters, and examples for every command:

• Jira work item commands (create, edit, search, assign, transition, comment, clone, link, archive, attachment, watcher): See references/jira-workitem-commands.md
• All other commands (jira project/board/sprint/filter/dashboard/field, admin, rovodev, feedback): See references/other-commands.md