Bulk Operations

Bulk Operations

Perform batch operations on multiple issues.

Prerequisites

• Authenticated profile (atlcli auth login)
• Jira permission: Edit Issues for all matched issues

Bulk Edit

Update multiple issues at once using --set field=value syntax:

atlcli jira bulk edit --jql "project = PROJ AND labels = cleanup" --set "labels=backend,tech-debt"

Options:

Flag	Description
--jql	JQL query to select issues
--issues	Comma-separated issue keys
--set	Set field value: field=value (repeatable)
--dry-run	Preview changes without applying
--limit	Maximum issues to update
--confirm	Skip confirmation prompt

Examples

# Set priority
atlcli jira bulk edit --jql "project = PROJ AND type = Bug" --set "priority=High"

# Set assignee
atlcli jira bulk edit --jql "status = 'To Do' AND sprint in openSprints()" \
  --set "assignee=alice@company.com"

# Set multiple fields
atlcli jira bulk edit --jql "labels = needs-review" \
  --set "priority=Medium" \
  --set "labels=reviewed"

# Set custom field
atlcli jira bulk edit --jql "project = PROJ" \
  --set "customfield_10001=value"

# By issue keys
atlcli jira bulk edit --issues PROJ-1,PROJ-2,PROJ-3 --set "priority=Low"

Label Operations

For labels, use the dedicated bulk label commands:

# Add a label to matching issues
atlcli jira bulk label add release-2.0 --jql "sprint in openSprints()"

# Remove a label from matching issues
atlcli jira bulk label remove deprecated --jql "project = PROJ"

# Preview with dry-run
atlcli jira bulk label add reviewed --jql "..." --dry-run

Bulk Transition

Move multiple issues to a new status:

atlcli jira bulk transition --jql "project = PROJ AND status = 'To Do'" --to "In Progress"

Options:

Flag	Description
--jql	JQL query to select issues
--to	Target status name (required)
--dry-run	Preview changes
--limit	Maximum issues to process

Examples

# Close all bugs in old sprint
atlcli jira bulk transition \
  --jql "type = Bug AND sprint = 'Sprint 10' AND status != Done" \
  --to Done

# Start work on all assigned issues
atlcli jira bulk transition \
  --jql "assignee = currentUser() AND status = 'To Do'" \
  --to "In Progress"

Bulk Move

Move issues between sprints or projects:

# Move to sprint
atlcli jira bulk move --jql "labels = release-2.0" --sprint 456

# Move to backlog
atlcli jira bulk move --jql "sprint = 123 AND status = 'To Do'" --backlog

Options:

Flag	Description
--jql	JQL query
--issues	Comma-separated keys
--sprint	Target sprint ID
--backlog	Move to backlog
--dry-run	Preview changes
--confirm	Skip confirmation

Bulk Delete

Delete multiple issues:

atlcli jira bulk delete --jql "project = PROJ AND labels = test" --confirm

Options:

Flag	Description
--jql	JQL query
--issues	Comma-separated keys
--confirm	Required for destructive operation
--dry-run	Preview what would be deleted

Caution

Bulk delete is irreversible. Always use --dry-run first.

# Preview first
atlcli jira bulk delete --jql "project = TEST AND created < -90d" --dry-run

# Then execute
atlcli jira bulk delete --jql "project = TEST AND created < -90d" --confirm

Dry Run

All bulk operations support --dry-run to preview changes:

atlcli jira bulk edit --jql "..." --set "priority=High" --dry-run

Output:

Dry run - no changes will be made

Issues to update (15 total):
  PROJ-101  Fix login bug
  PROJ-102  Update documentation
  PROJ-103  Refactor auth module
  ... and 12 more

Changes:
  priority: Current → High

Run without --dry-run to apply changes.

Progress and Errors

For large batches, progress is shown:

Updating issues: 45/100 [████████░░░░░░░░░░░░] 45%

Failed updates are reported:

Completed: 98/100
Failed: 2
  PROJ-150: Permission denied
  PROJ-175: Invalid transition

Rate Limiting

Bulk operations automatically handle rate limiting:

• Requests are batched
• Automatic retry with backoff on 429 errors
• Progress continues after transient failures

JSON Output

atlcli jira bulk edit --jql "..." --set "priority=High" --json

{
  "schemaVersion": "1",
  "operation": "edit",
  "total": 15,
  "successful": 15,
  "failed": 0,
  "issues": [
    {"key": "PROJ-101", "status": "updated"},
    {"key": "PROJ-102", "status": "updated"}
  ]
}

Best Practices

1. Always dry-run first - Preview before making changes
2. Use specific JQL - Narrow your query to avoid unintended updates
3. Batch appropriately - Use --limit for very large result sets
4. Check permissions - Ensure you have edit rights for all matched issues

Related Topics

• Search - JQL query syntax
• Issues - Single issue operations
• Filters - Save and reuse JQL queries