Jira

You can connect Jira to an MCP client to let large language models interact with Jira data through a lightweight, programmable interface. This MCP server exposes common Jira capabilities like listing projects, boards, sprints, and issues, and it can create tasks directly from prompts.

How to use

You interact with Jira through an MCP client by invoking the available tools to retrieve Jira data or create issues. Use natural language prompts to request information such as projects, boards, sprints, or issues, and the MCP client will route your request to the Jira MCP server. Examples of actions you can perform include listing projects, fetching boards for a project, listing sprints on a board, retrieving issues in a sprint, and creating new tasks.

To perform these actions, call the corresponding tools exposed by the Jira MCP Server. The core tools are: list_projects, list_boards, list_sprints_from_board, list_issues_from_sprint, and create_issue. Each tool accepts specific inputs and returns structured Jira data that you can present or analyze in your chat session.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installing: Node.js version 22.12.0 or newer. You will also configure Jira access using a personal access token and your Jira instance URL.

Install and run the MCP server locally using the standard workflow shown below. Follow each step in order.

pnpm install

JIRA_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=email@example.com:your_personal_jira_access_token
JIRA_BASE_URL=jira_base_url

pnpm dev

pnpm build

pnpm inspector

If you plan to run the MCP server within Claude Desktop or a similar MCP client, you can configure the server entry as shown in the following JSON snippet. This defines the Jira MCP server using the npm package and passes the required environment variables to access Jira.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@parassolanki/jira-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "JIRA_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "email@example.com:your_personal_jira_access_token",
        "JIRA_BASE_URL": "jira_base_url"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Windows environments, you can run the same server via a slightly different command that ensures proper shell handling.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "cmd /c npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@parassolanki/jira-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "JIRA_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "email@example.com:your_personal_jira_access_token",
        "JIRA_BASE_URL": "jira_base_url"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration and security

Environment variables you must provide are the Jira personal access token and Jira base URL. Securely store tokens and avoid sharing them in logs or messages. The MCP server will use these values to authenticate requests to Jira.

Development notes

Development workflow follows a typical Node.js project pattern: install dependencies, configure environment variables, run the server in watch mode during development, build for production, and use an inspector for debugging as needed.

pnpm install
JIRA_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=email@example.com:your_personal_jira_access_token
JIRA_BASE_URL=jira_base_url
pnpm dev
pnpm build
pnpm inspector

Available tools

list_projects

List projects from Jira with optional filtering, expansion, and result limits.

list_boards

List boards within a Jira project with optional filtering by project, type, and pagination.

list_sprints_from_board

List sprints for a specific Jira board including pagination controls.

list_issues_from_sprint

List issues for a given sprint on a board with optional expansion of schema and names.

create_issue

Create a new Jira issue of type Task within a specified project using a summary and description.