Attachments

Attachments

Upload, download, and manage file attachments on Jira issues.

Prerequisites

• Authenticated profile (atlcli auth login)
• Jira permission: Browse Projects (view), Create Attachments (upload), Delete Attachments (delete)

List Attachments

View attachments on an issue:

atlcli jira issue attachments PROJ-123

Output:

ID     FILENAME          SIZE    CREATED
10001  screenshot.png    245 KB  2026-01-14
10002  debug.log         12 KB   2026-01-13
10003  requirements.pdf  1.2 MB  2026-01-10

The issue key can also be passed as --key PROJ-123. Columns are sized to the widest row.

Use --json for JSON output.

Upload Attachment

Attach one or more files to an issue:

# Single file
atlcli jira issue attach PROJ-123 ./screenshot.png

# Several files in one call
atlcli jira issue attach PROJ-123 ./file1.png ./file2.pdf ./logs.zip

# A glob the shell expands — every match is uploaded
atlcli jira issue attach PROJ-123 ./screenshots/*.png

# Upload and comment in one step
atlcli jira issue attach PROJ-123 ./error.log --comment "Error logs from production"

Options:

Flag	Description
--key	Issue key, if you prefer it over the positional form
--comment	Post a comment on the issue after the upload. Markdown, converted like jira issue comments add
--json	JSON output

Partial failures

Every path is checked before anything is uploaded, so a typo in one filename uploads nothing. If a file is rejected by Jira mid-run, the remaining files are still uploaded, the failures are reported, and the command exits non-zero — so a script never mistakes a partial upload for a complete one.

The --comment text is posted only when at least one file uploaded.

Upload JSON Output

atlcli jira issue attach PROJ-123 ./a.png ./b.pdf --json

{
  "schemaVersion": "1",
  "issue": "PROJ-123",
  "attached": [
    {
      "id": "20001",
      "filename": "a.png",
      "size": 250880,
      "mimeType": "image/png",
      "path": "./a.png"
    },
    {
      "id": "20002",
      "filename": "b.pdf",
      "size": 12288,
      "mimeType": "application/pdf",
      "path": "./b.pdf"
    }
  ],
  "total": 2
}

A run with failures adds a failed array ([{ "path": "...", "error": "..." }]), and --comment adds "comment": { "id": "30001" }.

Download Attachment

Download an attachment by ID or filename:

# By attachment ID
atlcli jira issue attachment download 10001 -o ./downloads/

# By filename from issue
atlcli jira issue attachment download PROJ-123 screenshot.png -o ./downloads/

Options:

Flag	Description
-o, --output	Output directory or file path (default: current directory)
--overwrite	Overwrite existing files

-o is treated as a directory when it already exists as one or ends in a path separator (./downloads/); missing directories are created. Otherwise it names the target file:

# Writes ./downloads/screenshot.png
atlcli jira issue attachment download 10001 -o ./downloads/

# Writes ./shot.png
atlcli jira issue attachment download 10001 -o ./shot.png

Without --overwrite, an existing file is left untouched and the command exits with ATLCLI_ERR_IO.

Duplicate filenames

Jira allows several attachments with the same name on one issue. Downloading by filename fetches all matches and inserts the attachment ID before the extension so nothing is overwritten:

screenshot.10001.png
screenshot.10003.png

Download All Attachments

# Download all attachments from an issue
atlcli jira issue attachments PROJ-123 --json | \
  jq -r '.attachments[].id' | \
  xargs -I {} atlcli jira issue attachment download {} -o ./downloads/

Copy Attachment

Copy an attachment to another issue, in the same or another project:

# By attachment ID
atlcli jira issue attachment copy 10001 --to NEW-7

# By issue key + filename (copies every match)
atlcli jira issue attachment copy PROJ-123 evidence-template.xlsx --to NEW-7

Options:

Flag	Description
--to	Target issue key (required)
--json	JSON output: { "copied": [{ "from", "id", "filename", "size", "issue" }], "total" }

The file is downloaded into a private temporary folder, its size is checked against the attachment’s metadata, it is uploaded under the same filename, and the folder is removed, also when the copy fails. Memory use stays flat for large files; the only size limit is the target site’s attachment limit. A size mismatch uploads nothing.

To copy an issue together with all of its attachments, use atlcli jira issue clone PROJ-123 --attachments, see Issues. For whole projects, see Copy issues between projects.

Delete Attachment

Remove an attachment:

# By attachment ID
atlcli jira issue attachment delete 10001 --confirm

# By issue key + filename (deletes every match)
atlcli jira issue attachment delete PROJ-123 screenshot.png --confirm

Options:

Flag	Description
--confirm	Required — deletion is not reversible

JSON Output

atlcli jira issue attachments PROJ-123 --json

{
  "schemaVersion": "1",
  "issue": "PROJ-123",
  "attachments": [
    {
      "id": "10001",
      "filename": "screenshot.png",
      "size": 250880,
      "mimeType": "image/png",
      "created": "2026-01-14T10:00:00.000+0000",
      "author": {
        "displayName": "Alice",
        "email": "alice@company.com"
      },
      "content": "https://company.atlassian.net/secure/attachment/10001/screenshot.png"
    }
  ],
  "total": 1
}

Supported File Types

Jira accepts most file types. Common attachments include:

• Images: PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG
• Documents: PDF, DOCX, XLSX, TXT
• Archives: ZIP, TAR.GZ
• Logs: LOG, TXT
• Code: Source files of any type

Size Limits

Jira Cloud has a default attachment size limit of 10 MB per file. Your administrator may have configured different limits.

Use Cases

Attach Build Artifacts

# Attach build log after CI failure, with the explanation in one call
atlcli jira issue attach PROJ-123 ./build.log --comment "Build failed - see attached log"

Bulk Export Attachments

# Export all attachments from issues matching JQL
for key in $(atlcli jira search --jql "project = PROJ AND attachments is not EMPTY" --all-results --json | jq -r '.issues[].key'); do
  mkdir -p "./attachments/$key"
  atlcli jira issue attachments $key --json | \
    jq -r '.attachments[].id' | \
    xargs -I {} atlcli jira issue attachment download {} -o "./attachments/$key/"
done

Migrate Attachments Between Issues

# Download from source issue
atlcli jira issue attachments PROJ-100 --json | \
  jq -r '.attachments[].id' | \
  xargs -I {} atlcli jira issue attachment download {} -o /tmp/migrate/

# Upload to target issue — one call, every file
atlcli jira issue attach PROJ-200 /tmp/migrate/*

Related Topics

• Issues - Work with issues
• Import/Export - Bulk data operations