gh-otahontas-jira-cli-skill/skills/jira/references/mcp-parity.md

Jira MCP Parity Mapping

High-level equivalence table between Jira MCP API operations and the jira CLI commands exposed through jira-cli-skill. Load this reference when planning workflows that depend on specific MCP actions.

Projects

MCP capability	CLI command	Notes
List projects	jira project list --plain --columns key,name,type	--plain recommended for deterministic TSV output.
Get project details	jira project view <KEY>	Use --raw for JSON payload.

Issues

MCP capability	CLI command	Notes
Search issues (JQL)	jira issue search '<JQL>' --plain --columns key,summary,status	Add --raw for JSON.
List issues by status/assignee	jira issue list --status "In Progress" --assignee "$(jira me)" --plain --columns key,summary,status,assignee	Default columns recommended for parsing.
Get issue details	jira issue view PROJ-123 --plain --comments 5	Increase comments via --comments N.
Create issue	jira issue create --type Task --summary "Title" --description-file path.md --priority High	Use --assignee, --label, --component, --custom key=value.
Update fields	jira issue edit PROJ-123 --summary "New" --priority Low --custom story-points=5	Combine with issue move for status transitions.
Transition workflow	jira issue move PROJ-123 "In Review" --comment "Ready"	Accepts --resolution, --assignee.
Assign issue	jira issue assign PROJ-123 user@example.com	Accepts email, display name, or default.
Comment	jira issue comment add PROJ-123 "Body" --no-input	--template - reads stdin.
Delete issue	jira issue delete PROJ-123 --cascade	Warn: irreversible unless Jira config allows recovery.
Clone issue	jira issue clone PROJ-123 --summary "Copy"	Supports overrides for fields.
Link issues	jira issue link PROJ-1 PROJ-2 "Blocks"	Remove via jira issue unlink PROJ-1 PROJ-2.
Manage attachments	jira issue attach add PROJ-123 ./file.txt --name "spec.txt"	Remove via attach remove.
Watchers	jira issue watch PROJ-123 user@example.com	Omit user to watch/unwatch self.
Worklogs	jira issue worklog add PROJ-123 "2h" --started "2024-06-01 09:00" --timezone "America/New_York"	worklog edit and worklog delete mirror MCP updates.

Epics

MCP capability	CLI command	Notes
Create epic	jira epic create --name "Epic" --summary "Goal" --label initiative	Provide --type if org uses custom epic issue types.
List epics	jira epic list --plain --columns key,summary,status	Use filters: --status, --priority, --label.
Attach issues to epic	jira epic add EPIC-1 PROJ-1 PROJ-2	Up to 50 issues per call.
Remove issues from epic	jira epic remove PROJ-1 PROJ-2	Equivalent to MCP unlink.

Boards & Sprints

MCP capability	CLI command	Notes
List boards	jira board list --plain --columns id,name,type	Requires project context.
List sprints on board	jira sprint list --plain --columns id,name,state,start,end	--paginate limits results.
View issues in sprint	jira sprint list <SPRINT_ID> --plain --columns key,summary,status,assignee	Add --state active etc.
Add issues to sprint	jira sprint add <SPRINT_ID> PROJ-123 PROJ-456	Mirrors MCP batch add.
Remove issues from sprint	jira sprint remove <SPRINT_ID> PROJ-123	Use when unassigning sprints.
Close sprint	jira sprint close <SPRINT_ID>	Equivalent to MCP close.

Releases / Versions

MCP capability	CLI command	Notes
List releases	jira release list --plain --columns name,start,end,state	CLI uses "release" for Jira versions.
Create release	jira release create --name "v1.5.0" --release-date 2024-08-01	Additional flags: --description, --project.
Update release	jira release edit <ID> --name "v1.5.1"	Equivalent to MCP update.
Archive/delete release	jira release archive <ID> / jira release delete <ID>	Deletes require confirmation; use --confirm.

User & Instance

MCP capability	CLI command	Notes
Current user	jira me	Returns display name and account ID.
Instance metadata	jira serverinfo	Mirrors MCP server info.
CLI version	jira version	Helpful for troubleshooting.

Attachments & Assets

• Upload file: jira issue attach add PROJ-123 ./design.pdf
• Download attachment: jira issue attach get PROJ-123 <attachment-id> --output ./design.pdf
• List attachments: jira issue attach list PROJ-123 --plain --columns id,filename,author

Tips

• Combine CLI options to keep parity with MCP filters (--status, --priority, --label, --assignee, --jql).
• Use --raw when Claude must parse JSON; otherwise rely on the TSV defaults to minimise tokens.
• Env overrides:
  • JIRA_PROJECT auto-applies --project when omitted.
  • JIRA_CLI_PATH points the wrapper to a custom binary location.
• When the CLI reports "interactive view", re-run with --plain or --raw to keep outputs deterministic.