Linear

What is MCP Linear?

MCP Linear is a server that allows AI assistants to interact with the Linear project management system. It acts as a bridge, enabling natural language commands to manage Linear issues, projects, and teams.

How to use MCP Linear?

To use MCP Linear, you first need to obtain a Linear API token from your Linear account settings. Once you have the token, you can install MCP Linear via Smithery (recommended for Cursor and Claude Desktop) using npx @smithery/cli install @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear --client [client_name]. Alternatively, you can configure it manually by adding a JSON entry to your MCP settings file with the command to run mcp-linear and your API token as an environment variable. You can also install it globally via npm or run it directly after cloning the repository.

Key Features of MCP Linear

• Retrieve Data: Fetch issues, projects, teams, and other data from Linear.
• Create & Update: Create new issues, projects, and teams, and update existing issues.
• Status Management: Change the status of issues.
• Assignment: Assign issues to team members.
• Comments: Add comments to issues.

Use Cases of MCP Linear

MCP Linear is ideal for users who want to streamline their project management tasks within Linear using AI assistants. Specific use cases include:

• Quickly checking the status of all Linear issues with a natural language query.
• Creating new issues with specific titles and assigning them to teams directly through an AI assistant.
• Updating the progress of tasks by changing issue statuses.
• Assigning issues to team members without manually navigating the Linear interface.
• Adding important notes or updates to issues via AI commands.

FAQ about MCP Linear

Q: What is a Linear API token and why do I need it? A: A Linear API token is a unique key that authenticates your requests to the Linear API. You need it for MCP Linear to securely access and manage your Linear data.

Q: Which AI assistants are supported by MCP Linear? A: MCP Linear is designed to work with AI assistants that support the Model Context Protocol (MCP), such as Cursor and Claude Desktop.

Q: Can I use MCP Linear to create new projects and teams? A: Yes, MCP Linear supports creating new projects and teams in addition to managing issues.

Q: Where can I find a complete list of available tools? A: A complete list of available tools can be found in the TOOLS.md file within the MCP Linear repository.

MCP Linear

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for the Linear GraphQL API that enables AI assistants to interact with Linear project management systems.

Features

MCP Linear bridges the gap between AI assistant and Linear (project management tool) by implementing the MCP protocol. This allows to:

• Retrieve issues, projects, teams, and other data from Linear
• Create and update issues
• Change issue status
• Assign issues to team members
• Add comments
• Create projects and teams

Example prompts

Once connected, you can use prompts like:

• "Show me all my Linear issues"
• "Create a new issue titled 'Fix login bug' in the Frontend team"
• "Change the status of issue FE-123 to 'In Progress'"
• "Assign issue BE-456 to John Smith"
• "Add a comment to issue UI-789: 'This needs to be fixed by Friday'"

Installation

Getting Your Linear API Token

To use MCP Linear, you'll need a Linear API token. Here's how to get one:

1. Log in to your Linear account at linear.app
2. Click on organization avatar (in the top-left corner)
3. Select Settings
4. Navigate to Security & access in the left sidebar
5. Under Personal API Keys click New API Key
6. Give your key a name (e.g., MCP Linear Integration)
7. Copy the generated API token and store it securely - you won't be able to see it again!

Installing via Smithery (Recommended)

• To install MCP Linear for Cursor:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear --client cursor

• To install MCP Linear for Claude Desktop:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear --client claude

Manual Configuration

Add the following to your MCP settings file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Client-Specific Configuration Locations

• Cursor: ~/.cursor/mcp.json
• Claude Desktop: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Claude VSCode Extension: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
• GoMCP: ~/.config/gomcp/config.yaml

Manual run

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+)
• NPM or Yarn
• Linear API token

# Install globally
npm install -g @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear

# Or clone and install locally
git clone https://github.com/tacticlaunch/mcp-linear.git
cd mcp-linear
npm install
npm link  # Makes the package available globally

Running the Server

Run the server with your Linear API token:

mcp-linear --token YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN

Or set the token in your environment and run without arguments:

export LINEAR_API_TOKEN=YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN
mcp-linear

Available Tools

See TOOLS.md for a complete list of available tools and planned features.

Development

See DEVELOPMENT.md for more information on how to develop locally.

Links

tacticlaunch/cursor-memory-bank - If you are a developer seeking to enhance your workflow with Cursor, consider giving it a try.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.