Jira & Linear MCP server

The MCP (Model Context Protocol) DevTools server is a powerful tool that connects AI assistants with external services like Jira and Linear through a standardized protocol. It enables AI systems to interact with these services using natural language commands, making it easier to perform tasks like ticket management without leaving your workflow.

Installation

Setting Up Jira Integration

1. Open Cursor Settings → MCP
2. Click "Add New MCP Server"
3. Enter the following details:
   • Name: Jira
   • Type: command
   • Command:

     env JIRA_URL=https://[YOUR_WORKSPACE].atlassian.net JIRA_API_MAIL=[YOUR_EMAIL] JIRA_API_KEY=[YOUR_API_KEY] npx -y @mcp-devtools/jira
     

Setting Up Linear Integration

1. Open Cursor Settings → MCP
2. Click "Add New MCP Server"
3. Enter the following details:
   • Name: Linear
   • Type: command
   • Command:

     env LINEAR_API_KEY=[YOUR_API_KEY] npx -y @mcp-devtools/linear
     

Required API Keys

For Jira:

• JIRA_URL: Your Jira instance URL (e.g., https://your-company.atlassian.net)
• JIRA_API_MAIL: Your Atlassian account email
• JIRA_API_KEY: Your Atlassian API key (create one at https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens)

For Linear:

• LINEAR_API_KEY: Your Linear API key (create one in Linear app: Settings → API → Create Key)

Usage

Once configured, you can interact with these tools through natural language commands in the Cursor IDE.

Using Jira

Here are some common commands you can use with the Jira integration:

# Fetch a specific ticket
get ticket SCRUM-123

# Search for tickets
execute jql "project = SCRUM AND status = 'In Progress'"

# Get ticket details
read ticket SCRUM-123

# Create a new ticket
create ticket project=SCRUM summary="Fix login bug" description="Users can't log in" issuetype=Bug

Using Linear

Here are some common commands you can use with the Linear integration:

# Get a specific issue
get_issue SS-33

# Search for issues
search_issues "priority is high" with limit 5

# Create a new issue
create_issue for team "eng" titled "Fix API response format" with description "The API is returning incorrect data format" and priority 1

# List teams
list_teams

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Connection Problems

   • Verify your API credentials are correct
   • Check network connectivity to your service instances
   • Confirm URLs and workspace names are accurate

2. Permission Errors

   • Ensure your accounts have appropriate permissions for the actions you're attempting
   • API tokens may need specific permissions enabled in your account settings

3. Command Not Found

   • If using npx, make sure you're connected to the npm registry
   • For local installations, verify that your package installation was successful

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "Jira" '{"command":"env","args":["JIRA_URL=https://[YOUR_WORKSPACE].atlassian.net","JIRA_API_MAIL=[YOUR_EMAIL]","JIRA_API_KEY=[YOUR_API_KEY]","npx","-y","@mcp-devtools/jira"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "Jira": {
            "command": "env",
            "args": [
                "JIRA_URL=https://[YOUR_WORKSPACE].atlassian.net",
                "JIRA_API_MAIL=[YOUR_EMAIL]",
                "JIRA_API_KEY=[YOUR_API_KEY]",
                "npx",
                "-y",
                "@mcp-devtools/jira"
            ]
        },
        "Linear": {
            "command": "env",
            "args": [
                "LINEAR_API_KEY=[YOUR_API_KEY]",
                "npx",
                "-y",
                "@mcp-devtools/linear"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "Jira": {
            "command": "env",
            "args": [
                "JIRA_URL=https://[YOUR_WORKSPACE].atlassian.net",
                "JIRA_API_MAIL=[YOUR_EMAIL]",
                "JIRA_API_KEY=[YOUR_API_KEY]",
                "npx",
                "-y",
                "@mcp-devtools/jira"
            ]
        },
        "Linear": {
            "command": "env",
            "args": [
                "LINEAR_API_KEY=[YOUR_API_KEY]",
                "npx",
                "-y",
                "@mcp-devtools/linear"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect