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 (instead of --jql)
--set	Set field value: field=value (repeatable). Commas inside a value, as in labels=a,b, stay part of that value.
--dry-run	Preview changes without applying
--limit	Maximum issues to update (default 1000)

Every bulk command takes either --jql or --issues, not both.

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
--issues	Comma-separated issue keys (instead of --jql)
--to	Target status name (required)
--dry-run	Preview changes
--limit	Maximum issues to process (default 1000)

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 into a sprint or back to the backlog:

# 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

# Specific issues, preview first
atlcli jira bulk move --issues PROJ-1,PROJ-2 --sprint 456 --dry-run

Options:

Flag	Description
--jql	JQL query
--issues	Comma-separated keys (instead of --jql)
--sprint	Target sprint ID (numeric)
--backlog	Move to the backlog
--dry-run	List the issues and the target without moving anything
--limit	Maximum issues to move (default 1000)

Give exactly one of --sprint or --backlog. Issues are moved 50 at a time, the Jira Agile API maximum per request; a failed chunk is reported in result.errors and the remaining chunks still run. Moving issues between projects is not supported. For a single sprint, atlcli jira sprint add and sprint remove do the same job.

Bulk Link Page

Link one Confluence page to every matching issue (as a remote link, like issue link-page):

atlcli jira bulk link-page --jql "sprint in openSprints()" --page 12345 --dry-run
atlcli jira bulk link-page --issues PROJ-1,PROJ-2 --page 12345 --comment

Options:

Flag	Description
--jql	JQL query
--issues	Comma-separated keys (instead of --jql)
--page	Confluence page ID (required)
--comment [text]	Also post a comment on each issue: bare, “Linked to Confluence page: ” (as jira issue link-page posts); with text, that text as Markdown. --dry-run shows it as comment (null when none)
--dry-run	Show the page and the matching issues without linking
--limit	Maximum issues to link (default 1000)

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
--limit	Maximum issues to delete (default 1000)

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:

{
  "schemaVersion": "1",
  "dryRun": true,
  "operation": "edit",
  "jql": "project = PROJ AND type = Bug",
  "fields": { "priority": { "name": "High" } },
  "affectedIssues": [
    { "key": "PROJ-101", "summary": "Fix login bug" },
    { "key": "PROJ-102", "summary": "Update documentation" }
  ],
  "count": 2
}

Errors

Issues are processed in parallel batches of 10. A failing issue does not stop the others; failures are listed in result.errors:

{
  "result": {
    "total": 100,
    "successful": 98,
    "failed": 2,
    "errors": [
      { "key": "PROJ-150", "error": "Permission denied" },
      { "key": "PROJ-175", "error": "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",
  "jql": "project = PROJ AND type = Bug",
  "fields": { "priority": { "name": "High" } },
  "result": { "total": 15, "successful": 15, "failed": 0, "errors": [] }
}

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
• Boards & Sprints - Single-sprint moves