Templates

Templates

Save issue configurations as templates for quick reuse.

Prerequisites

• Authenticated profile (atlcli auth login)
• Jira permission: Browse Projects (to save from existing issues)

List Templates

atlcli jira template list

Save Template

Save an existing issue as a template:

atlcli jira template save bug-report --issue PROJ-123

Options:

Flag	Description
--issue	Source issue key (required)
--description	Template description
--tags	Comma-separated tags
--level	Storage level: global, profile or project (see Choosing a Level)
--project	Project key for project-level storage
--force	Overwrite existing template

Placeholders in the source issue are kept, and every template variable the fields use is recorded in the template as a required string:

{
  "name": "release",
  "fields": { "summary": "Release {{version}}", "labels": ["rel-{{version}}"] },
  "variables": [{ "name": "version", "type": "string", "required": true }]
}

Edit variables (in the file, or export, edit and import) to give a type, a default, select options or a description. Older templates without variables keep working; their variables are then only inferred.

View Template

atlcli jira template get bug-report

The output includes the template’s variables.

Apply Template

Create an issue from a template:

atlcli jira template apply bug-report --project PROJ --summary "Login fails on mobile"

Options:

Flag	Description
--project	Target project (required, or global.project)
--summary	Issue summary (default: the template’s summary; required if the template has none)
--description	Description instead of the template’s
--assignee	Assignee (see Users)
--var <name=value>	Template variable, repeatable
--vars-file <file>	Values and declarations, see Templating
--now <iso>	Freezes today/now
--strict	Fails on any template warning, before the issue is created

Summary, description, labels, the due date and other fields render as templates; --summary and --description do too. At a terminal, atlcli asks for required variables you didn’t pass. Without one (CI, --json, --yes) it fails and names them:

atlcli jira template apply release --project REL --var version=4.2
# Due in two weeks, from a template with  "duedate": "{{ today | dateAdd(14, \"d\") }}"

Data Center

--assignee needs a Cloud account ID. On Data Center it is ignored; assign the issue afterwards with issue assign.

Delete Template

atlcli jira template delete bug-report --confirm

Export Template

Export to a JSON file:

atlcli jira template export bug-report -o ./templates/bug-report.json

Import Template

Import from a JSON file:

atlcli jira template import --file ./templates/bug-report.json

Template Storage

Templates support hierarchical storage at three levels:

Level	Location	Scope
global	~/.atlcli/templates/jira/global/	Available everywhere
profile	~/.atlcli/templates/jira/profiles/<name>/	Available when using that profile
project	~/.atlcli/templates/jira/projects/<key>/	Available for that project

The base directory can be relocated with the ATLCLI_TEMPLATES_DIR environment variable.

Choosing a Level

save, import, delete and list all pick a storage level with the same rule:

1. an explicit --level <global|profile|project> always wins;
2. otherwise --project <key> selects project storage;
3. otherwise --profile <name> selects profile storage;
4. otherwise global.

--profile is primarily the auth-profile flag, so it is the weakest storage signal — passing it does not divert a template away from the level you asked for. An unrecognised --level value is rejected rather than silently falling back to another level.

Use the same flags to save and to delete

A template is only found again at the level it was written to. Whatever flag combination you saved with, use it again for delete:

atlcli jira template save sprint-task --issue PROJ-123 --level project --project PROJ
atlcli jira template delete sprint-task --level project --project PROJ --confirm

Save to Specific Level

# Save globally (default)
atlcli jira template save my-template --issue PROJ-123

# Save to profile
atlcli jira template save my-template --issue PROJ-123 --level profile

# Save to project
atlcli jira template save my-template --issue PROJ-123 --level project --project PROJ

# --project on its own implies project level
atlcli jira template save my-template --issue PROJ-123 --project PROJ

List Shows All Levels

atlcli jira template list

Output:

NAME              TYPE    FIELDS  LEVEL            DESCRIPTION
bug-report        Bug     5       [global]         Standard bug report
feature-request   Story   4       [profile:work]   Team feature template
sprint-task       Task    3       [project:PROJ]   Project-specific task

Resolution Order

When applying a template, atlcli searches in order:

1. Project level (~/.atlcli/templates/jira/projects/<key>/)
2. Profile level (~/.atlcli/templates/jira/profiles/<name>/)
3. Global level (~/.atlcli/templates/jira/global/)

The first match wins, allowing project-specific overrides of global templates.

Captured Fields

Templates capture:

• Issue type
• Summary (as pattern)
• Description
• Priority (by ID)
• Labels
• Components
• Fix versions
• Custom fields

Templates never capture project, assignee, status, or system fields.

Related Topics

• Issues - Create and manage issues
• Projects - Project configuration