Jira MCP Server

Speak to Jira in natural language to get information on and modify your project. Use it with Claude Desktop in combination with a custom README that you will create with project information, so that you can delegate PM tasks, (e.g. given yoou have a list of my team and their specialities, assign any new issue to the most relevant person).

Built using the Model Context Protocol.

The server enables:

• Project creation and configuration
• Issue and subtask management
• Issue linking and dependencies
• Automated issue workflows

Configuration

Required environment variables:

• JIRA_HOST: Your Jira instance hostname
• JIRA_API_TOKEN: API token from https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens OR Personal Access Token (PAT)
• JIRA_AUTH_TYPE: Authentication type - either "basic" (default) or "bearer"

Optional environment variables:

• JIRA_API_VERSION: Jira API version to use (default: "3")

For Basic Authentication (default):

• JIRA_EMAIL: Your Jira account email (required when using basic auth)

For Personal Access Token (PAT) Authentication:

• Set JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=bearer and provide your PAT as JIRA_API_TOKEN
• JIRA_EMAIL is not required when using PAT

Personal Access Token Setup

Personal Access Tokens (PATs) are the recommended authentication method for Jira Cloud as they provide better security than API tokens. To create a PAT:

1. Go to your Jira instance settings

2. Navigate to Personal Access Tokens (usually under Security or Account Settings)

3. Click Create token

4. Give your token a descriptive name (e.g., "Jira MCP Server")

5. Set appropriate scopes/permissions (typically you'll need read and write access to projects and issues)

6. Copy the generated token and use it as your JIRA_API_TOKEN

7. Set JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=bearer in your configuration

Note: PATs are not available for all Jira instances. If your instance doesn't support PATs, use the basic authentication method with your regular API token.

Available Tools

1. User Management

// Get user's account ID by email
{
  email: "user@example.com";
}

2. Issue Type Management

// List all available issue types
// Returns: id, name, description, subtask status
// No parameters required

3. Issue Link Types

// List all available issue link types
// Returns: id, name, inward/outward descriptions
// No parameters required

4. Issue Management

Retrieving Issues

// Get all issues in a project
{
  projectKey: "PROJECT"
}

// Get issues with JQL filtering
{
  projectKey: "PROJECT",
  jql: "status = 'In Progress' AND assignee = currentUser()"
}

// Get issues assigned to user
{
  projectKey: "PROJECT",
  jql: "assignee = 'user@example.com' ORDER BY created DESC"
}

Creating Issues

// Create a standard issue
{
  projectKey: "PROJECT",
  summary: "Issue title",
  issueType: "Task",  // or "Story", "Bug", etc.
  description: "Detailed description",
  assignee: "accountId",  // from get_user tool
  labels: ["frontend", "urgent"],
  components: ["ui", "api"],
  priority: "High"
}

// Create a subtask
{
  parent: "PROJECT-123",
  projectKey: "PROJECT",
  summary: "Subtask title",
  issueType: "Subtask",
  description: "Subtask details",
  assignee: "accountId"
}

Updating Issues

// Update issue fields
{
  issueKey: "PROJECT-123",
  summary: "Updated title",
  description: "New description",
  assignee: "accountId",
  status: "In Progress",
  priority: "High"
}

Issue Dependencies

// Create issue link
{
  linkType: "Blocks",  // from list_link_types
  inwardIssueKey: "PROJECT-124",  // blocked issue
  outwardIssueKey: "PROJECT-123"  // blocking issue
}

Deleting Issues

// Delete single issue
{
  issueKey: "PROJECT-123"
}

// Delete issue with subtasks
{
  issueKey: "PROJECT-123",
  deleteSubtasks: true
}

// Delete multiple issues
{
  issueKeys: ["PROJECT-123", "PROJECT-124"]
}

Field Formatting

Description Field

The description field supports markdown-style formatting:

• Use blank lines between paragraphs
• Use "- " for bullet points
• Use "1. " for numbered lists
• Use headers ending with ":" (followed by blank line)

Example:

Task Overview:

This task involves implementing new features:
- Feature A implementation
- Feature B testing

Steps:
1. Design component
2. Implement logic
3. Add tests

Acceptance Criteria:
- All tests passing
- Documentation updated

Error Handling

The server provides detailed error messages for:

• Invalid issue keys
• Missing required fields
• Permission issues
• API rate limits

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/George5562/Jira-MCP-Server.git
   cd Jira-MCP-Server

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Configure environment variables:

Create a .env file in the root directory:

For Basic Authentication (default):

JIRA_HOST=your-instance.atlassian.net
   JIRA_EMAIL=your-email@example.com
   JIRA_API_TOKEN=your-api-token
   JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=basic

For Personal Access Token (PAT) Authentication:

JIRA_HOST=your-instance.atlassian.net
   JIRA_API_TOKEN=your-personal-access-token
   JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=bearer

4. Build the project:

npm run build

5. Start the server:

npm start

Configuring Claude Desktop

To use this MCP server with Claude Desktop:

1. Locate your Claude Desktop configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the Jira MCP server to your configuration:

For Basic Authentication (default):

{
     "mcpServers": {
       "jira-server": {
         "name": "jira-server",
         "command": "/path/to/node",
         "args": ["/path/to/jira-server/build/index.js"],
         "cwd": "/path/to/jira-server",
         "env": {
           "JIRA_HOST": "your-jira-instance.atlassian.net",
           "JIRA_EMAIL": "your-email@example.com",
           "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token",
           "JIRA_AUTH_TYPE": "basic"
         }
       }
     }
   }

For Personal Access Token (PAT) Authentication:

{
     "mcpServers": {
       "jira-server": {
         "name": "jira-server",
         "command": "/path/to/node",
         "args": ["/path/to/jira-server/build/index.js"],
         "cwd": "/path/to/jira-server",
         "env": {
           "JIRA_HOST": "your-jira-instance.atlassian.net",
           "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-personal-access-token",
           "JIRA_AUTH_TYPE": "bearer"
         }
       }
     }
   }

Replace /path/to/jira-server with the absolute path to your cloned repository.

Replace /path/to/node with the absolute path to your Node.js executable (you can usually find this by running which node or where node in your terminal).

Using the direct path to the Node.js executable and the built JavaScript file (build/index.js after running npm run build) is recommended for reliability.

3. Restart Claude Desktop to apply the changes.

Configuring Cursor

To use this Jira MCP server with Cursor:

1. Ensure the server is built: Run npm run build in the Jira-MCP-Server directory to create the necessary build/index.js file.

2. Locate or create Cursor's MCP configuration file:

• For project-specific configuration: .cursor/mcp.json in your project's root directory.
• For global configuration (all projects): ~/.cursor/mcp.json in your home directory.

3. **Add the Jira MCP server configuration to mcp.json:**

For Basic Authentication (default):

{
      "mcpServers": {
        "jira-mcp-server": {
          "command": "node", // Or provide the absolute path to your Node.js executable
          "args": [
            "/path/to/your/Jira-MCP-Server/build/index.js" // Absolute path to the server's built index.js
          ],
          "cwd": "/path/to/your/Jira-MCP-Server", // Absolute path to the Jira-MCP-Server directory
          "env": {
            "JIRA_HOST": "your-jira-instance.atlassian.net",
            "JIRA_EMAIL": "your-email@example.com", // Your Jira email
            "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token", // Your Jira API token
            "JIRA_AUTH_TYPE": "basic"
          }
        }
        // You can add other MCP server configurations here
      }
    }

For Personal Access Token (PAT) Authentication:

{
      "mcpServers": {
        "jira-mcp-server": {
          "command": "node", // Or provide the absolute path to your Node.js executable
          "args": [
            "/path/to/your/Jira-MCP-Server/build/index.js" // Absolute path to the server's built index.js
          ],
          "cwd": "/path/to/your/Jira-MCP-Server", // Absolute path to the Jira-MCP-Server directory
          "env": {
            "JIRA_HOST": "your-jira-instance.atlassian.net",
            "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-personal-access-token", // Your Jira PAT
            "JIRA_AUTH_TYPE": "bearer"
          }
        }
        // You can add other MCP server configurations here
      }
    }

• Replace /path/to/your/Jira-MCP-Server with the correct absolute path to where you cloned the Jira-MCP-Server repository.
• If node is not in your system's PATH or you prefer an absolute path, replace "node" with the full path to your Node.js executable (e.g., /usr/local/bin/node or C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe).
• Ensure your Jira instance details and API token are correctly filled in the env section.

4. Restart Cursor to apply the changes.

Using Cursor Rules for Jira Context

To make interacting with Jira smoother, you can define your default Jira project and user identifier in Cursor's rules. This helps Cursor's AI understand your context without you needing to specify it in every prompt.

Create or edit your Cursor Rules file (e.g., in your project .cursor/rules.json or global ~/.cursor/rules.json (the exact file and method for rules might vary, check Cursor documentation for "Rules" or "Context Management")). Add entries like:

As an AI assistant, when I am asked about Jira tasks:
- Assume the primary Jira project key is 'YOUR_PROJECT_KEY_HERE'.
- Assume 'my assigned tasks' or tasks assigned to 'me' refer to the Jira user with the email 'your_jira_email@example.com' (or your Jira Account ID).
You can then use these in your JQL queries, for example: project = YOUR_PROJECT_KEY_HERE AND assignee = 'your_jira_email@example.com'.

Replace YOUR_PROJECT_KEY_HERE and your_jira_email@example.com with your actual details.

Example Usage in Cursor Chat

Once configured (especially with Cursor Rules for context), you can ask Cursor:

"Using Jira MCP, list my assigned tasks. Then, based on these tasks, come up with an implementation plan and work schedule."

If you haven't set up rules, or need to specify a different project or user, you'd be more explicit:

"Using Jira MCP, list tasks assigned to 'user@example.com' in project 'PROJECT_KEY'. Then, based on these tasks, come up with an implementation plan and work schedule."

Cursor's AI will use the Jira MCP server to fetch the tasks, and then proceed with the planning and scheduling request.

Installing via Smithery

To install Jira MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @George5562/Jira-MCP-Server --client claude

Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/George5562/Jira-MCP-Server.git
   cd Jira-MCP-Server

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Configure environment variables:

Create a .env file in the root directory:

For Basic Authentication (default):

JIRA_HOST=your-instance.atlassian.net
   JIRA_EMAIL=your-email@example.com
   JIRA_API_TOKEN=your-api-token
   JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=basic

For Personal Access Token (PAT) Authentication:

JIRA_HOST=your-instance.atlassian.net
   JIRA_API_TOKEN=your-personal-access-token
   JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=bearer

4. Build the project:

npm run build

5. Start the server:

npm start

References

• Model Context Protocol
• Jira REST API Documentation
• Jira REST API Examples