/linear

name: linear
description: Interact with Linear project management - query issues, update status, create tickets, and manage workflows using the Linear GraphQL API. Use when working with Linear tickets, sprints, or project tracking.
triggers:
- linear
- ticket
- issue tracking

Linear

Connection selection

Use authenticated Linear MCP tools first when they are available in the agent's environment. Detect this by tool availability, without depending on a particular MCP server name. Use the API key and direct GraphQL instructions below only when Linear MCP tools are unavailable or when raw API or `curl` access is explicitly needed.

Windows PowerShell equivalents for the repeated Linear GraphQL `curl` and environment-variable snippets are in `references/windows.md`.

<IMPORTANT> Before using the direct API fallback, check if the required environment variable is set:

[ -n "$LINEAR_API_KEY" ] && echo "LINEAR_API_KEY is set" || echo "LINEAR_API_KEY is NOT set"

If LINEAR_API_KEY is missing and authenticated Linear MCP tools are unavailable, ask the user to provide it before proceeding. </IMPORTANT>

Understanding Linear Identifiers

Linear uses two types of identifiers for issues:

• **Human-readable identifier** (e.g., `ALL-1234`): Displayed to users, used in search queries. This is the team key + number.
• **UUID** (e.g., `a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890`): Required for all mutations (update, comment, etc.). Returned as `id` in query results.

**Important workflow**: When working with issues, you must: 1. Search or query using the human-readable identifier 2. Extract the `id` (UUID) from the query result 3. Use the UUID in any mutation operations

Authentication

All Linear API requests use GraphQL with the API key in the Authorization header:

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

Common Queries

Get Assigned Issues (Open)

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "query": "query { viewer { assignedIssues(first: 50, filter: { state: { type: { nin: [\"completed\", \"canceled\"] } } }) { nodes { id identifier title priority priorityLabel state { name type } description createdAt updatedAt } } } }"
  }' | jq '.data.viewer.assignedIssues.nodes'

Get Issues by Priority

Priority values: 0 = No priority, 1 = Urgent, 2 = High, 3 = Medium, 4 = Low

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "query": "query { viewer { assignedIssues(first: 50, filter: { priority: { lte: 2 }, state: { type: { nin: [\"completed\", \"canceled\"] } } }) { nodes { id identifier title priority priorityLabel state { name } } } } }"
  }' | jq '.data.viewer.assignedIssues.nodes'

Get Issue Details

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "query": "query { issue(id: \"ISSUE_UUID\") { id identifier title description state { name } priority assignee { name email } labels { nodes { name } } comments { nodes { body createdAt user { name } } } } }"
  }' | jq '.data.issue'

Search Issues by Identifier

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "query": "query { issueSearch(query: \"ALL-1234\", first: 5) { nodes { id identifier title state { name } } } }"
  }' | jq '.data.issueSearch.nodes'

Common Mutations

Update Issue State

First, get available workflow states:

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "query": "query { workflowStates { nodes { id name type } } }"
  }' | jq '.data.workflowStates.nodes'

Then update the issue:

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "query": "mutation { issueUpdate(id: \"ISSUE_UUID\", input: { stateId: \"STATE_UUID\" }) { success issue { identifier state { name } } } }"
  }' | jq '.data.issueUpdate'

Add Comment to Issue

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "query": "mutation { commentCreate(input: { issueId: \"ISSUE_UUID\", body: \"Your comment here\" }) { success comment { id body } } }"
  }' | jq '.data.commentCreate'

Create New Issue

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "query": "mutation { issueCreate(input: { teamId: \"TEAM_UUID\", title: \"Issue Title\", description: \"Issue description\", priority: 2 }) { success issue { identifier title url } } }"
  }' | jq '.data.issueCreate'

End-to-End Workflow: Move Issue to "In Progress"

This example shows the complete flow to change an issue's state using its human-readable identifier:

Step 1: Search for the issue to get its UUID

# Search for issue ALL-1234 and extract its UUID
curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "query": "query { issueSearch(query: \"ALL-1234\", first: 1) { nodes { id identifier title state { name } } } }"
  }' | jq '.data.issueSearch.nodes[0]'
# Save the "id" value (UUID) from the response

Step 2: Get available workflow states

# List all workflow states to find the "In Progress" state UUID
curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authoriza