JIRA Time Tracking Skill

Risk Levels

| Operation | Risk | Notes | |-----------|------|-------| | View worklogs | - | Read-only | | View time tracking | - | Read-only | | Generate reports | - | Read-only | | Export timesheets | - | Read-only (local file) | | Log time | - | Easily reversible (can delete) | | Update worklog | ! | Previous value lost | | Set estimates | ! | Can update again | | Bulk log time | ! | Creates multiple worklogs | | Delete worklog | !! | Time data lost, can re-log |

Risk Legend: - Safe, read-only | ! Caution, modifiable | !! Warning, destructive but recoverable | !!! Danger, irreversible

When to use this skill

Use the jira-time skill when you need to:

Log time spent working on JIRA issues
View, update, or delete work log entries
Set or update time estimates (original and remaining)
Generate time reports for billing, invoicing, or tracking
Export timesheets to CSV or JSON format
Bulk log time across multiple issues

What this skill does

IMPORTANT: Always use the jira-as CLI. Never run Python scripts directly.

The jira-time skill provides comprehensive time tracking and worklog management:

Worklog Management

Add worklogs - Log time with optional comments and date/time
View worklogs - List all time entries for an issue
Update worklogs - Modify existing time entries
Delete worklogs - Remove time entries with estimate adjustment

Time Estimates

Set estimates - Configure original and remaining estimates
View time tracking - See complete time tracking summary with progress

Reporting

Time reports - Generate reports by user, project, or date range
Export timesheets - Export to CSV/JSON for billing systems
Bulk operations - Log time to multiple issues at once

Available Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | jira-as time log | Add a time entry to an issue | | jira-as time worklogs | List all worklogs for an issue | | jira-as time update-worklog | Modify an existing worklog | | jira-as time delete-worklog | Remove a worklog entry | | jira-as time estimate | Set original/remaining time estimates | | jira-as time tracking | View time tracking summary | | jira-as time report | Generate time reports | | jira-as time export | Export time data to CSV/JSON | | jira-as time bulk-log | Log time to multiple issues |

All commands support --help for full documentation.

Common Options

All commands support these common options:

| Option | Description | Availability | |--------|-------------|--------------| | -o/--output | Output format: text (default), json | log, worklogs, update-worklog, delete-worklog, tracking, bulk-log | | -f/--format | Output format: text, json, csv | report (text/csv/json), export (csv/json only) | | --help | Show help message with all available options | All commands |

Note: For estimate, use the long form --output - on that command -o is short for --original. For export, -o/--output is the output file path (see export-specific options below).

Worklog-specific options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | -t/--time TIME | Time spent (e.g., 2h, 1d 4h, 30m) | | -c/--comment TEXT | Description of work performed | | -s/--started DATE | When work was started (default: now) | | --adjust-estimate MODE | How to adjust remaining estimate: auto, leave, new, manual (see note below) | | --new-estimate TIME | New remaining estimate (for adjust=new or adjust=manual) | | --reduce-by TIME | Amount to reduce estimate (for adjust=manual with log) | | --increase-by TIME | Amount to increase estimate (for adjust=manual with delete-worklog) | | --visibility-type TYPE | Worklog visibility: role or group | | --visibility-value TEXT | Role name or group name for visibility | | -w/--worklog-id ID | Worklog ID (for update/delete operations) |

Note: The manual mode (with --reduce-by or --increase-by) is only available for log and delete-worklog commands. The update-worklog command supports only auto, leave, and new modes.

Worklog filter options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | -s/--since DATE | Start date for filtering worklogs | | -u/--until DATE | End date for filtering worklogs | | -a/--author USER | Filter by worklog author |

Report-specific options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | --period PERIOD | Time period: today, yesterday, this-week, last-week, this-month, last-month (YYYY-MM format is only accepted by export, not report) | | -u/--user USER | Filter by user (use currentUser() for yourself) | | -p/--project PROJECT | Filter by project key | | -s/--since DATE | Start date for filtering | | --until DATE | End date for filtering | | -g/--group-by FIELD | Group results by: issue, day, or user |

Export-specific options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | -o/--output FILE | Output file path (e.g., timesheets.csv) | | -f/--format FORMAT | File format: csv (default) or json |

Bulk-log-specific options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | -j/--jql JQL | JQL query to select issues | | -i/--issues LIST | Comma-separated issue keys | | -n/--dry-run | Preview without making changes | | -f/--force | Skip confirmation prompt |

Exit Codes

All commands return standard exit codes:

| Code | Meaning | |------|---------| | 0 | Success - operation completed successfully | | 1 | Error - operation failed (check error message for details) | | 2 | Usage error (invalid arguments); also used for authentication errors |

Examples

Log time to an issue

# Log 2 hours of work
jira-as time log PROJ-123 -t 2h

# Log time with a comment
jira-as time log PROJ-123 -t "1d 4h" -c "Debugging authentication issue"

# Log time for yesterday
jira-as time log PROJ-123 -t 2h -s yesterday

# Log time without adjusting estimate
jira-as time log PROJ-123 -t 2h --adjust-estimate leave

# Log time and set new remaining estimate
jira-as time log PROJ-123 -t 2h --adjust-estimate new --new-estimate 4h

# Log time with visibility restriction
jira-as time log PROJ-123 -t 2h --visibility-type role --visibility-value Developers

# Output as JSON
jira-as time log PROJ-123 -t 2h -o json

View worklogs

# List all worklogs for an issue
jira-as time worklogs PROJ-123

# Filter by author (-a is short for --author)
jira-as time worklogs PROJ-123 -a currentUser()
jira-as time worklogs PROJ-123 --author currentUser()

# Filter by date range (-s, -u are short forms)
jira-as time worklogs PROJ-123 -s 2026-01-01 -u 2026-01-31
jira-as time worklogs PROJ-123 --since 2026-01-01 --until 2026-01-31

# Output as JSON
jira-as time worklogs PROJ-123 -o json

Manage estimates

# Set original estimate
jira-as time estimate PROJ-123 --original 2d

# Set remaining estimate
jira-as time estimate PROJ-123 --remaining "1d 4h"

# Set both estimates together (recommended)
jira-as time estimate PROJ-123 --original 2d --remaining 1d

# View time tracking summary
jira-as time tracking PROJ-123

# View time tracking as JSON
jira-as time tracking PROJ-123 -o json

Update worklogs

# Update time on existing worklog
jira-as time update-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 -t 3h

# Update worklog comment
jira-as time update-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 -c "Updated description"

# Update worklog start time
jira-as time update-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 -s 2025-01-15

# Update with automatic estimate adjustment
jira-as time update-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 -t 4h --adjust-estimate auto

# Update and set new remaining estimate
jira-as time update-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 -t 4h --adjust-estimate new --new-estimate 2d

# Output as JSON
jira-as time update-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 -t 3h -o json

Generate reports

# My time for last week
jira-as time report -u currentUser() --period last-week

# Project time for this month
jira-as time report -p PROJ --period this-month

# Report for a specific month using an explicit date range
# (report does not accept YYYY-MM for --period; use `time export` for that)
jira-as time report -p PROJ -s 2025-01-01 --until 2025-01-31

# Export to CSV for billing
jira-as time report -p PROJ -s 2025-01-01 --until 2025-01-31 -f csv > timesheet.csv

# Group by day for daily summary
jira-as time report -p PROJ --period this-week -g day

# Group by user for team summary
jira-as time report -p PROJ --period this-month -g user -f json

# JSON output for scripting (pipe to jq for processing)
jira-as time report -p PROJ --period this-week -f json | jq ".worklogs[] | {user: .author, hours: .timeSpentSeconds/3600}"

Export timesheets

# Export last month's timesheets to CSV
jira-as time export -p PROJ --period last-month -o timesheets.csv

# Export specific month using YYYY-MM format
jira-as time export -p PROJ --period 2025-01 -o january.csv

# Export to JSON for integration
jira-as time export -p PROJ -s 2025-01-01 --until 2025-01-31 -f json -o timesheets.json

# Export user's timesheets for billing
jira-as time export -u alice@company.com --period this-month -o billing.csv

Note: For export, -o/--output specifies the file path and -f/--format specifies the format (csv or json).

Bulk operations

# Preview bulk time logging (dry run)
jira-as time bulk-log -i PROJ-1,PROJ-2 -t 15m -c "Sprint planning" -n

# Log standup time to multiple issues
jira-as time bulk-log -i PROJ-1,PROJ-2 -t 15m -c "Sprint planning"

# Log time to JQL results with dry run
jira-as time bulk-log -j "sprint = 456" -t 15m -c "Daily standup" -n

# Execute after confirming dry run output
jira-as time bulk-log -j "sprint = 456" -t 15m -c "Daily standup"

# Skip confirmation prompt with force flag
jira-as time bulk-log -i PROJ-1,PROJ-2 -t 15m -c "Team meeting" -f

# Output results as JSON
jira-as time bulk-log -i PROJ-1,PROJ-2 -t 15m -c "Meeting" -o json

Delete worklogs

# Preview worklog deletion (dry run)
jira-as time delete-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 --dry-run

# Delete with automatic estimate adjustment
jira-as time delete-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 --adjust-estimate auto

# Delete without modifying estimate
jira-as time delete-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 --adjust-estimate leave

# Delete and set new remaining estimate
jira-as time delete-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 --adjust-estimate new --new-estimate 3d

# Delete and increase estimate by specific amount (manual mode)
jira-as time delete-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 --adjust-estimate manual --increase-by 2h

# Delete without confirmation prompt
jira-as time delete-worklog PROJ-123 -w 12345 --yes

Dry Run Support

The following commands support --dry-run for previewing changes without making modifications:

| Command | Dry Run Behavior | |---------|------------------| | jira-as time bulk-log | Shows which issues would receive worklogs and the time that would be logged | | jira-as time delete-worklog | Shows worklog details that would be deleted and estimate impact |

Dry-Run Pattern: Always use -n/--dry-run first when performing bulk operations or deleting worklogs. This preview-before-execute workflow prevents accidental data changes:

# Step 1: Preview the operation
jira-as time bulk-log -j "sprint = 456" -t 15m -n

# Step 2: Review the output carefully
# Step 3: Execute only after confirming the preview is correct
jira-as time bulk-log -j "sprint = 456" -t 15m -c "Daily standup"

Time format

JIRA accepts human-readable time formats:

30m - 30 minutes
2h - 2 hours
1d - 1 day (8 hours by default)
1w - 1 week (5 days by default)
2d 4h 30m - Combined format

Configuration

Time tracking must be enabled in your JIRA project. If you receive an error about time tracking being disabled, ask your JIRA administrator to enable it.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Time tracking is not enabled"

Time tracking must be enabled at the project level. Contact your JIRA administrator to enable it in Project Settings > Features > Time Tracking.

"Cannot log time to this issue"

Possible causes:

The issue is in a status that doesn't allow time logging
You don't have permission to log work on this issue
The issue type doesn't support time tracking

"Worklog not found"

The worklog ID may be incorrect or the worklog was already deleted. Use jira-as time worklogs ISSUE-KEY to list valid worklog IDs.

Estimates not updating correctly

JIRA Cloud has a known bug (JRACLOUD-67539) where estimates may not update as expected. Workaround: Set both original and remaining estimates together:

jira-as time estimate PROJ-123 --original "2d" --remaining "1d"

Time logged but not showing in reports

Check the --started date - worklogs are associated with the start date, not creation date
Verify the correct --period filter is being used
Ensure the user has permission to view the issue's worklogs

"Invalid time format"

Use JIRA's standard time notation:

Correct: 2h, 1d 4h, 30m, 1w 2d
Incorrect: 2 hours, 1.5h, 90 minutes

Bulk operation failures

When using bulk time logging:

Always use --dry-run first to preview changes
Check that all issues in the JQL results are accessible
Verify time tracking is enabled on all target projects

Permission Requirements

To use time tracking features, you typically need:

Browse Projects - View issues and worklogs
Work On Issues - Add worklogs to issues
Edit All Worklogs - Modify/delete any user's worklogs (admin)
Delete All Worklogs - Delete any user's worklogs (admin)

For detailed permission matrix, see Permission Matrix.

Advanced Troubleshooting

API rate limits

When performing bulk operations on large result sets, the CLI automatically retries with exponential backoff on 429 errors. To reduce load:

Use smaller date ranges for reports
Filter JQL to limit results before bulk operations

Timezone issues

Worklogs use UTC internally. If time appears on wrong date:

Check your JIRA timezone settings
Use explicit --started date when needed

Bulk operation timeouts

Large JQL result sets may timeout:

# Use smaller batches instead of one large query
jira-as time bulk-log -i PROJ-1,PROJ-2 -t 15m

Worklog visibility issues

If worklogs are logged but others cannot see them:

Check worklog visibility settings
Verify issue security scheme permissions

For complete error code reference, see Error Codes.

Common Questions

Why is my estimate not updating? JIRA Cloud bug (JRACLOUD-67539). Set both estimates together:

jira-as time estimate PROJ-123 --original 2d --remaining "1d 4h"

How do I log time for someone else? You need "Edit All Worklogs" permission. Most users can only log their own time.

Can I bill partial hours? Yes. Use minutes for precision: 1h 45m (not 1.75h). JIRA doesn't support decimal hours.

How does --adjust-estimate work?

| Mode | Effect | |------|--------| | auto | Reduces remaining by time logged | | leave | No change to remaining estimate | | new | Sets remaining to a new value | | manual | Reduces remaining by specified amount |

Advanced Guides

For specific roles and use cases, see:

| Guide | Audience | Topics | |-------|----------|--------| | IC Time Logging | Developers, QA | Daily habits, comment templates, special cases | | Estimation Guide | PMs, Team Leads | Approaches, accuracy metrics, buffers | | Team Policies | Managers, Admins | Policy templates, onboarding, compliance | | Billing Integration | Finance, PMs | Invoicing, billable tracking, exports | | Reporting Guide | Analysts, PMs | Reports, dashboards, JQL queries |

Quick Reference

| Reference | Content | |-----------|---------| | Time Format | Format syntax, common values | | JQL Snippets | Copy-paste queries for time tracking | | Permission Matrix | Role-based permissions | | Error Codes | Troubleshooting guide |

Best Practices

For comprehensive guidance on time logging workflows, estimate management, and reporting patterns, see Best Practices Guide (navigation hub to all guides).

Related skills

jira-issue: Create and manage issues (can set estimates on creation)
jira-search: Search issues and view time tracking fields
jira-agile: Sprint management with time tracking integration
jira-bulk: Bulk operations at scale with dry-run support