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Connect your Backlog space to enable CloudThinker agents to track and triage issues, plan milestones and releases, read and update project wikis, and pull ticket context from pull requests during code review. Backlog authenticates with a space-scoped API key. The key inherits the permissions of the user who issued it, so what the agent can reach matches that user’s project access.

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Prerequisites

  • A Backlog space with access to the projects you want to work in.
  • A space-scoped API key, created from the issuing user’s Personal Settings → API tab.
  • For create/update actions, the key’s user needs the matching project permission.
Read-only tracking works with any key whose user can see the target projects. Creating or updating issues, wikis, and pull requests additionally requires that user to have write permission on the project. If your space restricts API access, a space administrator must enable it before keys can be issued.

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Setup

1

Create an API key

In Backlog, open your profile menu and go to Personal Settings → API. Enter a memo (e.g. cloudthinker) and click Submit to generate the key, then copy it.
2

Add Connection in CloudThinker

Navigate to Connections → Backlog and enter:
  • Domain: your full Backlog domain, e.g. <myorg>.backlog.com — the full host, not just the space key
  • API Key: the key you just created
Click Connect. CloudThinker verifies the credentials and shows a Connected status.
Copy the API key when you create it and store it securely. Treat it like a password — anyone with the key has the issuing user’s access to the space.

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Connection Details

FieldDescriptionExample
BACKLOG_DOMAINFull Backlog domain for your space, not just the space key<myorg>.backlog.com
BACKLOG_API_KEYSpace-scoped API key used to authenticate the connection—

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Required Permissions

The API key inherits the access of the user who issued it. Read operations work with any key whose user can see the target projects. Create, update, and delete operations additionally require the user to have write permission on the project and explicit approval in CloudThinker.
Follow least privilege: issue the key under a user with only the project access CloudThinker needs, and keep write actions approval-gated rather than removing the guardrail.

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Agent Capabilities

Once connected, agents have read access to your Backlog projects, issues, wikis, and repositories, plus a set of approval-gated write operations.
CapabilityDescription
Project & Space DiscoveryList projects, categories, custom fields, priorities, and recent space activity
Issue TrackingSearch, read, and count issues; create and update issues, change status, and add comments — writes require approval
Milestones & ReleasesList milestones/versions and plan releases; create or update them — writes require approval
Wiki & DocumentsRead project wikis and documents; create or update wiki pages — writes require approval
Git & Pull RequestsInspect repositories and pull requests, pull ticket context during code review, and comment on PRs — writes require approval

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Verify the Connection

@alex list my Backlog projects and show the open issues in one of them

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Example Prompts

@alex summarize the open Backlog issues for the PLATFORM project and #flag anything overdue
@alex this PR references PROJ-123 — pull the Backlog ticket and #recommend whether the change matches it
@alex list the milestones for my main project and their completion status #visualize as a table
@alex create a Backlog issue for the bug we just found in the checkout flow
For spaces with many projects, scope requests to a single project or milestone so the agent returns focused results.

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Troubleshooting

The API key is missing, expired, or revoked — or API access is not enabled for the space. Issue a fresh key under Personal Settings → API, confirm the space allows API access, and reconnect.
BACKLOG_DOMAIN is set to just the space key instead of the full domain. Use the complete host, e.g. <myorg>.backlog.com, and reconnect.
The key’s user is not a member of any project, or lacks visibility on the ones you expect. Add the user to the target project in Backlog, then re-run discovery.
The key’s user lacks write permission on the project. Re-issue the key under a user with the right project role, and approve the action when prompted.
Very large responses are trimmed to keep replies focused. Scope the request to a single project, milestone, or status, or ask for a count first and then drill in.

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Security Best Practices

  • Least-privilege user - Issue the API key under a user with only the project access CloudThinker needs
  • Approval for writes - Keep issue, wiki, milestone, and pull-request write actions approval-gated
  • Key rotation - Rotate the API key regularly and update it in CloudThinker
  • Correct domain - Store the full domain (<myorg>.backlog.com), not just the space key
  • Revoke when unused - Delete the key in Backlog if you stop using the connection
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Atlassian Connection

Jira and Confluence issue tracking and knowledge base

Approval

How approval-gated actions work