Imported from ulises-jeremias/agent-toolkit (plugins/agent-toolkit-complete/.github/skills/jira-bulk-operations/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add ulises-jeremias/agent-toolkit --skill jira-bulk-operations. Copyright stays with the author (MIT).

jira-bulk

Bulk operations for JIRA issue management at scale - transitions, assignments, priorities, cloning, and deletion.

Risk Levels

Operation	Risk	Notes
Dry-run any operation	`-`	Preview only, no changes
Bulk transition	`!!`	Affects many issues; use --dry-run first
Bulk assign	`!!`	Affects many issues; use --dry-run first
Bulk set-priority	`!!`	Affects many issues; use --dry-run first
Bulk clone	`!`	Creates many issues; can delete
Bulk delete	`!!!`	IRREVERSIBLE - issues permanently lost

Risk Legend: - Safe, read-only | ! Caution, modifiable | !! Warning, destructive but recoverable | !!! Danger, irreversible

CRITICAL: Always use --dry-run before executing bulk operations. Bulk delete is permanent and cannot be undone.

When to use this skill

IMPORTANT: Always use the jira-as CLI. Never run Python scripts directly.

Use this skill when you need to:

Transition multiple issues through workflow states simultaneously
Assign multiple issues to a user (or unassign)
Set priority on multiple issues at once
Clone issues with their subtasks and links
Delete multiple issues permanently (with dry-run preview)
Execute operations with dry-run preview before making changes
Handle partial failures gracefully with progress tracking

Scale guidance:

5-10 issues: Preview (default behavior), then re-run with --yes
50-100 issues: Use --dry-run first, then execute with --yes
500+ issues: Use --dry-run, then execute in smaller batches if needed

Quick Start

# Preview before making changes (bulk commands run as a preview by default)
jira-as bulk transition --jql "project=PROJ AND status=\"In Progress\"" --to Done --dry-run

# Execute the transition (--yes is required to apply changes)
jira-as bulk transition --jql "project=PROJ AND status=\"In Progress\"" --to Done --yes

For more patterns, see Quick Start Guide.

Available Commands

Command	Purpose	Example
`jira-as bulk transition`	Move issues to new status	`--jql "..." --to "Done"`
`jira-as bulk assign`	Assign issues to user	`--jql "..." --assignee john`
`jira-as bulk set-priority`	Set issue priority	`--jql "..." --priority High`
`jira-as bulk clone`	Clone issues	`--jql "..." --include-subtasks`
`jira-as bulk delete`	Delete issues permanently	`--jql "..." --dry-run`

All commands support --help for full documentation.

Common Options

All commands support these options:

Option	Purpose	When to Use
`-q/--jql QUERY`	Select issues by JQL	Mutually exclusive with `--issues`
`-i/--issues KEYS`	Comma-separated issue keys	Mutually exclusive with `--jql`
`-n/--dry-run`	Preview changes	Always use for >10 issues
`-y/--yes`	Apply changes (without it, the command only previews)	Required to execute any bulk change
`-m/--max-issues N`	Limit scope (default: 100)	Testing, large operations
`-o/--output FORMAT`	Output format: text (default), json	JSON for scripting

Transition-Only Options

These options are only available for jira-as bulk transition:

Option	Purpose	When to Use
`--comment` / `-c`	Add comment with transition	Documenting bulk changes
`--resolution` / `-r`	Set resolution (e.g., Fixed)	Closing issues

Examples

Bulk Transition

# By issue keys
jira-as bulk transition --issues PROJ-1,PROJ-2,PROJ-3 --to Done --yes

# By JQL query
jira-as bulk transition --jql "project=PROJ AND status=\"In Progress\"" --to Done --yes

# With resolution
jira-as bulk transition --jql "type=Bug AND status=Verified" --to Closed --resolution Fixed --yes

Bulk Assign

# Assign to user
jira-as bulk assign --jql "project=PROJ AND status=Open" --assignee "john.doe" --yes

# Assign to self
jira-as bulk assign --jql "project=PROJ AND assignee IS EMPTY" --assignee self --yes

# Unassign
jira-as bulk assign --jql "assignee=john.leaving" --unassign --yes

Bulk Set Priority

jira-as bulk set-priority --jql "type=Bug AND labels=critical" --priority Highest --yes

# Output as JSON
jira-as bulk set-priority --jql "type=Bug" --priority High --dry-run -o json

Bulk Clone

# ALWAYS preview first with dry-run (cloning creates many issues)
jira-as bulk clone --jql "sprint=\"Sprint 42\"" --include-subtasks --dry-run

# After reviewing the preview, execute with --yes
jira-as bulk clone --jql "sprint=\"Sprint 42\"" --include-subtasks --include-links --yes

# Clone to different project
jira-as bulk clone --issues PROJ-1,PROJ-2 --target-project MYAPP --prefix "[Clone]" --yes

Bulk Delete (DESTRUCTIVE)

# ALWAYS preview first with dry-run
jira-as bulk delete --jql "project=CLEANUP" --dry-run

# Delete by issue keys (preview first)
jira-as bulk delete --issues DEMO-1,DEMO-2,DEMO-3 --dry-run

# Execute deletion (after confirming dry-run output)
jira-as bulk delete --jql "project=CLEANUP" --yes

# Keep subtasks when deleting parent issues (subtasks deleted by default)
jira-as bulk delete --jql "project=CLEANUP" --no-subtasks --dry-run

Safety features:

--dry-run shows exactly what will be deleted before making changes
Without --yes, every run is a preview - --yes is required to actually delete (a warning is printed first)
Default --max-issues 100 prevents accidental mass deletion
Per-issue error tracking with summary of failures

Scale Recommendations

Issue Count	Recommended Approach
<50	Defaults are fine
50-500	`--dry-run` first, then execute
500+	`--dry-run`, then execute in smaller batches if needed

Getting rate limit (429) errors?

Use --max-issues to process in smaller batches
Consider running during off-peak hours

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	All operations successful
1	Some failures or validation error
130	Cancelled by user (Ctrl+C)

Troubleshooting

Error	Solution
`Transition not available`	Check available transitions with `jira-as lifecycle transitions ISSUE-KEY`
`Permission denied`	Verify JIRA project permissions (DELETE_ISSUES required for bulk delete)
`Rate limit (429)`	Use `--max-issues` to process in smaller batches or run during off-peak hours
`Invalid JQL`	Test JQL in JIRA search first
`Cannot delete issue with subtasks`	Subtasks are deleted by default; use `--no-subtasks` to keep them

For detailed error recovery, see Error Recovery Playbook.

Documentation

Guide	When to Use
Quick Start	Get started in 5 minutes
Operations Guide	Choose the right command
Error Recovery	Handle failures
Safety Checklist	Pre-flight verification
Best Practices	Comprehensive guidance

Related Skills

jira-lifecycle: Single-issue transitions and workflow
jira-search: Find issues with JQL queries
jira-issue: Create and update single issues

jira-bulk-operations

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