/linear

name: linear
description: "Linear: manage issues, projects, teams via GraphQL + curl."
version: 1.0.0
author: Hermes Agent
license: MIT
prerequisites:
  env_vars: [LINEAR_API_KEY]
  commands: [curl]
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [Linear, Project Management, Issues, GraphQL, API, Productivity]
origin: original
source_repo: kevinnft/ai-agent-skills
source_url: https://github.com/kevinnft/ai-agent-skills
source_license: MIT
language: en

Linear — Issue & Project Management

Manage Linear issues, projects, and teams directly via the GraphQL API using `curl`. No MCP server, no OAuth flow, no extra dependencies.

Setup

1. Get a personal API key from **Linear Settings > Account > Security & access > Personal API keys** (URL: https://linear.app/settings/account/security). Note: the org-level *Settings > API* page only shows OAuth apps and workspace-member keys, not personal keys. 2. Set `LINEAR_API_KEY` in your environment (via `hermes setup` or your env config)

API Basics

• **Endpoint:** `https://api.linear.app/graphql` (POST)
• **Auth header:** `Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY` (no "Bearer" prefix for API keys)
• **All requests are POST** with `Content-Type: application/json`
• **Both UUIDs and short identifiers** (e.g., `ENG-123`) work for `issue(id:)`

Base curl pattern:

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ viewer { id name } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Python helper script (ergonomic alternative)

For faster one-liners that don't need hand-written GraphQL, this skill ships a stdlib Python CLI at `scripts/linear_api.py`. Zero dependencies. Same auth (reads `LINEAR_API_KEY`).

SCRIPT=$(dirname "$(find ~/.hermes -path '*skills/productivity/linear/scripts/linear_api.py' 2>/dev/null | head -1)")/linear_api.py

python3 "$SCRIPT" whoami
python3 "$SCRIPT" list-teams
python3 "$SCRIPT" get-issue ENG-42
python3 "$SCRIPT" get-document 38359beef67c      # fetch a doc by slugId from the URL
python3 "$SCRIPT" raw 'query { viewer { name } }'

All subcommands: `whoami`, `list-teams`, `list-projects`, `list-states`, `list-issues`, `get-issue`, `search-issues`, `create-issue`, `update-issue`, `update-status`, `add-comment`, `list-documents`, `get-document`, `search-documents`, `raw`. Run with `--help` for flags.

Use the script when: you want a quick answer without crafting GraphQL. Use curl when: you need a query the script doesn't wrap, or you want to compose filters inline.

Workflow States

Linear uses `WorkflowState` objects with a `type` field. **6 state types:**

| Type | Description | |------|-------------| | `triage` | Incoming issues needing review | | `backlog` | Acknowledged but not yet planned | | `unstarted` | Planned/ready but not started | | `started` | Actively being worked on | | `completed` | Done | | `canceled` | Won't do |

Each team has its own named states (e.g., "In Progress" is type `started`). To change an issue's status, you need the `stateId` (UUID) of the target state — query workflow states first.

**Priority values:** 0 = None, 1 = Urgent, 2 = High, 3 = Medium, 4 = Low

Common Queries

Get current user

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ viewer { id name email } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List teams

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ teams { nodes { id name key } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List workflow states for a team

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ workflowStates(filter: { team: { key: { eq: \"ENG\" } } }) { nodes { id name type } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List issues (first 20)

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issues(first: 20) { nodes { identifier title priority state { name type } assignee { name } team { key } url } pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List my assigned issues

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ viewer { assignedIssues(first: 25) { nodes { identifier title state { name type } priority url } } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Get a single issue (by identifier like ENG-123)

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issue(id: \"ENG-123\") { id identifier title description priority state { id name type } assignee { id name } team { key } project { name } labels { nodes { name } } comments { nodes { body user { name } createdAt } } url } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Search issues by text

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issueSearch(query: \"bug login\", first: 10) { nodes { identifier title state { name } assignee { name } url } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Filter issues by state type

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issues(filter: { state: { type: { in: [\"started\"] } } }, first: 20) { nodes { identifier title state { name } assignee { name } } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Filter by team and assignee

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '