Jira MCP Server

JIRA MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation that provides access to JIRA data with relationship tracking, optimized data payloads, and data cleaning for AI context windows.

ℹ️ There is a separate MCP server for Confluence

Jira Cloud & Jira Server (Data Center) Support

This MCP server supports both Jira Cloud and Jira Server (Data Center) instances. You can select which type to use by setting the JIRA_TYPE environment variable:

• cloud (default): For Jira Cloud (Atlassian-hosted)
• server: For Jira Server/Data Center (self-hosted)

The server will automatically use the correct API version and authentication method for the selected type.

Features

• Search JIRA issues using JQL (maximum 50 results per request)
• Retrieve epic children with comment history and optimized payloads (maximum 100 issues per request)
• Get detailed issue information including comments and related issues
• Create, update, and manage JIRA issues
• Add comments to issues
• Extract issue mentions from Atlassian Document Format
• Track issue relationships (mentions, links, parent/child, epics)
• Clean and transform rich JIRA content for AI context efficiency
• Support for file attachments with secure multipart upload handling
• Supports both Jira Cloud and Jira Server (Data Center) APIs
• Dual transport modes: STDIO (default) and Streamable HTTP (MCP 2025-03-26) for tools like Postman and MCP Inspector

Prerequisites

• Bun (v1.0.0 or higher)
• JIRA account with API access

Environment Variables

JIRA_API_TOKEN=your_api_token            # API token for Cloud, PAT or password for Server/DC
JIRA_BASE_URL=your_jira_instance_url     # e.g., https://your-domain.atlassian.net
JIRA_USER_EMAIL=your_email               # Your Jira account email
JIRA_TYPE=cloud                          # 'cloud' or 'server' (optional, defaults to 'cloud')
JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=basic                     # 'basic' or 'bearer' (optional, defaults to 'basic')
TRANSPORT_MODE=stdio                     # 'stdio' or 'http' (optional, defaults to 'stdio')
HTTP_PORT=3000                           # Port for HTTP transport (optional, defaults to 3000)

Authentication Methods

• Jira Cloud: Use API tokens with Basic authentication

  • Create an API token at: https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens
  • Set JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=basic (default)

• Jira Server/Data Center:

  • Basic Auth: Use username/password or API tokens
    • Set JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=basic (default)
  • Bearer Auth: Use Personal Access Tokens (PATs) - available in Data Center 8.14.0+
    • Create a PAT in your profile settings
    • Set JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=bearer
    • Use the PAT as your JIRA_API_TOKEN

Installation & Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone [repository-url]
cd jira-mcp

2. Install dependencies and build

bun install
bun run build

3. Configure the MCP server

The server supports two transport modes: STDIO (default, for Claude Desktop/Cline) and HTTP (for Postman and other HTTP-based clients).

Option A: STDIO Transport (Default - Claude Desktop/Cline)

Edit the appropriate configuration file:

macOS:

• Cline: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
• Claude Desktop: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows:

• Cline: %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json
• Claude Desktop: %APPDATA%\Claude Desktop\claude_desktop_config.json

Linux:

• Cline: ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
• Claude Desktop: sadly doesn't exist yet

Add the following configuration under the mcpServers object:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/jira-mcp/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token",
        "JIRA_BASE_URL": "your_jira_instance_url",
        "JIRA_USER_EMAIL": "your_email",
        "JIRA_TYPE": "cloud",
        "JIRA_AUTH_TYPE": "basic"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option B: Streamable HTTP Transport (MCP Inspector & Postman)

1. Start the server in HTTP mode:

# Set environment variables
export JIRA_API_TOKEN="your_api_token"
export JIRA_BASE_URL="your_jira_instance_url"
export JIRA_USER_EMAIL="your_email"
export TRANSPORT_MODE="http"
export HTTP_PORT="3000"  # optional, defaults to 3000

# Run the server
bun run build/index.js

Or use a .env file:

# .env
JIRA_API_TOKEN=your_api_token
JIRA_BASE_URL=your_jira_instance_url
JIRA_USER_EMAIL=your_email
JIRA_TYPE=cloud
JIRA_AUTH_TYPE=basic
TRANSPORT_MODE=http
HTTP_PORT=3000

2. The server will start with Streamable HTTP endpoint:

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