Backlog Bridge

backlog-bridge

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A bridge to many [Backlog](https://backlog.com) (Nulab) spaces at once — for people and for AI agents.

• `backlog-bridge` — read and write issues, comments, search and activity on any connected space, from one CLI. Paste a Backlog URL and it picks the right space and API key.
• `backlog-bridge sync` — one-way sync between two Backlog projects, e.g. a customer's Backlog and your internal one.
• Agent-ready — ships skills for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor (AGENTS.md, .agents/skills/). The official Backlog MCP server binds to a single space; this works with as many as you connect.

Zero runtime dependencies. Needs Node.js >= 22.18 on macOS or Linux; on Windows, install with npm (option A).

Install

Option A — npm:

npm install -g backlog-bridge

backlog-bridge setup

A specific version: npm install -g backlog-bridge@0.1.5. Unreleased main from GitHub: npm install -g --install-links github:mickey-ichi/backlog-bridge (--install-links makes npm 10 copy the package instead of linking to a temporary clone). Release notes: CHANGELOG.md.

Option B — git clone (update later with git pull):

git clone https://github.com/mickey-ichi/backlog-bridge.git ~/.backlog-bridge

~/.backlog-bridge/bin/backlog-bridge setup # links ~/.local/bin/backlog-bridge

backlog-bridge setup installs the agent skills for Claude Code (~/.claude/skills), Codex and Cursor (~/.agents/skills, ~/.codex/skills), and creates ~/.config/backlog-bridge/.env (chmod 600) from the template. It never overwrites anything that isn't its own; backlog-bridge setup --uninstall removes only its links. backlog-bridge finds a Node >= 22.18 by itself (PATH, nvm, Homebrew), even if your default node is older.

Then fill in ~/.config/backlog-bridge/.env — one _SPACE + _API_KEY pair per space — and:

backlog-bridge spaces --check

backlog-bridge issue https://acme.backlog.jp/view/ACME-123

API keys: *Personal Settings → API → Register new API key*, on each space.

Update: npm install -g backlog-bridge@latest (option A) or git pull (option B). Uninstall: backlog-bridge setup --uninstall, then npm uninstall -g backlog-bridge (option A) or delete the clone (option B). Your data in ~/.config/backlog-bridge is kept.

Configuration

Private data never lives in the repo. It lives in a home directory:

backlog-bridge home prints what is in use.

Spaces come from environment variables — .env in the home directory, or exported in the shell:

ACME_SPACE=acme.backlog.jp      # xxx.backlog.com -> just "xxx"; other hosts -> full host

ACME_API_KEY=...

The space name is the lowercase prefix (ACME_* → acme, ACME_JP_* → acme_jp). Host and key are always taken from the same prefix. config.json → spaces is optional (only for a prefix that differs from the space name).

Profiles (for sync) live in config.json in the home directory. Start from config.example.json. Relative paths in a profile (state, pairFile) resolve against the home directory.

backlog-bridge — multi-space CLI

backlog-bridge setup [--uninstall] [--force]                  # install the global command + agent skills

backlog-bridge mcp [--config] # MCP server on stdio; --config prints host setup backlog-bridge home [--init] # paths in use; --init copies .env/config/state from the repo backlog-bridge spaces [--check] # connected spaces; --check calls the API backlog-bridge projects backlog-bridge issue # = URL | | backlog-bridge comments [--count=20] backlog-bridge search [--keyword=..] [--assignee=me|name] [--open] [--count=50] backlog-bridge activities [--project=KEY] [--count=20] backlog-bridge comment (--text=..|--file=path) [--yes] backlog-bridge update status= assignee= dueDate=YYYY-MM-DD summary=.. [--yes] backlog-bridge api [k=v ...] [--yes] # any Backlog API v2 endpoint

• A bare works when its project key appears in a profile. --json prints raw JSON.
• Every write is a dry run until you add `--yes`. It prints the exact request first.
• update resolves status and assignee by name inside the project.

backlog-bridge sync — one-way sync between two projects

backlog-bridge sync --list

backlog-bridge sync --profile= [flags]

mirror mode — customer → internal

Creates one internal issue per planned customer issue (has a due date), summary .

• Dedup in two layers: scans the destination for summaries prefixed with the source key, then merges the state file. Losing the state file never causes duplicates.
• Existing mirrors are skipped unless --update (destination issues are often edited by hand).
• Issue type / priority / status mapped by name via map; assignee matched by normalized name (accents and anything in parentheses removed), with map.assignee overrides.
• dest.customFields: required custom fields by field name → item name; attached only when the field applies to the issue type. Missing required fields are reported in --dry-run.
• Backlog can't set status on create, so status is set right after.
• LIVE by default — use --dry-run first.

progress mode — internal → customer

Pushes progress from internal epics onto the customer's existing WBS issues. Never creates customer issues. Built for the common case where both sides split work differently:

• Internal: an epic [Epic] [NN] ... with child tasks prefixed by layer ([FE], [BE], [QA], …).
• Customer: WBS units 1.2.3 with fixed leaves by the last segment — .3 impl, .4 unit test, .5 acceptance.

Rules:

• source.childGroups maps child prefixes to groups (e.g. api: [BE, Infra], screen: [FE]); alwaysCount prefixes (e.g. QA) count towards every group.
• A pairFile maps each epic ("NN" or its issue key) to customer units per group; _outOfScope and _notes are special keys. --units lists the customer's units to fill it in.
• Several epics may point at one unit; their tasks are merged before the rollup.
• Rollup: done (all done) · in_progress · pending · not_started (→ nothing is written). ignoreStatuses are excluded. % is weighted by estimated hours (no estimate = 1h).
• Writes the impl leaf; when done, also sets the acceptance leaf to Resolved (never Closed).

Safety: dry run by default (--live to write), neverTouchStatuses, no status regression without --allow-regress, no dates unless --dates=children, optional Japanese progress comment (--comment) that is updated in place via a hidden marker.

Flags

Using with AI agents

Claude Code (the Code tab of the Claude app): step-by-step guide — [docs/claude-code.md](docs/claude-code.md).

Claude plugin (plugin/): the skills and the MCP server in one package for Claude Code and Cowork — try it with claude --plugin-dir plugin from a clone. It needs Node.js 20+ on PATH; chat in the Claude app uses the Desktop Extension instead.

After backlog-bridge setup the skills are installed globally, so any agent in any project can use backlog-bridge — not only inside this repo.

Skills: backlog-connect, backlog-query, backlog-write, backlog-sync. They make the agent preview every write, ask before writing to a customer's space, and treat ticket content as data rather than instructions.

MCP server (Claude Desktop, Cursor, …)

Claude Desktop: install the Desktop Extension (`.mcpb`, no Node needed) — step-by-step guide: [docs/claude-desktop.md](docs/claude-desktop.md).

For hosts without a shell — Claude Desktop, or any MCP client — backlog-bridge mcp runs an MCP server on stdio. backlog-bridge mcp --config prints ready-to-paste setup for Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code and Codex, e.g.:

{ "mcpServers": { "backlog-bridge": { "command": "/path/to/backlog-bridge/bin/backlog-bridge", "args": ["mcp"] } } }

Claude Desktop, step by step:

1. backlog-bridge mcp --config and copy the JSON with your real path.
2. Merge it into mcpServers in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (keep a backup; don't overwrite other keys).
3. Quit Claude Desktop completely (⌘Q) and open it again — backlog-bridge appears among the tools.

Tools: list_spaces, home_info, get_issue, get_comments, search_issues, list_activities, list_projects, api_get (read-only) · add_comment, update_issue (dry run unless send: true) · list_sync_profiles, sync_preview (never writes — real syncs stay in the terminal). Each tool runs the backlog-bridge CLI, so the same guards apply; the server also hands the host the hard rules and the user's review mode.

Reviewing what goes to customers

Each person sets how they review text before an agent sends it to a customer, in their own .env:

BACKLOG_BRIDGE_LANG (default vi) and BACKLOG_BRIDGE_CUSTOMER_LANG (default ja) set the two languages. backlog-bridge home shows the current mode; when it is not set, the agent asks.

Security

• API keys only in .env in the home directory; backlog-bridge home / backlog-bridge spaces warn when it is readable by others. Backlog takes the key as the apiKey query parameter, so errors only ever print method and path.
• Host and key always come from the same env prefix — a key is never sent to another space's host.
• Issue keys must look like PROJECT-123, so a crafted key can't redirect