JIRA MCP server

This MCP server implements the Model Context Protocol to connect your JIRA instance with Cursor IDE, allowing seamless interaction with your JIRA data through AI features. It lets you retrieve, search, create, and update JIRA issues directly from Cursor.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• JIRA account with API token
• Cursor IDE (for client-side usage)

Setup Steps

1. Create a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

2. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Configure environment variables by creating a .env file with:

JIRA_URL=your_jira_url
JIRA_USERNAME=your_username
JIRA_API_TOKEN=your_api_token

Running the Server

To start the server, use:

./run-jira-mcp.sh

Features and Usage

Core Features

• Get JIRA issues by key: Retrieve specific issues using their keys
• Search issues with JQL: Use JIRA Query Language for advanced searches
• Create and update issues: Manage issues directly through the protocol
• Add comments: Communicate on issues via comments
• Clone issues: Create duplicates of existing issues
• Log work: Track time spent on issues

Using Search Functionality

The search feature supports JQL (JIRA Query Language) with options for:

• Field selection
• Result limits
• Pagination

Example workflow:

1. Enter JQL query
2. Apply filters
3. View customized results
4. Navigate through paginated results

Issue Cloning

When cloning issues, you can:

• Change the target project
• Modify fields in the new issue
• Copy attachments (with limitations)
• Add a link to the source issue

Security Considerations

When using this tool, please keep in mind:

• This is best for personal or small team use
• Ensure your JIRA instance uses HTTPS
• Use API tokens rather than passwords
• Keep your .env file secure
• Regularly rotate your API tokens
• Monitor JIRA audit logs for unexpected activity

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":"./run-jira-mcp.sh","args":[]}'

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": "./run-jira-mcp.sh",
            "args": []
        }
    }
}

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": "./run-jira-mcp.sh",
            "args": []
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect