jtk mcp

Start the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Jira Cloud.

Usage

# stdio transport (default)
jtk mcp

# HTTP Streamable transport
jtk mcp --port 8080

Flags

Flag	Short	Type	Default	Description
`--port`	`-p`	int	`0`	Port to listen on. When `0` (default), uses stdio transport.

Transport Modes

stdio (default)

When no --port is specified, jtk communicates over standard input/output. This is the standard mode for local MCP clients:

Claude Desktop / Claude Code
Cursor
opencode
Any MCP client using stdio

jtk mcp

HTTP Streamable

When --port is specified, jtk starts an HTTP server using the MCP Streamable HTTP transport:

jtk mcp --port 8080

Starting Jira MCP Server on :8080 (HTTP Streamable)

Use this mode for:

Remote MCP clients
Web-based integrations
Multi-user setups behind a reverse proxy

Prerequisites

Authentication must be configured before starting the server. The server checks for credentials in this order:

Environment variables: JIRA_DOMAIN, JIRA_EMAIL, JIRA_API_TOKEN
Stored credentials: from jtk auth (saved at ~/.config/jtk/credentials.json)

If neither is found, the server exits with an error:

No credentials found. Either:
  1. Run: jtk auth
  2. Set JIRA_DOMAIN + JIRA_EMAIL + JIRA_API_TOKEN env vars

Client Configuration Examples

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jtk": {
      "command": "/path/to/jtk",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "JIRA_DOMAIN": "mycompany",
        "JIRA_EMAIL": "jane@example.com",
        "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

opencode

{
  "mcp": {
    "jtk": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["/path/to/jtk", "mcp"],
      "environment": {
        "JIRA_DOMAIN": "mycompany",
        "JIRA_EMAIL": "jane@example.com",
        "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

What Happens at Startup

Credentials loaded from env vars or stored credentials
Token type auto-detected (classic vs scoped) if not set explicitly
Permission introspection — calls Jira’s mypermissions API to check what your token can do
Tools registered — only actions permitted by your token appear in tool descriptions
Server ready — begins accepting MCP requests