Jira MCP Server Setup for Cursor IDE (2026)

Connecting Jira to Cursor via MCP means you can ask your AI assistant about tickets, sprints, and backlogs without switching tabs. You can also pull issue context directly into your coding conversations.

This guide covers setup using the Atlassian MCP server (which includes both Jira and Confluence) and the most useful ways to use it once it's running.

What You Can Do with Jira + Cursor MCP

Once connected:

The last one is especially useful during development — pull the full acceptance criteria into your Cursor context before writing code.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Get an Atlassian API Token

1. Go to id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/security/api-tokens
2. Click Create API token
3. Give it a name like "Cursor MCP"
4. Copy the token — you won't be able to see it again

Your Atlassian site URL looks like: https://yourcompany.atlassian.net

Step 2: Add to Cursor MCP Config

Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P → "Open MCP Settings"):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@atlassian/mcp-atlassian"],
      "env": {
        "ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token_here",
        "ATLASSIAN_SITE_URL": "https://yourcompany.atlassian.net",
        "ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL": "you@yourcompany.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace the values with your actual token, site URL, and email.

Note: This server also gives you access to Confluence. If you want to keep Jira and Confluence separate, you can add the same server twice with different keys — but there's no benefit to that since the server handles both automatically.

Step 3: Restart Cursor

Quit Cursor completely and reopen it. Check that it loaded: View → Output → MCP

Step 4: Test Your Connection

In Cursor chat, try:

What Jira issues are assigned to me?

Or pull context for an issue you're working on:

Show me the full description and acceptance criteria for PROJ-123

Practical Workflows

Start Your Day

Show me all Jira issues assigned to me that are In Progress or In Review

This gives you a quick standup summary without opening Jira.

Code with Ticket Context

Before implementing a feature, paste the ticket number in Cursor:

Pull the requirements from PROJ-456 and then help me design the database schema for it

Cursor will fetch the full ticket description and use it to inform the implementation.

Find Stale Issues

List all tickets in the current sprint that haven't been updated in more than 2 days

Pre-PR Checklist

Get the acceptance criteria from PROJ-789 and check my current code changes against them

Troubleshooting

"Authentication failed" or 401 errors

"Project not found" errors

Slow responses

Server not appearing in Cursor

Jira-Specific Tips

Use project keys — Instead of "the backend project," say "the BACKEND project" (using the Jira project key). This avoids ambiguity.

JQL works — You can ask Cursor to filter by JQL: "Find Jira issues matching: project = BACKEND AND status = 'In Progress' AND assignee = currentUser()"

Combining with code — The real power is combining ticket context with your code. Try: "I'm implementing the feature described in PROJ-456 — review my current implementation and tell me if I'm missing anything from the acceptance criteria"

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