jira-mcp-server

Overview

jira-mcp-server runs as a local stdio-based MCP server. It connects to a Jira Cloud instance via the REST API and exposes three tools that an MCP client can call: fetching an issue, searching issues with JQL, and creating new issues.

Related MCP server: Jira-Next-Gen

Features

• 🔍 Get issue — fetch a single Jira issue by key

• 🔎 Search issues — run arbitrary JQL queries

• ➕ Create issue — create a new issue in a project

• 🔌 Implements the MCP tools/list and tools/call protocol over stdio

• ⚙️ Configuration via environment variables (.env)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or later

• A Jira Cloud site and an Atlassian API token

• An MCP-compatible client (e.g. Claude Desktop, Claude Code)

Installation

git clone <this-repo-url>
cd jira-mcp-server
npm install

Configuration

Copy the example environment file and fill in your Jira credentials:

cp .env.example .env

Never commit your .env file. It is already excluded via .gitignore.

Running the server

node src/server.js

The server communicates over stdio, so it's designed to be launched by an MCP client rather than run standalone in a terminal for interactive use.

Connecting from Claude Desktop

Add an entry to your Claude Desktop MCP config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\path\\to\\jira-mcp-server\\src\\server.js"],
      "env": {
        "JIRA_EMAIL": "you@example.com",
        "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token",
        "JIRA_BASE_URL": "https://your-domain.atlassian.net/rest/api/3"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop and the jira tools will become available in the tool picker.

Available tools

Project structure

jira-mcp-server/
├── assets/
│   └── logo.svg          # Project logo
├── src/
│   ├── server.js         # MCP server entry point (tool routing)
│   ├── tools.js          # Tool definitions / input schemas
│   └── jiraclient.js     # Jira REST API client
├── .env.example           # Sample environment configuration
├── package.json
└── README.md

Troubleshooting

• 401 Unauthorized — verify JIRA_EMAIL and JIRA_API_TOKEN are correct and that the token hasn't expired.

• 404 Not Found — check that JIRA_BASE_URL points to the correct Jira Cloud REST API base (/rest/api/3).

• No output from the server — the server communicates over stdio; run it via an MCP client rather than expecting interactive terminal output.

License

Distributed under the ISC License.