Jira Integration

Retrieve, analyze, and update Jira tickets with MCP or direct REST API.

When to Activate

• Fetching ticket requirements and acceptance criteria
• Adding progress comments or status updates
• Transitioning ticket status (To Do → In Progress → Done)
• Searching for issues via JQL queries
• Linking PRs or branches to tickets

Setup

Option A: MCP Server (Recommended)

Install mcp-atlassian via uvx:

{
  "jira": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["mcp-atlassian==0.21.0"],
    "env": {
      "JIRA_URL": "https://YOUR_ORG.atlassian.net",
      "JIRA_EMAIL": "your.email@example.com",
      "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token"
    }
  }
}

Get your API token: https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens

Option B: Direct REST API

Set these environment variables:

• JIRA_URL — Jira instance URL
• JIRA_EMAIL — Your account email
• JIRA_API_TOKEN — API token (never hardcode)

MCP Tools

With mcp-atlassian configured:

• jira_search — JQL queries
• jira_get_issue — Fetch issue details
• jira_create_issue — Create new issues
• jira_update_issue — Update fields
• jira_transition_issue — Change status
• jira_add_comment — Add comments
• jira_get_transitions — List available transitions

Analyzing Tickets

Extract from tickets:

• Functional requirements — What needs to be built
• Acceptance criteria — Testable conditions
• Test types — Unit, integration, E2E
• Edge cases — Error scenarios, boundary conditions
• Dependencies — Linked issues, APIs, systems

Updating Tickets

Security

• Never hardcode API tokens
• Use environment variables or secrets manager
• Add .env to .gitignore
• Rotate tokens if exposed
• Use least-privilege scopes