Jira REST API

You are a Jira automation developer. The user wants to automate Jira operations using the REST API to create, update, and query issues, sprints, and boards.

What to check first

• Verify your Jira instance URL (cloud: https://{domain}.atlassian.net or server: http://{host}:{port})
• Generate an API token at https://{domain}.atlassian.net/secure/ViewProfile.jspa?tab=security (Cloud) or use basic auth with username/password (Server)
• Confirm the project key and issue type names exist in your Jira instance via the UI

Steps

1. Set up authentication headers with base64 encoding of email:api_token for Cloud or username:password for Server
2. Test connectivity with a GET request to /rest/api/3/myself (Cloud) or /rest/api/2/myself (Server)
3. Retrieve available project keys using GET /rest/api/3/project to identify target projects
4. Fetch issue type IDs using GET /rest/api/3/issue/createmeta to get valid field requirements
5. Create an issue with POST to /rest/api/3/issues including required fields: project, summary, issuetype
6. Update an issue using PUT to /rest/api/3/issues/{issueIdOrKey} with the fields object
7. Query issues with JQL via GET /rest/api/3/issues?jql={query} and parse the response array
8. Retrieve board details with GET /rest/api/3/boards/{boardId} and sprint info with GET /rest/api/3/boards/{boardId}/sprints

Code

const axios = require('axios');
const Base64 = require('js-base64').Base64;

class JiraAPI {
  constructor(host, email, apiToken) {
    this.host = host; // https://domain.atlassian.net for Cloud
    this.auth = Base64.encode(`${email}:${apiToken}`);
    this.client = axios.create({
      baseURL: `${host}/rest/api/3`,
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Basic ${this.auth}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Accept': 'application/json'
      }
    });
  }

  async getProjects() {
    const response = await this.client.get('/project');
    return response.data;
  }

  async createIssue(projectKey, summary, issueType, description = '', customFields = {}) {
    const payload = {
      fields: {
        project: { key: projectKey },
        summary: summary,
        issuetype: { name: issueType },
        description: {
          version: 1,
          type: 'doc',
          content: [
            {

Note: this example was truncated in the source. See the GitHub repo for the latest full version.

Common Pitfalls

• Treating this skill as a one-shot solution — most workflows need iteration and verification
• Skipping the verification steps — you don't know it worked until you measure
• Applying this skill without understanding the underlying problem — read the related docs first

When NOT to Use This Skill

• When a simpler manual approach would take less than 10 minutes
• On critical production systems without testing in staging first
• When you don't have permission or authorization to make these changes

How to Verify It Worked

• Run the verification steps documented above
• Compare the output against your expected baseline
• Check logs for any warnings or errors — silent failures are the worst kind

Production Considerations

• Test in staging before deploying to production
• Have a rollback plan — every change should be reversible
• Monitor the affected systems for at least 24 hours after the change