JIRA MCP for Answer Agent

Introduction

JIRA MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server is a powerful integration that provides AI systems with the ability to interact with JIRA data. It enables features like issue searching, epic management, comment handling, and relationship tracking through a clean API interface.

Setup Instructions

Before using the JIRA MCP tools, you need to set up your credentials:

Getting JIRA API Credentials

1. Generate an API Token:

   • Log in to your Atlassian account at https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens
   • Click "Create API token"
   • Give your token a meaningful name (e.g., "Answer Agent Integration")
   • Copy the token value (you won't be able to see it again)

2. Find Your JIRA Instance URL:

   • This is the base URL you use to access JIRA (e.g., https://your-company.atlassian.net)

3. Identify Your Email Address:

   • Use the email associated with your Atlassian account

Configuring Answer Agent

Configure your credentials in Answer Agent by setting these environment variables:

JIRA_API_TOKEN=your_api_token_here
JIRA_BASE_URL=your_jira_instance_url
JIRA_USER_EMAIL=your_email_address

Available Tools

search_issues

Search for JIRA issues using JQL (JIRA Query Language).

Schema:

{
    searchString: string // JQL search string
}

Use cases:

• Find all issues assigned to a specific user
• Search for all open bugs in a project
• Filter issues by priority, status, or creation date

Example:

project = "ENG" AND status = "In Progress" AND assignee = currentUser()

get_epic_children

Retrieve all child issues within an epic, including their comments and relationships.

Schema:

{
    epicKey: string // The key of the epic issue
}

Use cases:

• Get all stories and tasks within a feature epic
• Review progress of all work items in a release epic
• Analyze comment history across an entire feature set

Example:

ENG-123

get_issue

Retrieve detailed information about a specific JIRA issue including its comments, relationships, and links.

Schema:

{
    issueId: string // The ID or key of the JIRA issue
}

Use cases:

• Deep dive into a specific bug's details
• Review the discussion history on a feature request
• Check parent/child relationships for a work item

Example:

ENG-456

create_issue

Create a new JIRA issue with specified parameters.

Schema:

{
  projectKey: string, // The project key where the issue will be created
  issueType: string, // The type of issue (e.g., "Bug", "Story", "Task")
  summary: string, // The issue summary/title
  description?: string, // Optional issue description
  fields?: { // Optional additional fields
    [key: string]: any
  }
}

Use cases:

• Create bug reports from support interactions
• Generate new feature requests from user feedback
• Create tasks for identified improvements

Example:

{
    "projectKey": "ENG",
    "issueType": "Bug",
    "summary": "Application crashes when uploading large files",
    "description": "When attempting to upload files larger than 50MB, the application crashes with no error message."
}

update_issue

Update the fields of an existing JIRA issue.

Schema:

{
  issueKey: string, // The key of the issue to update
  fields: { // Fields to update
    [key: string]: any
  }
}

Use cases:

• Update issue priority based on new information
• Assign issues to appropriate team members
• Add or update custom fields with new data

Example:

{
    "issueKey": "ENG-789",
    "fields": {
        "priority": { "name": "High" },
        "assignee": { "name": "john.doe@example.com" }
    }
}

get_transitions

Retrieve available status transitions for a JIRA issue.

Schema:

{
    issueKey: string // The key of the issue to get transitions for
}

Use cases:

• Determine valid status changes for an issue
• Check if an issue can be moved to "Done"
• Find the specific transition ID needed for automation

Example:

ENG-101

transition_issue

Change the status of a JIRA issue by performing a transition.

Schema:

{
  issueKey: string, // The key of the issue to transition
  transitionId: string, // The ID of the transition to perform
  comment?: string // Optional comment to add with the transition
}

Use cases:

• Move issues from "In Progress" to "Done"
• Send issues back to "To Do" with feedback
• Mark issues as "Ready for Review" with comments

Example:

{
    "issueKey": "ENG-101",
    "transitionId": "21",
    "comment": "This work has been completed and is ready for review."
}

add_attachment

Add a file attachment to a JIRA issue.

Schema:

{
  issueKey: string, // The key of the issue to add attachment to
  fileContent: string, // Base64 encoded content of the file
  filename: string // Name of the file to be attached
}

Use cases:

• Attach screenshots of bugs
• Add design documents to feature requests
• Upload log files for troubleshooting

Example:

{
    "issueKey": "ENG-202",
    "fileContent": "base64_encoded_file_content_here",
    "filename": "error_screenshot.png"
}

add_comment

Add a comment to a JIRA issue.

Schema:

{
  issueIdOrKey: string, // The ID or key of the issue to add the comment to
  body: string // The content of the comment (plain text)
}

Use cases:

• Add progress updates to tracked work
• Respond to questions on issues
• Document implementation details or decisions

Example:

{
    "issueIdOrKey": "ENG-303",
    "body": "I've investigated this issue and found that it's related to the recent database migration. We should revert the change to the connection pooling configuration."
}

Use Cases for Developers

Workflow Automation

Use the JIRA MCP to automate common development workflows:

1. Issue Triage:

   • Search for new bugs with search_issues
   • Update priority and assign them with update_issue
   • Add comments with initial analysis using add_comment

2. Sprint Management:

   • Get epic children with get_epic_children to track sprint progress
   • Transition completed issues with transition_issue
   • Create subtasks for complex stories with create_issue

3. Code Review Process:

   • Search for issues ready for review with search_issues
   • Add review comments with add_comment
   • Attach code snippets or screenshots with add_attachment

4. Release Management:

   • Track all issues in a release epic with get_epic_children
   • Update statuses in bulk as features are completed
   • Document release notes by aggregating issue data

Integration Possibilities

• Connect CI/CD pipelines to update issue status on build/deploy events
• Link code commits to JIRA issues automatically
• Generate daily/weekly status reports from issue data

Use Cases for Publishers

Content Management

1. Editorial Workflow:

   • Create content tasks with create_issue
   • Track editorial progress with custom JIRA workflows
   • Search for content ready for publication

2. Review Cycles:

   • Add feedback as comments with add_comment
   • Attach revised content with add_attachment
   • Transition content through editorial states

3. Content Planning:

   • Use epics for content themes or campaigns
   • Get all related content pieces with get_epic_children
   • Track dependencies between content items

Analytics and Reporting

• Create automated reports on content performance
• Track publication metrics through custom fields
• Generate executive summaries of content production

Advanced Features

The JIRA MCP server includes these powerful capabilities:

• Relationship Tracking: Automatically detects and tracks issue mentions and links
• ADF Conversion: Transforms complex Atlassian Document Format into clean plain text
• Optimized Payloads: Returns only the necessary data to maximize context efficiency
• Parent/Child Tracking: Maintains issue hierarchy information
• Concurrent API Requests: Fetches related data in parallel for performance

Limitations

• Search results are limited to 50 issues per request
• Epic children are limited to 100 issues per request
• Rate limiting may apply based on your JIRA instance configuration