Bugzilla Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server

A robust MCP server that provides seamless interaction with Bugzilla instances through the Model Context Protocol. This server exposes a comprehensive set of tools and prompts, enabling AI models and other MCP clients to efficiently query bug information, manage comments, and leverage Bugzilla's powerful quicksearch capabilities.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• Configuration
• Usage
• API Reference
• Examples
• Troubleshooting
• License

Features

Tools

The server provides the following tools for interacting with Bugzilla:

Bug Information

• bug_info(id: int): Retrieves comprehensive details for a specified Bugzilla bug ID.

  • Returns: A dictionary containing all available information about the bug (status, assignee, summary, description, attachments, etc.)
  • Example: bug_info(12345) returns complete bug details

• bug_comments(id: int, include_private_comments: bool = False): Fetches all comments associated with a given bug ID.

  • Parameters:
    • id: The bug ID to fetch comments for
    • include_private_comments: Whether to include private comments (default: False)
  • Returns: A list of comment dictionaries, each containing author, timestamp, text, and privacy status
  • Example: bug_comments(12345, include_private_comments=True) returns all comments including private ones

• add_comment(bug_id: int, comment: str, is_private: bool = False): Adds a new comment to a specified bug.

  • Parameters:
    • bug_id: The bug ID to add a comment to
    • comment: The comment text to add
    • is_private: Whether the comment should be private (default: False)
  • Returns: A dictionary containing the ID of the newly created comment
  • Example: add_comment(12345, "Fixed in version 2.0", is_private=False)

Bug Search

• bugs_quicksearch(query: str, limit: int = 50, offset: int = 0): Executes a search for bugs using Bugzilla's powerful quicksearch syntax.

  • Parameters:
    • query: A quicksearch query string (e.g., "product:Firefox status:NEW")
    • limit: Maximum number of results to return (default: 50)
    • offset: Number of results to skip for pagination (default: 0)
  • Returns: A list of dictionaries, each containing essential bug fields:
    • bug_id: The bug ID
    • product: Product name
    • component: Component name
    • assigned_to: Assigned user email
    • status: Current status
    • resolution: Resolution (if resolved)
    • summary: Bug summary
    • last_updated: Last update timestamp
  • Note: Returns a curated subset of fields to optimize token usage. Use bug_info() to get full details for specific bugs.
  • Example: bugs_quicksearch("product:Firefox status:NEW", limit=10)

• learn_quicksearch_syntax(): Provides access to the official Bugzilla quicksearch syntax documentation.

  • Returns: The quicksearch documentation content in HTML format
  • Use case: Allows LLMs to learn and formulate effective search queries dynamically

Utility Tools

• server_url(): Returns the base URL of the configured Bugzilla server.

  • Returns: A string representing the base URL (e.g., "https://bugzilla.example.com")

• bug_url(bug_id: int): Constructs and returns the direct URL to a specific bug on the Bugzilla server.

  • Returns: A string representing the bug's URL (e.g., "https://bugzilla.example.com/show_bug.cgi?id=12345")

• mcp_server_info(): Returns the configuration arguments being used by the current server instance.

  • Returns: A dictionary containing server configuration including version, host, port, and API key header name

• get_current_headers(): Returns the HTTP headers from the current request.

  • Returns: A dictionary of HTTP headers (useful for debugging authentication)

Prompts

The server provides the following prompt templates:

• summarize_bug_comments(id: int): Generates a detailed summary prompt for all comments of a given bug ID.
  • Returns: A well-structured prompt that, when used with an LLM, produces a formatted summary of the bug's comments
  • Format: Includes usernames (bold italic), dates (bold), and human-readable timestamps
  • Example: summarize_bug_comments(12345) returns a prompt that can be used to generate a comment summary

Requirements

• Python 3.13
• A Bugzilla instance with REST API access
• A Bugzilla user account with an API key
• Network access to the Bugzilla server

Installation

Docker / Podman

The easiest way to run the server is using Docker or Podman:

docker pull kskarthik/mcp-bugzilla
docker run -p 8000:8000 \
  -e BUGZILLA_SERVER=https://bugzilla.example.com \
  kskarthik/mcp-bugzilla \
  --bugzilla-server https://bugzilla.example.com \
  --host 0.0.0.0 \
  --port 8000

Official Docker Hub repository: https://hub.docker.com/r/kskarthik/mcp-bugzilla/

From Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd mcp-bugzilla

2. Install dependencies:

   uv sync

3. Run the server:

   uv run mcp-bugzilla --bugzilla-server https://bugzilla.example.com --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000

   This will start the HTTP server at http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp/.

Configuration

Command-Line Arguments

The mcp-bugzilla command supports the following options:

Argument	Environment Variable	Default	Description
--bugzilla-server <URL>	BUGZILLA_SERVER	Required	Base URL of the Bugzilla server (e.g., https://bugzilla.example.com)
--host <ADDRESS>	MCP_HOST	127.0.0.1	Host address for the MCP server to listen on
--port <PORT>	MCP_PORT	8000	Port for the MCP server to listen on
--api-key-header <HEADER_NAME>	MCP_API_KEY_HEADER	ApiKey	HTTP header name for the Bugzilla API key

Note: Command-line arguments take precedence over environment variables.

Environment Variables

You can configure the server using environment variables instead of command-line arguments:

export BUGZILLA_SERVER=https://bugzilla.example.com
export MCP_HOST=127.0.0.1
export MCP_PORT=8000
export MCP_API_KEY_HEADER=ApiKey
export LOG_LEVEL=INFO  # Optional: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL

mcp-bugzilla

Usage

Starting the Server

Start the server with your Bugzilla instance URL:

mcp-bugzilla --bugzilla-server https://bugzilla.opensuse.org

The server will start listening on http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp/ by default.

Endpoint

The MCP server exposes an HTTP endpoint at:

http://<host>:<port>/mcp/

For example, with default settings:

http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp/

Authentication

Required: All requests must include a Bugzilla API key in the HTTP headers.

1. Generate an API Key:

   • Log in to your Bugzilla instance
   • Navigate to your user preferences
   • Go to the "API Keys" section
   • Generate a new API key
   • Copy the API key

2. Send the API Key: Include the API key in the HTTP request header. By default, the header name is ApiKey:

   POST /mcp/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: 127.0.0.1:8000
   ApiKey: YOUR_API_KEY_HERE
   Content-Type: application/json

   You can customize the header name using the --api-key-header argument or MCP_API_KEY_HEADER environment variable.

3. Example with curl:

   curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp/ \
     -H "ApiKey: YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "params": {"name": "server_url"}, "id": 1}'

MCP Client Integration

The server follows the Model Context Protocol (MCP) specification. It can be integrated with any MCP-compatible client.

Example MCP client configuration (format may vary by client):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bugzilla": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "ApiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

API Reference

Tool Response Format

All tools return JSON responses following the MCP protocol. Successful responses include the tool's return value, while errors include detailed error messages.

Error Handling

The server provides detailed error messages for common issues:

• Missing API Key: Returns ValidationError if the required API key header is missing
• Invalid Bug ID: Returns ToolError with details if a bug ID doesn't exist
• API Errors: Returns ToolError with the HTTP status code and error message from Bugzilla
• Network Errors: Returns ToolError for connection or timeout issues

Logging

The server includes structured logging with color-coded output:

• LLM Requests/Responses: Cyan - Shows tool calls from MCP clients
• Bugzilla API Requests/Responses: Green - Shows HTTP requests to Bugzilla
• Errors: Red - Shows error messages

Set the log level using the LOG_LEVEL environment variable:

• DEBUG: Detailed debugging information
• INFO: General informational messages (default)
• WARNING: Warning messages
• ERROR: Error messages only
• CRITICAL: Critical errors only

Examples

Example 1: Get Bug Information

# MCP client call
result = client.call_tool("bug_info", {"id": 12345})
print(result)
# Returns complete bug details including status, assignee, summary, etc.

Example 2: Search for Bugs

# Search for new bugs in Firefox product
result = client.call_tool("bugs_quicksearch", {
    "query": "product:Firefox status:NEW",
    "limit": 10
})
# Returns list of bugs with essential fields

Example 3: Add a Comment

# Add a public comment to a bug
result = client.call_tool("add_comment", {
    "bug_id": 12345,
    "comment": "This issue has been resolved in version 2.0",
    "is_private": False
})
# Returns: {"id": 67890} - the new comment ID

Example 4: Get Bug Comments

# Get all public comments
public_comments = client.call_tool("bug_comments", {
    "id": 12345,
    "include_private_comments": False
})

# Get all comments including private ones
all_comments = client.call_tool("bug_comments", {
    "id": 12345,
    "include_private_comments": True
})

Example 5: Quicksearch Syntax Examples

# Search by product and status
bugs_quicksearch("product:Firefox status:NEW")

# Search by assignee
bugs_quicksearch("assigned_to:user@example.com")

# Search by component
bugs_quicksearch("component:Core status:RESOLVED")

# Search with multiple criteria
bugs_quicksearch("product:Firefox component:JavaScript status:NEW priority:P1")

# Use pagination
page1 = bugs_quicksearch("status:NEW", limit=50, offset=0)
page2 = bugs_quicksearch("status:NEW", limit=50, offset=50)

Troubleshooting

Server Won't Start

Issue: Server fails to start with "bugzilla-server argument required"

Solution: Ensure you provide the --bugzilla-server argument or set the BUGZILLA_SERVER environment variable:

mcp-bugzilla --bugzilla-server https://bugzilla.example.com

Authentication Errors

Issue: Receiving ValidationError: ApiKey header is required

Solution:

1. Ensure you're sending the API key in the correct HTTP header (default: ApiKey)
2. Verify the API key is valid and not expired
3. Check that the header name matches your server configuration

API Errors

Issue: Receiving ToolError with HTTP status codes

Common causes:

• 401 Unauthorized: Invalid or expired API key
• 404 Not Found: Bug ID doesn't exist or you don't have permission to view it
• 403 Forbidden: Insufficient permissions for the requested operation
• 500 Internal Server Error: Bugzilla server error

Solution: Check the error message for details and verify your API key permissions.

Connection Issues

Issue: Cannot connect to Bugzilla server

Solution:

1. Verify the Bugzilla server URL is correct and accessible
2. Check network connectivity
3. Ensure the Bugzilla instance has REST API enabled
4. Verify firewall rules allow outbound connections

Logging Issues

Issue: Not seeing enough (or too much) log output

Solution: Adjust the LOG_LEVEL environment variable:

export LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG  # For more verbose output
export LOG_LEVEL=ERROR  # For minimal output

License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. See the LICENSE file for details.