MCP Jira Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Jira API integration. Enables reading, writing, and managing Jira issues and projects directly from your MCP client (e.g., Claude Desktop).

⚡ Quick Install for Claude Code

The fastest way to add this MCP server to Claude Code:

Replace the values with your actual Jira credentials:

• JIRA_BASE_URL: Your Jira instance URL (e.g., https://yourcompany.atlassian.net)

• JIRA_EMAIL: Your Jira account email

• JIRA_API_TOKEN: Your Jira API token (generate here)

That's it! The server will be automatically configured and ready to use.

Alternative: Manual Configuration

If you prefer to configure manually or use Claude Desktop, see the Configuration section below.

Related MCP server: JIRA MCP Tools

🚀 Quick Start

1. Prerequisites

• Node.js v18 or higher

• Jira instance (Cloud or Server)

• Jira API token

2. Installation

Development Installation

3. Jira API Setup

1. Go to your Jira instance settings

2. Create an API token:

   • Jira Cloud: Go to Account Settings → Security → Create and manage API tokens

   • Jira Server: Use your username and password (or create an application password)

3. Note your Jira base URL (e.g., https://yourcompany.atlassian.net)

4. Configuration

Create a .env file from the provided example:

Example .env contents:

Note: Generate your API token at https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens

5. Test Connection

6. Configure MCP Client

For Claude Code

Use the quick install command (recommended):

For Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

• Linux: ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Alternative: Using npx

Restart Claude Desktop after adding the configuration.

📦 Available Tools

Projects

• jira_get_visible_projects: Retrieves all projects visible to the user.

• jira_get_project_info: Retrieves detailed information about a project (components, versions, roles, insights).

Issues

• jira_get_issue: Retrieve issue details by key (supports optional fields/expand).

• jira_search_issues: Search for Jira issues using JQL with pagination and fields.

• jira_create_issue: Create a new issue in a project (type, priority, assignee, labels, components).

• jira_update_issue: Update an existing issue (summary, description, priority, assignee, labels, components).

• jira_create_subtask: Create a subtask under a parent issue (auto-detects subtask type).

Comments

• jira_add_comment: Add a comment to an issue (optional visibility by group/role).

Metadata & Users

• jira_get_create_meta: Get create metadata for a project showing all available fields (including custom fields) with their allowed values. Essential for discovering required fields before creating issues.

• jira_get_issue_types: List issue types (optionally per project).

• jira_get_users: Search for users (by query, username, or accountId).

• jira_get_priorities: List available priorities.

• jira_get_statuses: List available statuses (global or project-specific).

• jira_get_custom_fields: List all custom fields in Jira with their types and schemas.

My Work

• jira_get_my_issues: Retrieve issues assigned to the current user (sorted by updated).

🛠️ Development

Development Commands

MCP Inspector

Debug your MCP server using the inspector:

Notes:

• Startup no longer blocks on Jira connectivity. If Jira env vars are missing, the server still starts and lists tools; tool calls will fail with a clear auth error until you set JIRA_BASE_URL, JIRA_EMAIL, and JIRA_API_TOKEN.

• Connection testing runs only in development/test (NODE_ENV=development or test). Failures are logged but do not terminate the server, so the inspector can still display tools.

Testing

📋 Project Structure

🔧 Tool Usage Examples

Get Visible Projects

❗ Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Authentication failed"

• Verify your API token is correct

• Check that your email matches your Jira account

• Ensure your Jira base URL is correct (no trailing slash)

"Connection failed"

• Verify your Jira instance is accessible

• Check network connectivity

• Ensure Jira REST API is enabled

"Permission denied"

• Verify your account has the necessary permissions

• Check project permissions in Jira

• Ensure you're using the correct Jira instance

MCP Connection Issues

• Ensure you're using the built version (dist/index.js)

• Check that Node.js path is correct in Claude Desktop config

• Look for errors in Claude Desktop logs

• Use task inspector to debug

Timeout when running multiple instances with npx

If you're running multiple Claude Code sessions simultaneously and experience timeouts, this is caused by npx cache/registry locking — not the MCP server itself. Each instance tries to verify the package, causing conflicts. To fix this, install the package globally instead:

Debug Commands

If the inspector shows an SSE error and the server exits immediately, ensure you are not forcing an early exit with invalid credentials. With the current behavior, the server should not exit on missing credentials; export your Jira vars to exercise the tools:

🔍 Environment Variables

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository

2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)

3. Run tests and linting (task check)

4. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')

5. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)

6. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.

MCP Config Setup

Configure Claude Desktop to use this MCP server interactively:

The script will:

• Build the project if needed and detect your Node path

• Prompt for JIRA_BASE_URL, JIRA_EMAIL, JIRA_API_TOKEN

• Save a jira entry into your Claude Desktop config or print the JSON

• Optionally generate a local .env for development