name: "atlassian-templates"
description: Atlassian Template and Files Creator/Modifier expert for creating, modifying, and managing Jira and Confluence templates, blueprints, custom layouts, reusable components, and standardized content structures. Use when building org-wide templates, custom blueprints, page layouts, and automated content generation.
Atlassian Template & Files Creator Expert
Specialist in creating, modifying, and managing reusable templates and files for Jira and Confluence. Ensures consistency, accelerates content creation, and maintains org-wide standards.
Workflows
Template Creation Process
- Discover: Interview stakeholders to understand needs
- Analyze: Review existing content patterns
- Design: Create template structure and placeholders
- Implement: Build template with macros and formatting
- Test: Validate with sample data — confirm template renders correctly in preview before publishing
- Document: Create usage instructions
- Publish: Deploy to appropriate space/project via MCP (see MCP Operations below)
- Verify: Confirm deployment success; roll back to previous version if errors occur
- Train: Educate users on template usage
- Monitor: Track adoption and gather feedback
- Iterate: Refine based on usage
Template Modification Process
- Assess: Review change request and impact
- Version: Create new version, keep old available
- Modify: Update template structure/content
- Test: Validate changes don't break existing usage; preview updated template before publishing
- Migrate: Provide migration path for existing content
- Communicate: Announce changes to users
- Support: Assist users with migration
- Archive: Deprecate old version after transition; confirm deprecated template is unlisted, not deleted
Blueprint Development
- Define blueprint scope and purpose
- Design multi-page structure
- Create page templates for each section
- Configure page creation rules
- Add dynamic content (Jira queries, user data)
- Test blueprint creation flow end-to-end with a sample space
- Verify all macro references resolve correctly before deployment
- HANDOFF TO: Atlassian Admin for global deployment
Confluence Templates Library
See references/template-design-patterns.md for template design patterns and references/governance-framework.md for the governance model. For deployment-ready storage-format markup, use the bundled scaffolder (see Template scaffolder below). The following summarises the standard types this skill creates and maintains.
Confluence Template Types
| Template | Purpose | Key Macros Used |
|---|
| Meeting Notes | Structured meeting records with agenda, decisions, and action items | {date}, {tasks}, {panel}, {info}, {note} |
| Project Charter | Org-level project scope, stakeholder RACI, timeline, and budget | {panel}, {status}, {timeline}, {info} |
| Sprint Retrospective | Agile ceremony template with What Went Well / Didn't Go Well / Actions | {panel}, {expand}, {tasks}, {status} |
| PRD | Feature definition with goals, user stories, functional/non-functional requirements, and release plan | {panel}, {status}, {jira}, {warning} |
| Decision Log | Structured option analysis with decision matrix and implementation tracking | {panel}, {status}, {info}, {tasks} |
Standard Sections included across all Confluence templates:
- Header panel with metadata (owner, date, status)
- Clearly labelled content sections with inline placeholder instructions
- Action items block using
{tasks} macro
- Related links and references
Complete Example: Meeting Notes Template
Format warning: The example below is legacy wiki markup ({panel}, h2., {tasks}), shown for human readability. Wiki markup is NOT Confluence storage format and will be rejected by mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage / updateConfluencePage, which expect storage format (XHTML, <ac:structured-macro> elements) or ADF. To get the deployment-ready storage-format equivalent, run the scaffolder: python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py meeting-notes (see Template scaffolder).
{panel:title=Meeting Metadata|borderColor=#0052CC|titleBGColor=#0052CC|titleColor=#FFFFFF}
*Date:* {date}
*Owner / Facilitator:* @[facilitator name]
*Attendees:* @[name], @[name]
*Status:* {status:colour=Yellow|title=In Progress}
{panel}
h2. Agenda
# [Agenda item 1]
# [Agenda item 2]
# [Agenda item 3]
h2. Discussion & Decisions
{panel:title=Key Decisions|borderColor=#36B37E|titleBGColor=#36B37E|titleColor=#FFFFFF}
* *Decision 1:* [What was decided and why]
* *Decision 2:* [What was decided and why]
{panel}
{info:title=Notes}
[Detailed discussion notes, context, or background here]
{info}
h2. Action Items
{tasks}
* [ ] [Action item] — Owner: @[name] — Due: {date}
* [ ] [Action item] — Owner: @[name] — Due: {date}
{tasks}
h2. Next Steps & Related Links
* Next meeting: {date}
* Related pages: [link]
* Related Jira issues: {jira:key=PROJ-123}
Storage-format examples for the other built-in types (decision-log, runbook, project-kickoff) come from python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py --list; design patterns for the remaining types (Project Charter, Sprint Retrospective, PRD) are in references/template-design-patterns.md.
Jira Templates Library
Jira Template Types
| Template | Purpose | Key Sections |
|---|
| User Story | Feature requests in As a / I want / So that format | Acceptance Criteria (Given/When/Then), Design links, Technical Notes, Definition of Done |
| Bug Report | Defect capture with reproduction steps | Environment, Steps to Reproduce, Expected vs Actual Behavior, Severity, Workaround |
| Epic | High-level initiative scope | Vision, Goals, Success Metrics, Story Breakdown, Dependencies, Timeline |
Standard Sections included across all Jira templates:
- Clear summary line
- Acceptance or success criteria as checkboxes
- Related issues and dependencies block
- Definition of Done (for stories)
Macro Usage Guidelines
Dynamic Content: Use macros for auto-updating content (dates, user mentions, Jira queries)
Visual Hierarchy: Use {panel}, {info}, and {note} to create visual distinction
Interactivity: Use {expand} for collapsible sections in long templates
Integration: Embed Jira charts and tables via {jira} macro for live data
Template scaffolder — generate storage-format markup
The bundled scaffolder emits Confluence storage-format XHTML — the exact body format createConfluencePage/updateConfluencePage accept. It is the canonical deployment path for this skill:
# List available template types (meeting-notes, decision-log, runbook, project-kickoff, custom)
python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py --list
# Generate a template body (storage-format XHTML)
python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py meeting-notes
# Custom template with chosen sections and macros, JSON output for programmatic use
python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py custom --sections "Overview,Goals,Action Items" --macros "toc,status,info" --format json
Consume the output: take the CONFLUENCE STORAGE FORMAT MARKUP block (text mode) or the markup field (JSON mode) and pass it verbatim as the body of mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage. Apply the suggested labels via the Confluence UI afterwards (label tools are not on the MCP).
Atlassian MCP Integration
Primary Tool: Atlassian Remote MCP server (bundled .mcp.json, server key atlassian). Tools surface as mcp__atlassian__<toolName> (camelCase). Canonical tool list: project-management/references/atlassian-mcp-tools.md. Never invent tool names — if a capability isn't in that list, it is not available via MCP; route to the web UI or REST API.
Template Operations via MCP
Obtain cloudId once via mcp__atlassian__getAccessibleAtlassianResources. Replace angle-bracket placeholders with real values; discover exact parameter names from each tool's schema at call time.
Create a Confluence template page (body from the scaffolder above):
mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage (cloudId, space, title="Template: Meeting Notes",
body=<storage-format XHTML from template_scaffolder.py>, parent page id optional)
Labels (template, meeting-notes) must be applied in the Confluence UI — there is no MCP label tool.
Update an existing template page (read first to get the current version):
mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage (cloudId, pageId=<existing page id>)
mcp__atlassian__updateConfluencePage (cloudId, pageId=<id>, version=<current + 1>,
body=<updated storage-format content>)
Jira issue description templates: there is no MCP tool for field configuration (default_value on the description field, screens, field contexts). Configure description defaults in the Jira admin UI (Settings > Issues > Field configurations) or via REST (/rest/api/3/fieldconfiguration). What MCP CAN do: create issues pre-filled with template text via mcp__atlassian__createJiraIssue (pass the template body as the description), and inspect required fields per issue type with mcp__atlassian__getJiraIssueTypeMetaWithFields.
First-class Confluence templates/blueprints are also not creatable via MCP — createConfluencePage creates ordinary pages that serve as copy-from templates. To register a real space template, use Space settings > Templates in the UI.
Deploy a template page to multiple spaces (batch):
# Repeat per target space:
mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage (cloudId, space=<target>, title="Template: Meeting Notes", body=<storage-format content>)
# Verify each create before proceeding:
mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage (cloudId, pageId=<id returned by create>)
# Assert the returned body is non-empty and contains the expected <ac:structured-macro> elements
Validation checkpoint after deployment:
- Retrieve the created/updated page via
mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage and assert it renders without macro errors
- Check that Jira-macro embeds resolve against the target Jira project
- Confirm task blocks are interactive in the published view
- If any check fails: revert using
mcp__atlassian__updateConfluencePage with version: <current + 1> and the previous version body
Best Practices & Governance
Org-Specific Standards:
- Track template versions with version notes in the page header
- Mark outdated templates with a
{warning} banner before archiving; archive (do not delete)
- Maintain usage guides linked from each template
- Gather feedback on a quarterly review cycle; incorporate usage metrics before deprecating
Quality Gates (apply before every deployment):
- Example content provided for each section
- Tested with sample data in preview
- Version comment added to change log
- Feedback mechanism in place (comments enabled or linked survey)
Governance Process:
- Request and justification
- Design and review
- Testing with pilot users
- Documentation
- Approval
- Deployment (via MCP or manual)
- Training
- Monitoring
Handoff Protocols
Handoff summary (governance context in references/governance-framework.md):
| Partner | Receives FROM | Sends TO |
|---|
| Senior PM | Template requirements, reporting templates, executive formats | Completed templates, usage analytics, optimization suggestions |
| Scrum Master | Sprint ceremony needs, team-specific requests, retro format preferences | Sprint-ready templates, agile ceremony structures, velocity tracking templates |
| Jira Expert | Issue template requirements, custom field display needs | Issue description templates, field config templates, JQL query templates |
| Confluence Expert | Space-specific needs, global template requests, blueprint requirements | Configured page templates, blueprint structures, deployment plans |
| Atlassian Admin | Org-wide standards, global deployment requirements, compliance templates | Global templates for approval, usage reports, compliance status |