atlassian-templates

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.

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Workflows

Template Creation Process

1. Discover: Interview stakeholders to understand needs
2. Analyze: Review existing content patterns
3. Design: Create template structure and placeholders
4. Implement: Build template with macros and formatting
5. Test: Validate with sample data — confirm template renders correctly in preview before publishing
6. Document: Create usage instructions
7. Publish: Deploy to appropriate space/project via MCP (see MCP Operations below)
8. Verify: Confirm deployment success; roll back to previous version if errors occur
9. Train: Educate users on template usage
10. Monitor: Track adoption and gather feedback
11. Iterate: Refine based on usage

Template Modification Process

1. Assess: Review change request and impact
2. Version: Create new version, keep old available
3. Modify: Update template structure/content
4. Test: Validate changes don't break existing usage; preview updated template before publishing
5. Migrate: Provide migration path for existing content
6. Communicate: Announce changes to users
7. Support: Assist users with migration
8. Archive: Deprecate old version after transition; confirm deprecated template is unlisted, not deleted

Blueprint Development

1. Define blueprint scope and purpose
2. Design multi-page structure
3. Create page templates for each section
4. Configure page creation rules
5. Add dynamic content (Jira queries, user data)
6. Test blueprint creation flow end-to-end with a sample space
7. Verify all macro references resolve correctly before deployment
8. HANDOFF TO: Atlassian Admin for global deployment

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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](#template-scaffolder-generate-storage-format-markup) 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](#template-scaffolder-generate-storage-format-markup)).

{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.

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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)

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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

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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

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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:

1. Request and justification
2. Design and review
3. Testing with pilot users
4. Documentation
5. Approval
6. Deployment (via MCP or manual)
7. Training
8. Monitoring

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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 |