JIRA

Overview

The Jira REST API manages issues, projects, boards, and workflows — used by countless dev teams. Auth is HTTP Basic with an API token (or OAuth) — requests without credentials return 401 (verified).

Quick Start

Who am I (replace YOUR_DOMAIN, YOUR_EMAIL, YOUR_TOKEN):

curl "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.atlassian.net/rest/api/2/myself" \
  -u "YOUR_EMAIL:YOUR_TOKEN"

{ "accountId": "123", "emailAddress": "[email protected]", "displayName": "John Doe" }

Search issues:

curl "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.atlassian.net/rest/api/2/search?jql=project%3DDEV&maxResults=5" \
  -u "YOUR_EMAIL:YOUR_TOKEN"

Create an issue:

curl -X POST "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.atlassian.net/rest/api/2/issue" \
  -u "YOUR_EMAIL:YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"fields": {"project": {"key": "DEV"}, "summary": "Bug", "issuetype": {"name": "Task"}}}'

Authentication

• Create an API token at id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens.
• Use HTTP Basic: username = your email, password = the API token (missing → 401, verified).
• OAuth 2.0 (JWT bearer) is the newer flow for apps.

Rate Limits & Notes

• Cloud rate limits: ~300 requests/minute per user (check the docs) — generous.
• Endpoints: /rest/api/2/issue, /search (JQL), /board, /sprint, /project.
• Jira Server (self-hosted) uses a different host path than Jira Cloud (YOUR_DOMAIN.atlassian.net).
• The API version path (/rest/api/2/ or /rest/api/3/) depends on your instance.

FAQ

Is Jira API free? API access is included with Jira plans (rate-limited).

How do I get a token? id.atlassian.com → API tokens → Create.

What’s the auth style? HTTP Basic with email + API token (verified 401 without).