read-jira-issue-mcp-server

MCP server that reads JIRA card details. Trigger with Read Jira Card <ticket> (case-insensitive).

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• A JIRA Cloud account

Get a JIRA API Token

1. Go to id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens
2. Click Create API token
3. Give it a label (e.g. claude-mcp)
4. Copy the token — it won't be shown again

Credentials

The server requires three environment variables:

| Variable | Description | Example | |---|---|---| | JIRA_URL | Base URL of your JIRA instance | https://acme.atlassian.net | | JIRA_EMAIL | Email address associated with your JIRA account | [email protected] | | JIRA_TOKEN | API token generated in the step above | ATATT3xFfGF0... |

Add them to your shell profile (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, etc.) so they are available in every session:

export JIRA_URL=https://acme.atlassian.net
export [email protected]
export JIRA_TOKEN=ATATT3xFfGF0xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Reload your shell after saving:

source ~/.zshrc   # or ~/.bashrc

Configuration

No cloning or building required. Configure your coding assistant to run the package via npx. Credentials are picked up from your shell environment automatically.

Claude Code

CLI

claude mcp add jira -- npx -y read-jira-issue-mcp-server

settings.json (manual)

Edit ~/.claude/settings.json (global) or .claude/settings.json (project-scoped):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "read-jira-issue-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json (project-scoped):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "read-jira-issue-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "jira": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "read-jira-issue-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "read-jira-issue-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Usage

Returns the description of the specified JIRA ticket.

Claude Code

Claude understands natural language — just mention the ticket number:

Read Jira Card PROJ-123
read jira card proj-123
Read Jira Card AUTH-456 and summarize it
Read Jira Card PROJ-123 and write unit tests for it

Cursor

Prefix with @jira to target the tool, then use natural language:

@jira Read Jira Card PROJ-123
@jira read jira card proj-123 and explain what needs to be done
@jira Read Jira Card AUTH-456 and create a implementation plan

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Use # to reference the tool in Copilot Chat:

#jira Read Jira Card PROJ-123
#jira read jira card proj-123 and suggest an approach
#jira Read Jira Card AUTH-456 and break it into subtasks

Environment Variables

| Variable | Description | |---|---| | JIRA_URL | Base URL of your JIRA instance, e.g. https://your-org.atlassian.net | | JIRA_EMAIL | Email address of the JIRA account that owns the API token | | JIRA_TOKEN | API token generated from id.atlassian.com |

Development

npm install
npm run build   # compile TypeScript → dist/
npm run dev     # run with tsx (no build step)

Publishing to npm

Prerequisites

• An npmjs.com account
• GitHub CLI (gh) installed and authenticated:

  gh auth login

Publish a new version

The release script handles versioning, building, tagging, publishing to npm, and creating a GitHub release:

bash scripts/release.sh

It will prompt for the version bump type (major / minor / patch), then:

• bump package.json version
• build and publish to npm
• commit, tag, and push to GitHub
• create a GitHub release with auto-generated notes

After publishing, verify it's live:

npm info read-jira-issue-mcp-server