jtk — Jira Toolkit

The most comprehensive dedicated Jira MCP server in the open-source ecosystem. A dual-mode Go binary that works as both a rich CLI tool and an MCP server for AI agents.

11 MCP tools · 4 prompt templates · Full CLI · Single binary · Zero dependencies

Why jtk?

	jtk	mcp-atlassian (Python)
Language	Go (single ~15MB binary)	Python (pip install + deps)
Jira tools	11 dedicated tools	~30 mixed Jira+Confluence
Startup	~50ms	~2s
Permission introspection	Dynamic at startup	None
Dev status API	Branches, PRs, commits	Not available
Issue metrics	Cycle time, lead time, time-in-status	Not available
MCP prompts	4 built-in templates	None
Auth	Classic + scoped tokens	Classic only

Features

Dual Mode — CLI for humans, MCP server for AI agents, same binary
Git Awareness — Auto-detects Jira issue keys from branch names (e.g., feature/PROJ-123-add-login → PROJ-123)
Dynamic Permission Introspection — Queries /mypermissions at MCP startup, only registers mutation tools your token allows
Dev Status API — Surfaces branches, PRs, and commits linked to any issue via Jira's 3-step dev-status endpoint
Issue Metrics — Cycle time, lead time, time-in-status breakdown with status transition history
MCP Prompts — Standup summary, sprint status, release notes, dev dependency tree
Token-Efficient — Consolidated action-based tools minimize schema overhead. ResponseFlattener strips bloated JSON. Full ADF↔Markdown conversion
Agile-First — Boards, sprints, backlogs, sprint mutations, active sprint detection

Installation

# From source
git clone https://github.com/zach-snell/jtk.git && cd jtk
./install.sh  # builds and copies to ~/.local/bin

# Or build manually
go build -o jtk ./cmd/jtk

Pre-built binaries available on the Releases page.

Quick Start

# Authenticate
jtk auth

# Get current issue from git branch
jtk issues get

# Search with JQL
jtk issues search --jql "project = PROJ AND status = 'In Progress'"

# Create an issue
jtk issues create --project PROJ --type Task --summary "Fix login bug"

# Sprint overview
jtk boards list
jtk boards active-sprint --board 1

CLI Commands

jtk auth                    Authenticate with Jira Cloud
jtk issues                  Issue CRUD, search, comments, transitions, links
jtk boards                  Agile boards, sprints, backlogs
jtk projects                List, get, create projects
jtk users                   Search and get users
jtk versions                Project versions/releases
jtk worklogs                Time tracking

MCP Server

Stdio Transport (Claude Desktop, Cursor, OpenCode, etc.)

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

Streamable HTTP Transport

jtk mcp --port 8080

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required
`JIRA_DOMAIN`	Atlassian domain (e.g., `acme` for acme.atlassian.net)	Yes
`JIRA_EMAIL`	Email for the API token	Yes
`JIRA_API_TOKEN`	Atlassian API token	Yes
`JIRA_TOKEN_TYPE`	`classic` or `scoped` (auto-detected if omitted)	No
`JIRA_DISABLED_TOOLS`	Comma-separated tool names to hide	No

MCP Tools (11)

Tool	Actions
`manage_issues`	get, create, update, assign, transition, delete, add_comment, edit_comment, list_comments, list_types, get_links, get_history, link, list_link_types, get_watchers, add_watcher, remove_watcher
`manage_search`	jql, quick
`manage_boards`	list_boards, get_board, list_sprints, get_sprint_issues, get_backlog, get_active_sprint, search_sprints, create_sprint, update_sprint, move_to_sprint
`manage_projects`	list, get, list_statuses, create
`manage_devinfo`	get_dev_info
`manage_worklogs`	list, add
`manage_versions`	list, get, create
`manage_attachments`	list, download, upload, delete
`manage_users`	get_current, search, get
`manage_metrics`	get_dates, get_metrics

MCP Prompts (4)

Prompt	Description
`standup_summary`	Generate a standup report from recent activity
`sprint_status`	Analyze sprint health and progress
`release_notes`	Draft release notes from a version's issues
`dev_dependency_tree`	Map development dependencies across linked issues

Security

Three-layer safety model:

Token scopes — Atlassian scopes control which APIs the token can call (403 if missing)
Permission introspection — jtk queries /mypermissions at startup and dynamically hides mutation tools your account lacks
Tool denial — Explicitly hide tools: JIRA_DISABLED_TOOLS="manage_boards,manage_worklogs"

Development

go test -race ./...          # Run tests
golangci-lint run ./...      # Lint
go build -o jtk ./cmd/jtk   # Build

License

Apache 2.0

jtk