Setting up Atlassian MCP for Gemini CLI on Ubuntu

Gemini_CLI-Atlassian_MCP.md

Setting up Atlassian MCP for Gemini CLI on Ubuntu

This guide provides the technical steps to integrate the Atlassian Rovo Model Context Protocol (MCP) server with the Google Gemini Command Line Interface (CLI) on an Ubuntu system.

1. Prerequisites

Node.js Environment

The Gemini CLI and the Atlassian proxy require Node.js. It is highly recommended to use Node.js v20 (LTS).

Avoid using the default Ubuntu apt repositories for Node.js as they are often outdated. Instead, use NVM (Node Version Manager):

# Install NVM if not present
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc

# Install and use Node.js 20
nvm install 20
nvm use 20

Gemini CLI

Ensure the Gemini CLI is installed globally:

npm install -g @google/gemini-cli

2. Configuration

Atlassian Rovo operates as a remote MCP server. Because it requires OAuth 2.1 authentication, it uses a local proxy (mcp-remote) to handle the secure handshake between your terminal and the Atlassian Cloud.

Manual JSON Configuration

Edit your user settings file located at ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Atlassian-Rovo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://mcp.atlassian.com/v1/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. Initial Authentication (Site Admin Required)

The first time you connect, a browser window will open for OAuth consent.

1. Site Admin Privilege: The very first user to connect to a specific Atlassian tenant must have Site Admin privileges to authorize the application for the organization.
2. Consent Flow: Follow the prompts in your browser to select your Atlassian site and grant the required permissions (Jira/Confluence access).
3. Local Token: Once authorized, the proxy stores a cryptographic token in a hidden directory (usually ~/.mcp-remote/auth) for future sessions.

4. Verification

# Start the CLI
gemini

You should see Atlassian-Rovo listed as Connected. You can view the available tools (e.g., jira_search, confluence_search) by running:

/mcp list

5. Advanced: Multi-Tenant Setup

If you need to connect to multiple Atlassian sites separately, use the --resource flag in your args to isolate sessions:

"args": [
  "-y", "mcp-remote@latest", "https://mcp.atlassian.com/v1/mcp",
  "--resource", "https://your-site.atlassian.net/"
]