Linear

Linear Integration

Overview

Comprehensive Linear API integration through simple bash scripts. All scripts handle GraphQL API calls internally - you just provide arguments. Covers the full API: issues, comments, labels, cycles, projects, attachments, and team management.

Core principle: Agents manage Linear without learning GraphQL syntax or API details.

When to Use

• Creating issues from conversation context
• Documenting implementation progress via comments
• Organizing work with labels and cycles
• Tracking projects and sprint planning
• Linking external resources (PRs, docs, designs)
• Querying team structure and workflow states

Environment Setup

Required variables (export in the caller environment or place in the skill repository's gitignored .env; override with LINEAR_ENV_FILE when needed):

LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_xxx
LINEAR_TEAM_ID=xxx-xxx-xxx
LINEAR_TEAM_KEY=ENG
LINEAR_ORG_URL=example-org

Scripts preserve caller-provided environment variables and otherwise source the fallback .env file next to the shared skills repository.

Quick Reference

Issue Management

| Script | Purpose | Key Arguments | |--------|---------|---------------| | linear-create-issue.sh | Create new issue | --title, --description, --priority | | linear-list-issues.sh | List team issues with pagination | --state, --assignee-id, --after | | linear-update-issue.sh | Update issue | --issue-id, --state-id, --title | | linear-search.sh | Search issues with pagination | --query, --after |

Comments (Essential for AI Documentation)

| Script | Purpose | Key Arguments | |--------|---------|---------------| | linear-create-comment.sh | Add comment to issue | --issue-id, --body | | linear-list-comments.sh | List issue comments | --issue-id, --limit | | linear-update-comment.sh | Update comment | --comment-id, --body | | linear-delete-comment.sh | Delete comment | --comment-id |

Labels (Organization)

| Script | Purpose | Key Arguments | |--------|---------|---------------| | linear-create-label.sh | Create team label | --name, --description, --color | | linear-list-labels.sh | List team labels | --limit | | linear-assign-label.sh | Add label to issue | --issue-id, --label-id | | linear-remove-label.sh | Remove label from issue | --issue-id, --label-id |

Cycles (Sprint Planning)

| Script | Purpose | Key Arguments | |--------|---------|---------------| | linear-create-cycle.sh | Create sprint cycle | --starts-at, --ends-at, --name | | linear-list-cycles.sh | List team cycles | --include-completed, --limit | | linear-update-cycle.sh | Update cycle | --cycle-id, --completed-at |

Projects

| Script | Purpose | Key Arguments | |--------|---------|---------------| | linear-create-project.sh | Create project | --name, --description, --color | | linear-list-projects.sh | List team projects | --limit |

Attachments (External Links)

| Script | Purpose | Key Arguments | |--------|---------|---------------| | linear-create-attachment.sh | Link external resource | --issue-id, --url, --title | | linear-list-attachments.sh | List issue attachments | --issue-id | | linear-delete-attachment.sh | Delete attachment | --attachment-id |

ID Discovery (Essential)

| Script | Purpose | Key Arguments | |--------|---------|---------------| | linear-list-states.sh | Get workflow state IDs | --limit | | linear-list-users.sh | Get team member IDs | --limit | | linear-get-viewer.sh | Get authenticated user info | None |

Common Workflows

Create Issue from Conversation

# Create issue with conversation context
scripts/linear-create-issue.sh \
  --title "Implement user authentication" \
  --description "Based on discussion: Need OAuth2 integration with Google and GitHub providers" \
  --priority 2

Document Implementation Progress

# Add progress comment to issue
scripts/linear-create-comment.sh \
  --issue-id "abc-123" \
  --body "Implemented OAuth2 flow. Tests passing. Ready for review."

# Link PR as attachment
scripts/linear-create-attachment.sh \
  --issue-id "abc-123" \
  --url "https://github.com/org/repo/pull/456" \
  --title "PR: OAuth2 Implementation"

Organize Work

# Get label IDs
scripts/linear-list-labels.sh

# Assign labels to categorize
scripts/linear-assign-label.sh \
  --issue-id "abc-123" \
  --label-id "label-backend"

scripts/linear-assign-label.sh \
  --issue-id "abc-123" \
  --label-id "label-security"

Update Issue State

# First get state IDs
scripts/linear-list-states.sh

# Then update to "In Progress"
scripts/linear-update-issue.sh \
  --issue-id "abc-123" \
  --state-id "state-in-progress-id"

Sprint Planning

# Create cycle
scripts/linear-create-cycle.sh \
  --name "Sprint 42" \
  --starts-at "2025-11-01" \
  --ends-at "2025-11-14" \
  --description "Q4 authentication features"

# Assign issue to cycle
scripts/linear-update-issue.sh \
  --issue-id "abc-123" \
  --cycle-id "cycle-id-from-above"

Pagination for Large Teams

# Get first page
RESULT=$(scripts/linear-list-issues.sh --state "Backlog" --limit 50)

# Check if more pages
HAS_NEXT=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.pageInfo.hasNextPage')

if [ "$HAS_NEXT" = "true" ]; then
  CURSOR=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.pageInfo.endCursor')

  # Get next page
  scripts/linear-list-issues.sh --state "Backlog" --limit 50 --after "$CURSOR"
fi

Output Format

All scripts return JSON with relevant data:

Create/Update Operations:

{
  "success": true,
  "id": "entity-id",
  "identifier": "ENG-123",
  "title": "Entity title",
  "url": "https://linear.app/..."
}

List Operations with Pagination:

{
  "issues": [...],
  "pageInfo": {
    "hasNextPage": true,
    "endCursor": "cursor-string-for-next-page"
  }
}

Common Patterns

AI Agent Workflow

1. Create issue from user conversation
2. Add comment documenting implementation approach
3. Update state to "In Progress"
4. Add attachment linking to PR/branch
5. Add comment with completion notes
6. Update state to "Done"

ID Discovery Pattern

# Always get IDs first before operations
STATES=$(scripts/linear-list-states.sh)
IN_PROGRESS_ID=$(echo "$STATES" | jq -r '.[] | select(.name=="In Progress") | .id')

USERS=$(scripts/linear-list-users.sh)
MY_ID=$(echo "$USERS" | jq -r '.[] | select(.email=="me@example.com") | .id')

# Then use in operations
scripts/linear-update-issue.sh \
  --issue-id "abc-123" \
  --state-id "$IN_PROGRESS_ID" \
  --assignee-id "$MY_ID"

Common Mistakes

Missing environment variables

• Scripts check for LINEAR_API_KEY and LINEAR_TEAM_ID
• Error message shows which variables are missing

Using Linear CLI syntax

• ❌ Don't: linear issue create "Title"
• ✅ Do: linear-create-issue.sh --title "Title"

Forgetting to get IDs first

• State IDs, project IDs, user IDs, label IDs must be fetched
• Use list scripts to discover IDs before operations

Not handling pagination

• Teams with 100+ issues need pagination
• Always check pageInfo.hasNextPage in list operations
• Use --after parameter with endCursor for next page

Not documenting work

• Comments are essential for AI agents to track progress
• Always add comments when making significant changes
• Link related resources (PRs, docs) via attachments

Anti-Patterns

Creating issues without context

# ❌ Bad: Minimal context
scripts/linear-create-issue.sh --title "Fix bug"

# ✅ Good: Rich context from conversation
scripts/linear-create-issue.sh \
  --title "Fix authentication timeout on mobile Safari" \
  --description "Users report auth timeout after 30s on iOS Safari. Need to increase token TTL and add retry logic." \
  --priority 1

Silent updates

# ❌ Bad: Update state without documentation
scripts/linear-update-issue.sh --issue-id "abc-123" --state-id "done"

# ✅ Good: Document completion
scripts/linear-create-comment.sh \
  --issue-id "abc-123" \
  --body "Implemented fix. Increased token TTL to 120s and added exponential backoff. All tests passing."

scripts/linear-update-issue.sh --issue-id "abc-123" --state-id "done"

Ignoring pagination

# ❌ Bad: Only get first 50 issues
scripts/linear-list-issues.sh --limit 50

# ✅ Good: Handle all pages
while true; do
  RESULT=$(scripts/linear-list-issues.sh --limit 50 ${CURSOR:+--after "$CURSOR"})
  echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.issues[]'

  HAS_NEXT=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.pageInfo.hasNextPage')
  [ "$HAS_NEXT" = "false" ] && break

  CURSOR=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.pageInfo.endCursor')
done

Script Location

All scripts in this skill's scripts/ directory.

Can be called from any directory. They preserve caller-provided environment variables and otherwise source the shared skills repository .env fallback.

API Coverage

This skill covers the full Linear GraphQL API:

• ✅ Issues (CRUD, search, filtering)
• ✅ Comments (CRUD)
• ✅ Labels (CRUD, assignment)
• ✅ Cycles (CRUD, sprint management)
• ✅ Projects (CRUD)
• ✅ Attachments (CRUD, external linking)
• ✅ Workflow States (query)
• ✅ Team Members (query)
• ✅ Authenticated User (query)
• ✅ Pagination (cursor-based)

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: dbmcco
• Source: dbmcco/claude-agent-toolkit
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.