How do I install the Linear Lifecycle skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add mattforni/linear-lifecycle in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Linear Lifecycle safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Linear Lifecycle?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Linear Lifecycle free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Linear Lifecycle?

mattforni (@mattforni) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Linear Lifecycle by mattforni — Agent Skill

Name: Linear Lifecycle
Author: mattforni

File contents

Linear Lifecycle Management with Linear CLI

Overview
Setup
When to Use
Token Check
Quick Reference
Reference Files

Overview

Core principle: Use the Linear CLI for all Linear operations instead of loading the 20k token Linear MCP. CLI returns structured output for parsing without context overhead.

Tool: linear-cli - Linear CLI with ~1000 token footprint vs 13k+ for MCP. Install via brew install schpet/tap/linear.

Context savings: 100% at session start. No MCP loaded, just bash commands. See advanced.md for the full comparison table.

Setup

One-time install: Use /linear-setup to install the Linear CLI and authenticate (required for this skill to work).

Authentication: Run linear auth login after creating an API key at linear.app/settings/account/security. See troubleshooting.md for auth issues.

Get your token: Linear Settings > Security & Access > Personal API keys

When to Use

Use this skill when:

Starting work on a Linear issue (need issue details)
Creating new issues from bugs or features discovered
Updating issue status during development
Adding comments or progress updates
Searching for issues across teams/projects

Don't use when:

Issue tracking not needed for current work
Working on non-Linear projects

Token Check

IMPORTANT: Always verify auth on first Linear operation in a skill invocation:

linear issue list

If the command fails with an auth error, prompt the user to run linear auth login and provide their API token.

Quick Reference

Operation	Command Pattern
List recent issues	`linear issue list`
Get issue details	`linear issue view ABC-123`
Create issue	`linear issue create -t "Title" -d "Desc" --team TEAM_KEY`
Update status	`linear issue update ABC-123 -s "In Progress"`
Add comment	`linear issue comment add ABC-123 "Comment text"`
List teams	`linear team list`

Key rules for issue creation:

Use --team TEAM_KEY (e.g. BET, ENG)
Use -t for title, -d for description
Use -s for state changes on update

Reference Files

Detailed walkthroughs, troubleshooting, and advanced usage are in reference files that load on demand:

Command Examples - Step-by-step walkthroughs for each operation
Troubleshooting - Common mistakes, error handling patterns, and auth setup issues
Advanced Usage - Multi-team operations and context budget comparison table

---name: linear-lifecycledescription: Use when working with Linear issues, issue tracking, or project management. Uses the Linear CLI for zero-context issue management as a CLI alternative to MCP.---# Linear Lifecycle Management with Linear CLI## Table of Contents- [Overview](#overview)- [Setup](#setup)- [When to Use](#when-to-use)- [Token Check](#token-check)- [Quick Reference](#quick-reference)- [Reference Files](#reference-files)## Overview**Core principle:** Use the Linear CLI for all Linear operations instead of loading the 20k token Linear MCP. CLI returns structured output for parsing without context overhead.**Tool:** [linear-cli](https://github.com/schpet/linear-cli) - Linear CLI with ~1000 token footprint vs 13k+ for MCP. Install via `brew install schpet/tap/linear`.**Context savings:** 100% at session start. No MCP loaded, just bash commands. See [advanced.md](reference/advanced.md) for the full comparison table.## Setup**One-time install:** Use `/linear-setup` to install the Linear CLI and authenticate (required for this skill to work).**Authentication:** Run `linear auth login` after creating an API key at linear.app/settings/account/security. See [troubleshooting.md](reference/troubleshooting.md) for auth issues.**Get your token:** Linear Settings > Security & Access > Personal API keys## When to Use**Use this skill when:**- Starting work on a Linear issue (need issue details)- Creating new issues from bugs or features discovered- Updating issue status during development- Adding comments or progress updates- Searching for issues across teams/projects**Don't use when:**- Issue tracking not needed for current work- Working on non-Linear projects## Token Check**IMPORTANT: Always verify auth on first Linear operation in a skill invocation:**```bashlinear issue list```If the command fails with an auth error, prompt the user to run `linear auth login` and provide their API token.## Quick Reference| Operation | Command Pattern ||-----------|----------------|| List recent issues | `linear issue list` || Get issue details | `linear issue view ABC-123` || Create issue | `linear issue create -t "Title" -d "Desc" --team TEAM_KEY` || Update status | `linear issue update ABC-123 -s "In Progress"` || Add comment | `linear issue comment add ABC-123 "Comment text"` || List teams | `linear team list` |**Key rules for issue creation:**- Use `--team TEAM_KEY` (e.g. BET, ENG)- Use `-t` for title, `-d` for description- Use `-s` for state changes on update## Reference FilesDetailed walkthroughs, troubleshooting, and advanced usage are in reference files that load on demand:- [Command Examples](reference/examples.md) - Step-by-step walkthroughs for each operation- [Troubleshooting](reference/troubleshooting.md) - Common mistakes, error handling patterns, and auth setup issues- [Advanced Usage](reference/advanced.md) - Multi-team operations and context budget comparison table

Frequently asked questions

Linear Lifecycle