Linear

Linear

Tools and workflows for managing issues, projects, and teams in Linear.

⚠️ Tool Availability (READ FIRST)

This skill supports multiple tool backends. Use whichever is available:

1. MCP Tools (mcp__linear) - Use if available in your tool set
2. Linear CLI (linear command) - Always available via Bash
3. Helper Scripts - For complex operations

If MCP tools are NOT available, use the Linear CLI via Bash:

# View an issue
linear issues view ENG-123

# Create an issue
linear issues create --title "Issue title" --description "Description"

# Update issue status (get state IDs first)
linear issues update ENG-123 -s "STATE_ID"

# Add a comment
linear issues comment add ENG-123 -m "Comment text"

# List issues
linear issues list

Do NOT report "MCP tools not available" as a blocker - use CLI instead.

🔐 Security: Varlock Integration

CRITICAL: Never expose API keys in terminal output or Claude's context.

Safe Commands (Always Use)

# Validate LINEAR_API_KEY is set (masked output)
varlock load 2>&1 | grep LINEAR

# Run commands with secrets injected
varlock run -- npm run query -- "query { viewer { name } }"

# Check schema (safe - no values)
cat .env.schema | grep LINEAR

Unsafe Commands (NEVER Use)

# ❌ NEVER - exposes key to Claude's context
linear config show
echo $LINEAR_API_KEY
printenv | grep LINEAR
cat .env

Setup for New Projects

1. Create .env.schema with @sensitive annotation:

   # @type=string(startsWith=lin_api_) @required @sensitive
   LINEAR_API_KEY=
   

2. Add LINEAR_API_KEY to .env (never commit this file)

3. Configure MCP to use environment variable:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "linear": {
         "env": { "LINEAR_API_KEY": "${LINEAR_API_KEY}" }
       }
     }
   }
   

4. Use varlock load to validate before operations

Quick Start (First-Time Users)

1. Check Your Setup

Run the setup check to verify your configuration:

npm run setup

This will check:

• LINEAR_API_KEY is set and valid
• @linear/sdk is installed
• Linear CLI availability (optional)
• MCP configuration (optional)

2. Get API Key (If Needed)

If setup reports a missing API key:

1. Open Linear in your browser
2. Go to Settings (gear icon) -> Security & access -> Personal API keys
3. Click Create key and copy the key (starts with lin_api_)
4. Add to your environment:

# Option A: Add to shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc)
export LINEAR_API_KEY="lin_api_your_key_here"

# Option B: Add to Claude Code environment
echo 'LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_your_key_here' >> ~/.claude/.env

# Then reload your shell or restart Claude Code

3. Test Connection

Verify everything works:

npm run query -- "query { viewer { name } }"

You should see your name from Linear.

4. Common Operations

# Create issue in a project
npm run ops -- create-issue "Project" "Add rate limiting to auth endpoints" "Auth endpoints have no rate limiting, allowing brute-force attacks. Add configurable limits per endpoint with 429 responses when exceeded."

# Update issue status
npm run ops -- status Done ENG-123 ENG-124

# Edit issue title or description (fix typos, expand bodies)
npm run ops -- update-issue ENG-123 description --file /tmp/description.md --force
npm run ops -- update-issue ENG-123 title "Corrected title" --force
echo "New body from pipeline" | npm run ops -- update-issue ENG-123 description --stdin --force
npm run ops -- update-issue ENG-123 description "Short inline update" --strict=false

# Create sub-issue
npm run ops -- create-sub-issue ENG-100 "Sub-task" "Details"

# Update project status
npm run ops -- project-status "Phase 1" completed

# Show all commands
npm run ops -- help

See Project Management Commands for full reference.

Issue Creation Checklist (Required)

When creating a Linear issue, always complete these three steps — even if the user doesn't mention them.

1. Detailed description with Acceptance Criteria. Every issue description MUST include an ## Acceptance Criteria section with at least 2 concrete, testable checklist items. See docs/issue-template.md for the canonical template plus a populated full example. The CLI create-issue / create-sub-issue will reject descriptions missing this structure; for MCP save_issue callers, validate the draft first with npm run ops -- validate-description --stdin (see below). If the user provides only a title, draft the description yourself using the template below.

   Depth — default to the full six-section template. Unless the user's phrasing clearly signals brevity ("quick issue", "one-liner", "just the AC", "brief", "terse", "minimum", "short"), structure the body as Context → Problem → Proposal → Acceptance Criteria → Verification → Out of scope. The 120-char / 2-item floor is what the validator rejects, not what reviewers want. If the user gives you only a title, draft a verbose body from the full template — ask follow-up questions rather than shipping the floor. For trivial changes (typo fix, one-line config tweak), collapsing Problem into Context and dropping Verification is fine when the AC is self-evidently testable — collapse deliberately, not by default.

   ## Context
   **Title:** <title>
   
   <What is changing and why. 2-4 sentences. Link prior issues, docs, or incidents that motivate this.>
   
   ## Problem
   <What specifically is broken, missing, or insufficient today. Name the file, flow, or behavior.>
   
   ## Proposal
   <What you intend to do about it. High-level approach, not implementation line-by-line.>
   
   ## Acceptance Criteria
   - [ ] <Concrete, testable outcome>
   - [ ] <Concrete, testable outcome>
   
   ## Verification
   <How the AC will actually be checked. Manual steps, test command, or review instruction.>
   
   ## Out of Scope
   - <What this issue does NOT cover — redirect to the follow-up or explain why it's deferred>
   

   Print the template on demand with: npm run ops -- create-issue --template. See docs/issue-template.md for a fully populated example.

2. Labels. Apply from the label taxonomy:

   • Exactly ONE type label (feature, bug, refactor, chore, spike)
   • 1-2 domain labels (backend, frontend, security, infrastructure, etc.)
   • Scope labels if relevant (blocked, breaking-change, tech-debt)

3. Project assignment. Assign to the appropriate project based on context (active sprint, feature area, or user instruction). If no project is obvious, ask the user. In batch/subagent context, use the project associated with the parent issue or the default initiative project.

When updating an existing issue, preserve existing labels and project — only add missing labels or correct misassigned ones.

MCP tools. Before calling mcp__linear__save_issue (or any MCP issue-create tool), pipe the draft description through validate-description --stdin and only call save_issue if it exits 0:

echo "$DRAFT_BODY" | npm run ops -- validate-description --stdin
# exit 0 → safe to call save_issue
# exit 5 → fix the description; re-pipe; try again

The CLI already gates this for create-issue / create-sub-issue. MCP has no server-side gate — this pre-flight + the retroactive npm run lint-issues audit are the only enforcement for the MCP path. For longer drafts in a file, use --file <path> instead of --stdin.

Depth ≠ validation. Validation passing (exit 0) only means the 120-char / 2-AC floor is met. Structure the body as the full six-section template (Context → Problem → Proposal → AC → Verification → Out of Scope) unless the user explicitly asked for brevity — see bullet #1 above.

Enforcement model. CLI + SDK paths are hard-gated; the MCP path is instruction + audit. A PreToolUse hook that intercepts save_issue was considered and rejected: it only fires when Claude Code is the runtime, install is per-user, and the payload shape is harness-version-dependent. Run npm run lint-issues -- --since 24h locally or in CI to catch instruction-layer drift retroactively.

Project Planning Workflow

See Issue Creation Checklist — descriptions, labels, and project assignment are required for every issue.

Create Issues in the Correct Project from the Start

Best Practice: When planning a new phase or initiative, create the project and its issues together in a single planning session. Avoid creating issues in a catch-all project and moving them later.

Recommended Workflow

1. Create the project first:

   npm run ops -- create-project "Phase X: Feature Name" "My Initiative"
   

2. Set project state to Planned:

   npm run ops -- project-status "Phase X: Feature Name" planned
   

3. Create issues directly in the project (use --template to print the canonical template first, or pass a multi-line description via heredoc):

   # Print the template to seed your description
   npm run ops -- create-issue --template
   
   # Create the issue with a template-shaped description
   npm run ops -- create-issue "Phase X: Feature Name" "Parent task" "$(cat <<'EOF'
   ## Context
   Implement the core feature with integration tests and documentation.
   
   ## Acceptance Criteria
   - [ ] All API endpoints return correct responses
   - [ ] Test coverage >80% on new modules
   EOF
   )" --labels feature,backend
   
   npm run ops -- create-sub-issue ENG-XXX "Sub-task 1" "$(cat <<'EOF'
   ## Context
   Set up database schema and migrations for the new feature tables.
   
   ## Acceptance Criteria
   - [ ] Migration runs cleanly on a fresh database
   - [ ] Rollback migration restores prior schema
   EOF
   )"
   

4. Update project state when work begins:

   npm run ops -- project-status "Phase X: Feature Name" in-progress
   

Why This Matters

• Traceability: Issues are linked to their project from creation
• Metrics: Project progress tracking is accurate from day one
• Workflow: No time wasted moving issues between projects
• Organization: Linear views and filters work correctly

Anti-Pattern to Avoid

❌ Creating issues in a "holding" project and moving them later:

# Don't do this
create-issue "Phase 6A" "New feature"  # Wrong project
# Later: manually move to Phase X      # Extra work

Project Management Commands

project-status

Update a project's state in Linear. Accepts user-friendly terminology that maps to Linear's API.

npm run ops -- project-status <project-name> <state>

Valid States:

Examples:

# Start working on a project
npm run ops -- project-status "Phase 8: MCP Decision Engine" in-progress

# Mark project complete
npm run ops -- project-status "Phase 8" completed

# Partial name matching works
npm run ops -- project-status "Phase 8" paused

link-initiative

Link an existing project to an initiative.

npm run ops -- link-initiative <project-name> <initiative-name>

Examples:

# Link a project to an initiative
npm run ops -- link-initiative "Phase 8: MCP Decision Engine" "Q1 Goals"

# Partial matching works
npm run ops -- link-initiative "Phase 8" "Q1 Goals"

unlink-initiative

Remove a project from an initiative.

npm run ops -- unlink-initiative <project-name> <initiative-name>

Examples:

# Remove incorrect link
npm run ops -- unlink-initiative "Phase 8" "Linear Skill"

# Clean up test links
npm run ops -- unlink-initiative "Test Project" "Q1 Goals"

Error Handling:

• Returns error if project is not linked to the specified initiative
• Returns error if project or initiative not found

Complete Project Lifecycle Example

# 1. Create project linked to initiative
npm run ops -- create-project "Phase 11: New Feature" "Q1 Goals"

# 2. Set state to planned
npm run ops -- project-status "Phase 11" planned

# 3. Create issues in the project
npm run ops -- create-issue "Phase 11" "Parent task" "Description"
npm run ops -- create-sub-issue ENG-XXX "Sub-task 1" "Details"

# 4. Start work - update to in-progress
npm run ops -- project-status "Phase 11" in-progress

# 5. Mark issues done
npm run ops -- status Done ENG-XXX ENG-YYY

# 6. Complete project
npm run ops -- project-status "Phase 11" completed

# 7. (Optional) Link to additional initiative
npm run ops -- link-initiative "Phase 11" "Q2 Goals"

Tool Selection

Choose the right tool for the task:

lin CLI (Optional Fast-Path)

If the lin Rust binary is installed, the skill uses it automatically for:

• Issue status updates (status, done, wip)
• Listing initiatives
• Searching issues (search <query>)
• Listing issues (list-issues [--team X] [--state Y])
• User info (whoami)

All operations fall back silently to the SDK when lin is unavailable.

Install (optional):

brew install aaronkwhite/tap/lin    # macOS (Homebrew)
cargo install lincli                # Any platform with Rust

Disable: Set LINEAR_USE_LIN=0 to skip lin even when installed.

MCP Server Configuration

Use the official Linear MCP server at mcp.linear.app:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "https://mcp.linear.app/sse"],
      "env": { "LINEAR_API_KEY": "your_api_key" }
    }
  }
}

WARNING: Do NOT use deprecated community servers. See troubleshooting.md for details.

MCP Reliability (Official Server)

Quick Status Update

# Via MCP - use human-readable state names
update_issue with id="issue-uuid", state="Done"

# Via helper script (bulk operations)
node scripts/linear-helpers.mjs update-status Done 123 124 125

Helper Script Reference

For detailed helper script usage, see troubleshooting.md.

Parallel Agent Execution

For bulk operations or background execution, use the Linear-specialist subagent:

Task({
  description: "Update Linear issues",
  prompt: "Mark ENG-101, ENG-102, ENG-103 as Done",
  subagent_type: "Linear-specialist"
})

When to use Linear-specialist (parallel):

• Bulk status updates (3+ issues)
• Project status changes
• Creating multiple issues
• Sync operations after code changes

When to use direct execution:

• Single issue queries
• Viewing issue details
• Quick status checks
• Operations needing immediate results

See sync.md for parallel execution patterns.

Image Uploads

Step 1: Extract the image from conversation context

Images shared inline in Claude Code are not saved to disk automatically — they live as base64 in the session JSONL. Use the extraction script:

# Find the current session JSONL
ls -t ~/.claude/projects/<project-path>/*.jsonl | head -1

# Extract all inline images (saves to /tmp by default)
npm run extract-image -- <path-to-session.jsonl>

# Or specify a custom output directory
npm run extract-image -- <path-to-session.jsonl> ~/Desktop

This saves images to /tmp/shared-image-0.png, /tmp/shared-image-1.png, etc.

Always verify the extracted image with the Read tool before uploading.

Step 2: Create the issue

# Standard approach
npm run ops -- create-issue "Project Name" "Issue title" "Description"

Note: If you need to target a specific team and create-issue picks the wrong one, use GraphQL with explicit teamId:

# Get the project's team
npm run query -- 'query { projects(filter: { name: { containsIgnoreCase: "PROJECT NAME" } }) { nodes { id name teams { nodes { id name key } } } } }'

# Create with explicit teamId
npm run query -- 'mutation { issueCreate(input: { teamId: "TEAM_UUID", projectId: "PROJECT_UUID", title: "Issue title", description: "Description" }) { success issue { id identifier url } } }'

Step 3: Upload the image and attach to the issue

npm run upload-image -- /tmp/shared-image-0.png ENG-123 "Optional comment text"

The script will:

1. Upload the file to Linear's S3 storage
2. Post a comment on the issue with the image embedded as markdown

Supported formats: PNG, JPG/JPEG, GIF, WebP, SVG, PDF

Known pitfalls

Critical Requirements

Issues → Projects → Initiatives

Every issue MUST be attached to a project. Every project MUST be linked to an initiative.

See projects.md for complete project creation checklist.

Conventions

Issue Status

• Assigned to me: Set state: "Todo"
• Unassigned: Set state: "Backlog"

Labels

Uses domain-based label taxonomy — see Issue Creation Checklist for required rules and docs/labels.md for the full taxonomy.

# Validate labels
npm run ops -- labels validate "feature,security"

# Suggest labels for issue
npm run ops -- labels suggest "Fix XSS vulnerability"

SDK Automation Scripts

Use only when MCP tools are insufficient. For complex operations involving loops, mapping, or bulk updates, write TypeScript scripts using @linear/sdk. See sdk.md for:

• Complete script patterns and templates
• Common automation examples (bulk updates, filtering, reporting)
• Tool selection criteria

Scripts provide full type hints and are easier to debug than raw GraphQL for multi-step operations.

GraphQL API

Fallback only. Use when operations aren't supported by MCP or SDK.

See api.md for complete documentation including:

• Authentication and setup
• Example queries and mutations
• Timeout handling patterns
• MCP timeout workarounds
• Shell script compatibility

Quick ad-hoc query:

npm run query -- "query { viewer { name } }"

Projects & Initiatives

For advanced project and initiative management patterns, see projects.md.

Quick reference - common project commands:

# Create project linked to initiative
npm run ops -- create-project "Phase X: Name" "My Initiative"

# Update project status
npm run ops -- project-status "Phase X" in-progress
npm run ops -- project-status "Phase X" completed

# Link/unlink projects to initiatives
npm run ops -- link-initiative "Phase X" "My Initiative"
npm run ops -- unlink-initiative "Phase X" "Old Initiative"

Key topics in projects.md:

• Project creation checklist (mandatory steps)
• Content vs Description fields
• Discovery before creation
• Codebase verification before work
• Sub-issue management
• Project status updates
• Project updates (status reports)

Sync Patterns (Bulk Operations)

For bulk synchronization of code changes to Linear, see sync.md.

Quick sync commands:

# Bulk update issues to Done
npm run ops -- status Done ENG-101 ENG-102 ENG-103

# Update project status
npm run ops -- project-status "My Project" completed

Bulk Issue Import (bulk-create.ts)

Create many issues in one team from a manifest directory, each with its own markdown description and optional media files. Media is uploaded via Linear's fileUpload API and embedded in the description (images inline, other files as links).

Use case: importing customer feedback, retrospective action items, or custdev tickets where each issue needs screenshots or recordings attached.

LINEAR_API_KEY=xxx npx tsx scripts/bulk-create.ts \
  --manifest ./feedback-2026-04 \
  --config ./feedback-2026-04/config.json

Preview the manifest first without creating issues or uploading files:

npx tsx scripts/bulk-create.ts \
  --manifest ./feedback-2026-04 \
  --config ./feedback-2026-04/config.json \
  --dry-run

Manifest directory:

feedback-2026-04/
  tickets.json        # [{ key, title, priority?, labels?, files? }, ...]
  config.json         # { team_key, state_name?, default_priority? }
  desc-<key>.md       # description markdown per ticket (optional)
  <media files>       # referenced by each ticket's files[]

Config resolves by name, not UUID:

• team_key → looked up via findTeamByKey (e.g. "ENG")
• state_name → optional workflow state (e.g. "Triage")
• Ticket labels → label names resolved per team case-insensitively; unknown names warn by default, or fail with --strict

Reference

External: Linear MCP Documentation