How do I ensure my test JIRA instance has the same plugins as production?

Question

I'd like to ensure a test JIRA instance has the same plugins as the production. Is there a documented way to copy/clone/rsync off plugins from one JIRA to another ....via command line?

The docs (https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/UPM/Installing+add-ons) refer to "Plugins 1" and "Plugins 2". However in my prod instance, I also see /opt/atlassian/jira/atlassian-jira/WEB-INF/atlassian-bundled-plugins/*

I can do a cycle of trial and error tomorrow but I figure I'll fire off a question here.

For more context: I want to do something like: https://answers.atlassian.com/questions/12911037 via Ansible. I have the basics there (local mysql), but now it's more about how fully automated I can get it.

MattS · Answer

Sometimes you may have add-ons installed in your staging instance for testing and you don't want to uninstall those usually

Bob Swift · Answer

There is no magic involved, just a simple matter of programming 
.

John Cheng_7lx5cd · Answer

Thanks! Nice work.

I have a dangerous question: Would you say everything that the UPM CLI can be done if you know your way around the JIRA API, and are willing to spend the time and effort? Or in other words how much "secret sauce" is in the UPM CLI?