atlassian-mcp-server: Can I authenticate with an API token instead of OAuth?
Can I use an Atlassian API token to authenticate atlassian-mcp-server in a CI/CD environment, or is OAuth the only supported method? I want to integrate an AI workflow without an interactive OAuth flow, but the official server rejects API-token auth and the repo docs don't show a token configuration option.
Originally asked on GitHub: https://github.com/atlassian/atlassian-mcp-server/issues/22
2 answers
Fixed. API token authentication was released for atlassian-mcp-server and announced by a maintainer on 2026-02-24, with details in the issue thread: https://github.com/atlassian/atlassian-mcp-server/issues/75#issuecomment-3948717016 (opens external site).
At the time of the issue, OAuth was the only supported authorization method, which blocked service-to-service use in CI/CD. While waiting, one commenter pointed to the third-party
sooperset/mcp-atlassianserver as an alternative.After the release, a commenter noted that the repo documentation still directed users to the old URL and did not mention token auth (as of 2026-04-30), so check the linked announcement for the exact configuration rather than the README section.
General advice: use a dedicated API token with minimal scope and rotate it regularly, since a token bypasses the interactive OAuth consent flow.
Did this work for you?What @hlbo551955-creator tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)
A commenter suggested checking the
sooperset/mcp-atlassianrepository as an alternative. The thread does not say whether this worked.Did this work for you?
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