Connect your AI Agents to Jira in minutes

How can I use the Jira MCP server?

Your use cases depend on the type of agent you’re building. That said, here are a few common use cases:

• Combine data sources for broader insights: Your agent can combine information from Jira with other data sources (e.g., your survey tool) to uncover broader insights, such as correlating sprint velocity with customer satisfaction metrics
  

• Manage issues or projects from Slack: Your agent can help users retrieve information on specific Jira issues from an app like Slack to quickly understand their status, details, history, and more. The user can also ask the agent to make specific updates on an issue without leaving Slack
  

• Deliver consistent product updates to leadership: Your agent can send the executive team weekly summaries of the product-specific tickets created in Jira over the past week within Slack; this lets them understand the top issues and, depending on the insights, it can help them make effective resource allocation decisions over time
  

• Coordinate development workflows: Your agent can automatically create Jira issues when critical bugs are detected in production, link them to related GitHub pull requests, and assign them to the appropriate developers based on code ownership

What are popular tools for Jira’s MCP server?

Here are some of the most common tools segmented by data types:

Issues

• <code class="blog_inline-code">search_issues</code>
• <code class="blog_inline-code">get_issue</code>
• <code class="blog_inline-code">get_issue_attachments</code>
• <code class="blog_inline-code">update_issue</code>
• <code class="blog_inline-code">add_comment</code>

Projects

• <code class="blog_inline-code">get_projects</code>
• <code class="blog_inline-code">get_project_statuses</code>
• <code class="blog_inline-code">create_project</code>
• <code class="blog_inline-code">update_project</code>

Boards

• <code class="blog_inline-code">get_board</code>
• <code class="blog_inline-code">get_board_sprints</code>
• <code class="blog_inline-code">create_board</code>

What makes Merge Agent Handler’s Jira MCP server better than alternative Jira MCP servers?

Merge Agent Handler differentiates itself by operating as a full agent–tool management platform, not just an MCP endpoint.

• Enterprise-grade security and DLP: All Jira tool inputs and outputs pass through a security gateway that can block, redact, or mask sensitive data based on default or custom rules. This helps prevent data leakage when agents create or update Jira issues
  

• Managed authentication and credentials: Merge Agent Handler handles Jira authentication flows, credential storage, and token validation, removing this burden from your agent code
  

• Real-time observability and audit trail: Every Jira tool call is logged with full context. Logs are fully searchable, enabling teams to audit agent behavior, debug failures, and optimize workflows
  

• Tool Packs and controlled access: Jira tools can be bundled with other MCP connectors (e.g., Slack, Salesforce) into Tool Packs, allowing precise control over which Jira actions an agent is allowed to perform

Can I set custom security rules for Jira tool calls with Merge Agent Handler?  

Yes, you can set custom security rules for any Jira tool calls to block or redact sensitive data. You can also log certain tool calls, allowing the agent to make them while providing your team with real-time visibility whenever this happens.

Here are some specific examples:

• Block your agents from creating or updating Jira issues with credit card numbers in fields like descriptions and comments
  

• Automatically redact SSNs when your agents retrieve or update Jira issue details. That way,  they only see masked versions
  

• Monitor and log whenever your agents attempt to add authentication credentials or access tokens in Jira issue comments or descriptions
  

• Block your agents from creating Jira tickets with sensitive terms like "confidential", "internal only", or proprietary project codenames in the summary or description fields

How can I add tools to Merge Agent Handler’s Jira MCP server?

You can add or modify Jira tools using Connector Studio within Merge Agent Handler:

1. Start from a pre-built Jira connector: Log into the Agent Handler dashboard and navigate to "Connectors" in the sidebar. Select the Jira connector from the list of available connectors.

2. Enable or disable specific Jira tools in a Tool Pack: Navigate to "Tool Packs" and either create a new Tool Pack or select an existing one. Add the Jira connector to your Tool Pack, then choose which specific Jira tools you want to make available to your agent.

3. Customize/extend tools, or add tools tailored to your workflows: Within Connector Studio, you can modify existing Jira tools by editing their names, descriptions, input schemas, and implementation logic. You can also create entirely new custom tools for Jira-specific actions that aren't available by default, such as custom field updates or advanced query filters.

4. Associate the updated Tool Pack with your agent: Once you've configured your Jira tools, save your Tool Pack. Then connect it to your agent using the MCP entry URL provided in the Tool Pack settings. Your agent will now have access to exactly the Jira tools you've configured, with all authentication, security rules, and logging handled automatically by Agent Handler.