Jira MCP Server

What is Jira MCP Server?

Jira MCP Server (@aashari/mcp-server-atlassian-jira) is a community jira mcp server that connects Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients to Jira Cloud through five generic tools that can call any Jira REST API v3 endpoint.

It is an open-source Node.js/TypeScript project by aashari, not an Atlassian product. It runs locally over stdio with your own Atlassian email and API token, so an assistant can search issues with JQL, read issues and comments, create or update issues, log work and move issues through workflow transitions. The same package also works as a command-line tool.

How to use Jira MCP Server?

You need Node.js 18 or later and a Jira Cloud site (your-company.atlassian.net). Jira Server and Data Center are not supported.

1. Create an API token at Atlassian API Tokens: click Create API token, name it, and copy the token right away.
2. Set three values: ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME (the subdomain, e.g. your-company), ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL and ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN.
3. Test from the terminal before wiring up a client:

export ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME="your-company"
export ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL="your.email@company.com"
export ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN="your_api_token"

npx -y @aashari/mcp-server-atlassian-jira get --path "/rest/api/3/project/search"

Claude Desktop

Add the server to claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@aashari/mcp-server-atlassian-jira"],
      "env": {
        "ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME": "your-company",
        "ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL": "your.email@company.com",
        "ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Register the same stdio command with the Claude Code CLI:

claude mcp add jira \
  -e ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME=your-company \
  -e ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL=your.email@company.com \
  -e ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN=your_api_token \
  -- npx -y @aashari/mcp-server-atlassian-jira

Cursor and other clients

Any client that supports stdio MCP servers can use the same mcpServers block shown above (in Cursor, put it in your MCP config file). You can also install the package globally with npm install -g @aashari/mcp-server-atlassian-jira.

Instead of repeating credentials in each client, you can store them once in ~/.mcp/configs.json:

{
  "jira": {
    "environments": {
      "ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME": "your-company",
      "ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL": "your.email@company.com",
      "ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token"
    }
  }
}

The keys "atlassian-jira", "@aashari/mcp-server-atlassian-jira" and "mcp-server-atlassian-jira" are accepted in place of "jira".

Key features of Jira MCP Server

• Five generic tools (jira_get, jira_post, jira_put, jira_patch, jira_delete) that reach any Jira Cloud REST API v3 endpoint instead of a fixed set of actions.
• TOON (Token-Oriented Object Notation) output by default, which the README says cuts token usage by 30–60% compared with JSON; JSON is available with --output-format json or outputFormat: "json".
• JMESPath filtering (--jq) to return only the fields you need, such as key, summary and status.
• Automatic truncation of responses over about 40k characters, with the full raw response saved under /tmp/mcp/mcp-server-atlassian-jira/.
• A CLI that mirrors every MCP tool (get, post, put, patch, delete) for scripting and quick checks.
• Local execution with your own credentials; nothing is routed through a third-party service.
• Debug logging via DEBUG=true, written to ~/.mcp/data/.

Jira MCP Server tools

Version 3 replaced the older task-specific tools (such as jira_ls_projects and jira_get_issue) with one tool per HTTP method:

• Read: jira_get covers projects (/rest/api/3/project/search), issue details (/rest/api/3/issue/{key}), JQL search (/rest/api/3/search/jql with a jql parameter), comments, worklogs, statuses, issue types, priorities and users.
• Create: jira_post creates issues (/rest/api/3/issue), adds comments and worklogs, and performs transitions.
• Update: jira_put replaces and jira_patch partially updates resources such as issue fields.
• Delete: jira_delete removes resources such as a comment or worklog.

Because the tools are generic, the assistant needs the right API path. The README lists the common paths and notes that /rest/api/3/search is deprecated in favor of /rest/api/3/search/jql.

Use cases of Jira MCP Server

• Stand-up prep: "Show me details about PROJ-123 including comments."
• Personal triage: "List all high priority issues assigned to me that are in progress."
• Cross-project search with JQL: "Find all bugs in progress across my projects."
• Issue creation from the editor: "Create a new bug in the MOBILE project" while you are looking at the failing code.
• Status updates: "Add a comment to PROJ-456: 'Code review completed, ready for testing.'"
• Time tracking and workflow: log a worklog or move an issue to the next transition without opening Jira.

Jira MCP Server vs alternatives

• Atlassian Rovo MCP Server (official): Atlassian hosts its own remote server for Jira, Confluence and other Atlassian Cloud apps, with OAuth 2.1 or API token sign-in. Choose it if you want a vendor-supported, hosted option; see the Atlassian Rovo MCP docs.
• Atlassian MCP Server (Jira & Confluence): a community server that covers both Jira and Confluence with dedicated tools for each.
• This Jira MCP server: a small, local, Jira-only atlassian jira mcp option. Five generic tools keep the tool list short and give access to the full REST API, but the model has to know which endpoint to call.

Troubleshooting Jira MCP Server

• "Authentication failed" or 403 Forbidden: check that the API token is still active, and that ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME is only the subdomain (mycompany, not the full URL). Test with npx -y @aashari/mcp-server-atlassian-jira get --path "/rest/api/3/myself".
• 404 / resource not found: API paths are case-sensitive; use project keys (DEV) rather than project names, and full issue keys (DEV-123). Confirm you can open the project in your browser.
• Search returns nothing: validate the JQL in Jira's advanced search first, and use /rest/api/3/search/jql rather than the deprecated /rest/api/3/search.
• Server not showing in Claude Desktop: restart Claude Desktop after editing the config file, and check that you edited the correct config file for your OS.
• Responses cut off: large payloads are truncated by design. Narrow the request with --jq or JQL, or read the saved raw file under /tmp/mcp/mcp-server-atlassian-jira/.