Jira Workflow Skill

Skill for managing Jira tasks using the j4c CLI.

This skill MUST be used for ANY Jira project management work.

Handling Missing Config

If you see: Error: no config file found

Create a local config:

j4c init --server=https://yourcompany.atlassian.net --project=PROJ

This creates .jira4claude.yaml and adds it to .gitignore.

MANDATORY: Issue Creation Template

CRITICAL: ALL issues MUST use this template. Do not create issues without following this structure.

## Context

[What needs to be built and why - 1-3 sentences. No implementation details here.]

## Investigation Starting Points

- Examine [file/class] to understand existing patterns
- Review [reference] for similar functionality

## Scope Constraints

- Implement only what is specified
- Do not add [specific exclusions]
- [Other constraints]

## Validation Requirements

### Behavioral

- [Specific observable behavior to verify]
- [Another testable requirement]

### Quality

- All tests pass
- No linting errors
- Follows patterns in [reference file]

Template Rules:

1. Context explains WHAT and WHY, never HOW
2. Investigation points help discovery - reference specific files
3. Scope constraints prevent over-engineering
4. Validation requirements must be testable/observable

Formatting Descriptions and Comments

Always use GitHub-flavored markdown (GFM) for descriptions and comments. The CLI automatically converts GFM to Jira's format. Do not use Jira wiki markup or plain unformatted text.

Markdown	Result in Jira
## Heading	Heading level 2
### Heading	Heading level 3
- item	Bullet list
1. item	Numbered list
**bold**	Bold text
*italic*	Italic text
`code`	Inline code
``` blocks	Code blocks
[text](url)	Links
Blank lines	Paragraph breaks

Commands

All commands output human-readable text by default. Use --json when you need structured data for programmatic processing.

List Open Tasks

Show all tasks not marked Done:

j4c issue list --jql="status NOT IN (Done)"

Show Ready Tasks (Unblocked)

Find tasks with no unresolved blockers:

j4c issue ready

This shows tasks where all blockers are Done (or have no blockers).

Show Task Details

Get full details for a specific task:

j4c issue view PROJ-123

Create Task

Create a new task:

j4c issue create \
  --summary="Task title here" \
  --description="## Context

Description with markdown formatting.

## Validation Requirements

- Test requirement here"

Link Tasks (Blocks Relationship)

CRITICAL: Get the direction right or the dependency graph will be wrong!

The Golden Rule

j4c link create FIRST Blocks SECOND

• FIRST = the blocker (do this first, shows in ready)
• SECOND = the blocked (do this after, NOT in ready until FIRST is Done)

Memory aid: Read it as a sentence: "FIRST blocks SECOND" or "FIRST must be done before SECOND"

Example

Goal: PROJ-7 (error handling) must be done before PROJ-8 (config loading)

j4c link create PROJ-7 Blocks PROJ-8

After running this command:

j4c issue view PROJ-7
# Shows: "blocks PROJ-8"

j4c issue view PROJ-8
# Shows: "is blocked by PROJ-7"

j4c issue ready
# Shows PROJ-7 (the blocker is ready to work on)
# Does NOT show PROJ-8 (blocked until PROJ-7 is Done)

MANDATORY Verification

Always verify links using the ready command:

j4c issue ready

Ask yourself:

• Does the blocker (prerequisite) appear in the ready list? It should.
• Does the blocked (dependent) appear in the ready list? It should NOT (unless its blocker is Done).

If the wrong task is blocked, you got the direction backwards. Delete and recreate.

Common Mistake

Wrong: You want A done before B, but you run link create B Blocks A

• Result: B appears blocked, A appears ready - the opposite of what you wanted!

Fix: Always read the command as a sentence. "A blocks B" means A is the prerequisite.

Quick Reference

You want	Command	Ready shows
A before B	link create A Blocks B	A (not B)
B depends on A	link create A Blocks B	A (not B)

View Links

List all links for an issue:

j4c link list PROJ-123

Delete Link

If you created a link with wrong direction, delete and recreate:

j4c link delete PROJ-7 PROJ-8

This removes any link between the two issues (regardless of direction).

Transition Task

List available transitions for a task:

j4c issue transitions PROJ-123

Execute a transition by status name:

j4c issue transition PROJ-123 --status="Done"

Or by transition ID:

j4c issue transition PROJ-123 --id="21"

Common transitions (may vary by workflow):

• "Start Progress" (To Do -> In Progress)
• "Done" (In Progress -> Done)

Add Comment

Add a comment to a task:

j4c issue comment PROJ-123 --body="Comment text here"

Comment bodies are always parsed as GitHub-flavored markdown.

When to Use --json

Use --json flag when:

• Parsing output programmatically
• Extracting specific fields for further processing
• Chaining commands where structured data helps

For reading and understanding tasks, the default text output is preferred.

Planning Dependencies

Before creating tasks with dependencies, draw the dependency graph first:

BLOCKER -> BLOCKED (arrow points to what depends on it)

Example:
  PROJ-6 (domain types) --> PROJ-13 (mocks)
  PROJ-7 (error handling) --> PROJ-8 (config)
  PROJ-9 (HTTP client) --> PROJ-11 (IssueService CRUD)

Rules:

1. Foundation tasks (no dependencies) should be done first
2. Only link immediate dependencies, not transitive ones
3. After creating links, run j4c issue ready to verify correct tasks are unblocked

Notes

• CLI auto-discovers config: searches ./.jira4claude.yaml then ~/.jira4claude.yaml
• CLI credentials: reads from .netrc
• The CLI handles Atlassian Document Format (ADF) conversion automatically