Jira MCP Server

35%

of active Willow orgs connect it

in Project Management & Issue Tracking

~680

tokens per typical response

Based on aggregated, anonymized Willow gateway data. Updated Oct 21, 2026.

Jira is a project management and issue tracking tool used for software development, task management, and agile project management.

Tools

Last Updated

Oct 21, 2026

What is the Jira MCP Server?

The Jira MCP server gives AI agents structured, permission-aware access to Jira through the Model Context Protocol. With 34 pre-built actions, agents can read, create, and update Jira data on behalf of authorized users.

Willow ships the Jira MCP server as part of an enterprise control plane. Every call runs behind SSO (Okta, Azure AD), enforces RBAC and least-privilege at runtime, writes to a full audit trail, and integrates with Splunk and Loki for SIEM visibility. Connect from Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code, n8n, or any custom agent. Install once, distribute org-wide, and see exactly how Jira is being used by every AI agent in your stack.

Tools

Most-used tools

Most-used tool: get-issues (60% of calls)

Tool	Type	Share	Tokens
get-issues	read	60%	2,323
update-issue	write	10%	1
create-issue	write	5%	34
get-create-meta-data	write	5%	165,572
list-fields	read	5%	25,894
download-issue-attachments	read	5%	150,608
transition-issue	write	5%	1

Most used from Claude, Claude Code.

Delete Issue

Delete a Jira issue or subtask

Delete Issue Comment

Delete a specific comment from a Jira issue. This calls the Jira REST API endpoint to remove the comment identified by commentId from the issue identified by issueIdOrKey. The request is performed against the configured orgDomain (settings.orgDomain). Deleting a comment is destructive; the operation is idempotent (repeating a successful delete has no additional effect).

List Projects

List all Jira projects accessible to you

Get Issues

Get all issues and subtasks for a project

Update Issue

Update an existing Jira issue. Before updating an issue with custom fields, use the 'Get Create Meta Data' tool with your project key to understand: 1. Available fields for the issue type 2. Required fields that must be preserved 3. Custom fields format and allowed values Note: When updating an issue, you only need to provide the fields you want to change. Omitted fields will retain their current values.

List Fields

List all available Jira fields

List Issue Types

List all available issue types

List Link Types

List all available issue link types

Get User

Get a user's account ID by email address

Get User by Account ID

Get a user's details (display name, email, active status) by their Jira account ID. Useful for resolving @mentions in comments where only accountId is available.

Create Issue

Create a new Jira issue. Before creating an issue, use the 'Get Create Meta Data' tool with your project key to get: 1. Available issue types and their IDs 2. Required and optional fields for each issue type 3. Custom fields configuration and allowed values This meta data is essential as different projects and issue types may have different required fields.

Create Issue Link

Create a link between two issues

Bulk Move Issues

Move multiple issues (up to 1000, including subtasks) to a target project and issue type. This operation sets sensible defaults for field mappings, status transitions, and classification handling. All subtasks will automatically move with their parent issues.

Get Create Meta Data

Get the create meta data for a project

Comment on Issue

Comment on a Jira issue

Get Available Transitions

Get the list of available workflow transitions for a specific issue. Each transition represents a possible status change (e.g., 'To Do' → 'In Progress', 'In Progress' → 'Done'). Use this before transitioning an issue to find the correct transition ID.

Transition Issue

Move an issue to a different status by executing a workflow transition (e.g., move to 'In Progress', 'Done', 'Archived'). Before using this tool, call 'Get Available Transitions' to find the correct transition ID for the desired status change.

Attach File to Issue

Attach a file to a Jira issue. Sends the provided file content (as base64) with a filename to the Jira attachments endpoint for the specified issue. Authentication and any required headers (for example X-Atlassian-Token: no-check) are handled outside this tool.

Bulk Create Issues

Create multiple Jira issues in one request. Each issue requires a projectKey, summary, and issueTypeId. Use 'Get Create Meta Data' to find valid issueTypeIds and available custom fields.

Get All Boards

Returns all Jira Software boards the user has permission to view. Optionally filter by name, type (scrum/kanban), or project.

Create Board

Create a new Jira Software board (scrum or kanban). Requires a saved filter ID that defines which issues the board shows. Use 'Create Filter' first if no suitable filter exists.

Create Filter

Create a saved Jira filter with a JQL query. Filters can be used to create boards or shared with other users. The filter is not marked as a favorite by default.

Get Board Sprints

Get all sprints for a given board. Filter by state to retrieve only active, future, or closed sprints.

Create Sprint

Create a new sprint in a board. Only the sprint name and originBoardId are required. Start and end dates are optional — when starting sprints from the UI, the endDate from this call may be ignored.

Update Sprint

Update a sprint's details or change its state. Set state to 'active' to start a sprint, or 'closed' to complete it. Only one sprint can be active per board at a time.

Move Issues to Sprint

Move one or more issues into a sprint. The sprint can be active or future. Issues already in another sprint will be moved.

Move Issues to Backlog

Remove one or more issues from their current sprint and move them back to the board's backlog.

Get Version

Get details of a specific project version (release) by its ID, including name, description, release date, and status.

Update Version

Update a project version (release). Can change the name, description, dates, released status, or archived status.

Create Version Related Work

Add a related work item (link) to a project version. Related work can be a URL or a linked Jira issue, grouped by category.

Update Version Related Work

Update an existing related work item on a project version. The relatedWorkId (id field) is required to identify which item to update.

Delete Version Related Work

Delete a related work item from a project version. This action is permanent.

Delete Issue Link

Delete a link between two Jira issues. Use 'List Link Types' and the issue's links to find the linkId. This action is permanent.

Get Project

Get detailed information about a specific Jira project by its key or ID, including issue types, components, versions, and lead.

Customize Tools

Edit descriptions, modify arguments, select tools, or add new ones

Set Up Your Jira MCP Server in Minutes

Add the following configuration to your MCP client. Authentication is handled via OAuth. Compatible with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code, n8n, and any MCP-compatible agent.

Claude Desktop

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "willow-jira": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://<org>.mcp-s.com/mcp/mcp/jira"
    }
  }
}

Cursor

.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "willow-jira": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://<org>.mcp-s.com/mcp/mcp/jira"
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

CLI

claude mcp add willow-jira --transport http https://<org>.mcp-s.com/mcp/mcp/jira

n8n

HTTP Request Node

{
  "url": "https://<org>.mcp-s.com/mcp/mcp/jira",
  "method": "POST"
}

Or click "Install with Willow" above to set up automatically with SSO and RBAC preconfigured.

Enterprise Governance for Jira

Willow adds the layer Jira and every other SaaS doesn't ship out of the box: every call runs behind SSO (Okta, Azure AD), enforces RBAC and least-privilege at runtime, writes to full audit logs, and detects shadow AI usage across your stack. One MCP gateway. Any agent. Every tool.

Jira MCP Server FAQ

What is the Jira MCP server?

The Jira MCP server is a Model Context Protocol implementation that lets AI agents like Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT read and write Jira data through a standardized interface. Willow hosts and governs this server so enterprises can roll it out without a security review backlog.

How is Willow's Jira MCP server different from the official one?

The official Jira MCP server is scoped to a single user's account and does not include enterprise governance. Willow's version adds SSO, RBAC, audit logging, shadow AI detection, and centralized control over which actions agents can take across the entire org.

Which AI clients work with the Jira MCP server?

Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code with MCP support, n8n, and any custom agent built with OpenAI Agents SDK, LangChain, Vercel AI SDK, or Anthropic SDK.

Is the Jira MCP server secure? How does Willow handle authentication?

Every call runs behind your existing SSO (Okta, Azure AD). Per-user OAuth scopes the agent to exactly what that user can do in Jira, nothing more. No credentials reach the LLM. Every action writes to an audit trail.

Can I limit which Jira actions agents can take?

Yes. Willow lets you scope agents to specific actions, specific projects, or specific environments. Toggle actions on or off in the dashboard, or enforce policy via infrastructure-as-code through GitHub.

How do I detect shadow Jira MCP servers in my org?

Willow's browser extension and discovery service surface unmanaged MCP servers, skills, and AI agents across the org. If a developer installed an unapproved Jira MCP locally, you'll see it.

What does the Jira MCP server cost?

Pricing depends on org size and deployment model (SaaS, dedicated cloud, self-host). See withwillow.ai/pricing or contact sales for a quote.

How do I install the Jira MCP server with Willow?

Install via the Willow Connect Panel in one click, or paste the JSON snippet above into your Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Claude Code config. SSO and RBAC inherit from your existing Willow setup.