JIRA MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides read-only access to JIRA REST API, enabling LLMs to query and retrieve information from JIRA instances.

Features

Issue Operations

• Search Issues - Execute JQL queries to find issues
• Get Issue Details - Retrieve comprehensive information about specific issues
• Get Issue Comments - Fetch comments for issues
• Get Issue Transitions - View available workflow transitions

Project Operations

• List Projects - Get all accessible projects
• Get Project Details - Retrieve detailed project information
• Search Projects - Find projects by various criteria

User Operations

• Get Current User - Retrieve authenticated user information
• Get User - Get details about specific users
• Search Users - Find users by query

Field Discovery Operations

• Get Issue Types - Get all issue types for a project
• Get Issue Type Fields - Get all fields available for a specific issue type
• Get Issue Field Names - Get all field IDs and names for a specific issue
• Search Issue Fields - Search for fields by name in a specific issue with partial matching

Architecture

This MCP server follows a modular architecture designed for maintainability and extensibility:

Project Structure

JIRA-API-MCP/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts              # MCP server entry point
│   ├── server.ts             # Server initialization and tool registration
│   ├── client/
│   │   ├── JiraClient.ts     # JIRA API client wrapper with axios
│   │   └── types.ts          # TypeScript interfaces for JIRA data models
│   ├── tools/
│   │   ├── issues.ts         # Issue-related MCP tool implementations
│   │   ├── projects.ts       # Project-related MCP tool implementations
│   │   ├── users.ts          # User-related MCP tool implementations
│   │   └── fields.ts         # Field discovery MCP tool implementations
│   └── __tests__/
│       ├── tools-direct.test.ts    # Integration tests for tool handlers
│       ├── jira.test.ts           # Direct JIRA API tests
│       └── generate-mcp-docs.ts   # Documentation generation utility
├── dist/                     # Compiled JavaScript output
├── __tool_response_logs__/   # Test response captures
└── docs/
    ├── CLAUDE.md            # Instructions for AI assistants
    ├── INSPECTOR_GUIDE.md   # MCP Inspector usage guide
    ├── MCP_TOOL_DOCUMENTATION.md  # Detailed tool specifications
    └── TEST_SUMMARY.md      # Testing documentation

Key Components

1. MCP Server Layer (server.ts)

   • Implements Model Context Protocol specification
   • Registers all available tools with the MCP SDK
   • Handles tool dispatch and response formatting

2. JIRA Client (client/JiraClient.ts)

   • Axios-based HTTP client for JIRA REST API v2
   • Handles authentication via Bearer tokens
   • Implements retry logic and error handling
   • Manages request/response transformations

3. Tool Modules (tools/*.ts)

   • Each module exports tool definitions with:
     • Zod schemas for input validation
     • Handler functions that call the JIRA client
     • Consistent error handling and response formatting
   • Tools return standardized {success, data/error} structure

4. Type System (client/types.ts)

   • Comprehensive TypeScript interfaces for JIRA entities
   • Ensures type safety across the application
   • Documents expected data structures

Data Flow

1. Request Flow:

   MCP Client → MCP Server → Tool Handler → JIRA Client → JIRA API

2. Response Flow:

   JIRA API → JIRA Client → Tool Handler → MCP Server → MCP Client

Design Principles

• Modularity: Each tool is self-contained with its own validation and logic
• Type Safety: Full TypeScript coverage with strict typing
• Error Resilience: Graceful error handling at each layer
• Testability: Comprehensive test suite with response capture
• Documentation: Auto-generated docs from actual API responses

Installation

From NPM

npm install @mcp/jira-server

From Source

git clone https://github.com/jl-0/JIRA-API-MCP.git
cd JIRA-API-MCP
npm install
npm run build

Configuration

The server requires JIRA authentication credentials. You can provide these via environment variables or a .env file:

# Required
# For Server/Data Center: https://your-server.com/jira
# For Cloud: https://your-domain.atlassian.net (not currently supported)
JIRA_BASE_URL=https://your-server.com/jira

# For Server/Data Center: Personal Access Token (PAT)
JIRA_API_TOKEN=your-personal-access-token

# Optional
JIRA_MAX_RESULTS=50  # Default max results per request
JIRA_TIMEOUT=30000   # Request timeout in milliseconds

JIRA Server/Data Center Support

This MCP server is designed for JIRA Server and Data Center installations using:

• REST API v2 endpoints
• Personal Access Token (PAT) authentication with Bearer tokens
• Compatible with JIRA Server 8.14+ and JIRA Service Management 4.15+

Getting a Personal Access Token (PAT)

For JIRA Server/Data Center:

1. Log in to your JIRA instance
2. Navigate to your Profile → Personal Access Tokens
3. Click "Create token"
4. Give it a descriptive name and set expiration
5. Copy the token immediately (it won't be shown again)
6. Use this token as JIRA_API_TOKEN in your configuration

The server uses Bearer token authentication: Authorization: Bearer <token>

Note: JIRA Cloud uses a different authentication mechanism (API tokens with Basic auth) which is not currently supported by this server.

Usage

With Claude Desktop

Add the server to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@jl-0/jira-server"],
      "env": {
        "JIRA_BASE_URL": "https://your-domain.atlassian.net",
        "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

As a Standalone Server

# Using environment variables
export JIRA_BASE_URL=https://your-domain.atlassian.net
export JIRA_API_TOKEN=your-api-token
npm start

# Or using a .env file
npm start

Testing & Development

Interactive Testing with MCP Inspector

The MCP Inspector provides an interactive web interface for testing all server capabilities:

# Launch inspector with TypeScript source (development)
npm run inspect

# Build and inspect with compiled JavaScript
npm run inspect:built

The inspector will open at http://localhost:6274 and allow you to:

• Test all available tools with custom parameters
• View real-time server responses
• Debug authentication and connectivity issues
• Monitor server logs and notifications

See INSPECTOR_GUIDE.md for detailed usage instructions.

Automated Testing

Run the comprehensive test suite:

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run direct tool integration tests
npm run test:direct

# Generate documentation from test responses
npm run test:generate-docs

Test outputs are saved to __tool_response_logs__/ for analysis.

See TEST_SUMMARY.md for test documentation.

Available Tools

jira_search_issues

Search for issues using JQL (JIRA Query Language).

Parameters:

• jql (required): JQL query string
• maxResults: Maximum results to return (default: 50)
• fields: Array of fields to include
• expand: Array of data to expand
• startAt: Starting index for pagination

Example:

{
  "jql": "project = PROJ AND status = 'In Progress'",
  "maxResults": 10
}

jira_get_issue

Get detailed information about a specific issue.

Parameters:

• issueIdOrKey (required): Issue ID or key (e.g., PROJ-123)
• fields: Array of fields to include
• expand: Array of data to expand

jira_get_issue_comments

Get comments for a specific issue.

Parameters:

• issueIdOrKey (required): Issue ID or key
• maxResults: Maximum results (default: 50)
• startAt: Starting index for pagination

jira_get_issue_transitions

Get available transitions for an issue.

Parameters:

• issueIdOrKey (required): Issue ID or key
• includeUnavailable: Include unavailable transitions (default: false)

jira_list_projects

List all accessible projects.

Parameters:

• expand: Array of additional data to expand
• recent: Return only most recent projects

jira_get_project

Get detailed project information.

Parameters:

• projectIdOrKey (required): Project ID or key
• expand: Array of additional data to expand

jira_search_projects

Search for projects.

Parameters:

• query: Search query string
• maxResults: Maximum results (default: 50)
• startAt: Starting index
• orderBy: Sort order field
• typeKey: Project type key
• categoryId: Project category ID
• action: Filter by permission (view/browse/edit)

jira_get_current_user

Get information about the authenticated user.

Parameters:

• expand: Additional data to expand

jira_search_users

Search for users.

Parameters:

• query: Search query matching display name and email
• accountId: Find user by account ID
• maxResults: Maximum results (default: 50)
• startAt: Starting index

jira_get_issue_types

Get all issue types available for a specific project.

Parameters:

• projectIdOrKey (required): Project ID or key
• maxResults: Maximum results (default: 50)
• startAt: Starting index

jira_get_issue_type_fields

Get all fields available for a specific issue type in a project.

Parameters:

• projectIdOrKey (required): Project ID or key
• issueTypeId (required): Issue type ID
• maxResults: Maximum results (default: 50)
• startAt: Starting index

jira_get_issue_field_names

Get all field IDs and names for a specific JIRA issue.

Parameters:

• issueIdOrKey (required): Issue ID or key

Example:

{
  "issueIdOrKey": "IDS-10314"
}

jira_search_issue_fields

Search for specific fields by name in a JIRA issue.

Parameters:

• issueIdOrKey (required): Issue ID or key
• searchTerms (required): Array of search terms to match against field names

Example:

{
  "issueIdOrKey": "IDS-10314",
  "searchTerms": ["test", "procedure", "story points"]
}

JQL Examples

Common JQL queries you can use with jira_search_issues:

-- Find all open issues assigned to me
assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved

-- Find high priority bugs
priority = High AND issuetype = Bug

-- Issues updated in the last week
updated >= -1w

-- Issues in specific projects
project in (PROJ1, PROJ2) AND status = "To Do"

-- Issues with specific labels
labels in ("backend", "api")

-- Issues created this month
created >= startOfMonth()

-- Find issues by reporter
reporter = "[email protected]"

-- Complex query
project = PROJ AND (
  (priority = High AND status = "In Progress") OR
  (priority = Critical AND status != Done)
) ORDER BY created DESC

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build TypeScript
npm run build

# Run in development mode
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm test

# Lint code
npm run lint

# Format code
npm run format

Publishing to npm

First-time Setup

1. Ensure you have an npm account at npmjs.com
2. Login to npm from your terminal:

   npm login

Publishing Process

1. Update the version in package.json following semantic versioning:

   npm version patch  # for bug fixes (0.1.0 -> 0.1.1)
   npm version minor  # for new features (0.1.0 -> 0.2.0)
   npm version major  # for breaking changes (0.1.0 -> 1.0.0)

2. Build the project:

   npm run clean
   npm run build

3. Test locally (optional but recommended):

   npm link
   # In another project:
   npm link @mcp/jira-server

4. Publish to npm:

   npm publish --access public

5. Create a git tag and push:

   git push origin main
   git push origin --tags

Package Information

• Package Name: @mcp/jira-server
• Author: Jeff Leach
• Repository: https://github.com/jl-0/JIRA-API-MCP
• License: MIT

Error Handling

The server provides detailed error messages for common issues:

• Authentication failures - Check your API token and email
• Permission errors - Ensure your account has access to the requested resources
• Rate limiting - The server implements retry logic for rate limits
• Network issues - Check your internet connection and JIRA instance URL

Security

• API tokens are never logged or exposed
• All communication with JIRA uses HTTPS
• Uses Bearer token authentication for secure API access
• Credentials should be stored securely using environment variables
• The server provides read-only access by default

Limitations

• This is a read-only implementation (no issue creation/updates)
• Rate limits are determined by your JIRA instance
• Some JIRA Cloud features may not be available on JIRA Server/Data Center
• Field discovery tools use the editmeta endpoint which returns fields available for editing

Future Enhancements

Planned features for future releases:

• Issue creation and updates
• Attachment handling
• Webhook support
• Advanced filtering and field customization
• Bulk operations
• Sprint and board operations (JIRA Software)
• Service desk operations (JIRA Service Management)

Documentation

This project maintains comprehensive documentation:

• CLAUDE.md - Instructions for AI assistants working with this codebase
• INSPECTOR_GUIDE.md - Detailed guide for using MCP Inspector
• MCP_TOOL_DOCUMENTATION.md - Complete tool specifications and examples
• TEST_SUMMARY.md - Testing approach and coverage
• SCRIPTS_REFERENCE.md - NPM scripts quick reference

Documentation Maintenance

When making changes to the codebase:

1. Update README.md when adding features or changing configuration
2. Run tests to capture new response formats: npm run test:direct
3. Generate documentation from test outputs: npm run test:generate-docs
4. Update tool documentation if parameters or responses change
5. Follow guidelines in CLAUDE.md for consistent documentation

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Read CLAUDE.md for development guidelines
2. Update documentation when making changes
3. Add tests for new functionality
4. Ensure all tests pass: npm test
5. Run linting: npm run lint
6. Submit a Pull Request with clear description

License

MIT

Support

For issues and questions, please use the GitHub Issues page.