Linear CLI

Interacts with Linear for issue tracking and project management using the linear command.

Scope

• Use for Linear issue/project/teams management via the CLI or GraphQL (linear gql).
• Prefer built-in commands over raw GraphQL unless functionality is missing.
• Keep defaults in sync with the user's config; do not hard-code team IDs/outputs.

Install & Setup

• Install: npm install -g @0xbigboss/linear-cli
• Auth: linear auth set or set LINEAR_API_KEY
• Defaults: linear config set default_team_id TEAM_KEY, linear config set default_output json|table, linear config set default_state_filter completed,canceled
• Inspect or reset defaults: linear config show, linear config unset default_output
• Config path: ~/.config/linear/config.json (override with --config PATH or LINEAR_CONFIG)

Prerequisites

• CLI installed and on PATH
• Valid Linear API key available
• Team defaults set or provided per command (team key/UUID)

Hygiene

• Branches: Name as {TICKET}-{short-name} (e.g., ENG-123-fix-auth); prefer git worktrees for parallel work
• Commits: Use conventional commits; ticket ID in body or trailer, not subject
• Assignment: Assign yourself when starting work (linear issue update ENG-123 --assignee me --yes)
• Sub-issues: Set parent to associate related work (requires UUID: linear issue update ENG-123 --parent PARENT_UUID --yes)
• Scope creep: Create separate issues for discovered work; link with blocks relation (linear issue link ENG-123 --blocks ENG-456 --yes)
• Cycles/projects: Ask user preference when creating issues

Quick Recipes

List my issues

linear issues list --team TEAM_KEY --assignee me --human-time

Search issues

linear search "keyword" --team TEAM_KEY --limit 10

Create an issue

linear issue create --team TEAM_KEY --title "Fix bug" --yes
# Returns identifier (e.g., ENG-123)

View issue details

linear issue view ENG-123

Get issue as JSON for processing

linear issue view ENG-123 --json

Get issue with full context (for agents/analysis)

linear issue view ENG-123 --fields identifier,title,state,assignee,priority,url,description,parent,sub_issues,comments --json

List all teams

linear teams list

Verify authentication

linear auth test

List projects

linear projects list --limit 10

View or change CLI defaults

linear config show
linear config set default_output json
linear config unset default_state_filter

Add a comment to an issue

linear issue comment ENG-123 --body "Comment text here" --yes

# Or from a file/stdin
cat notes.md | linear issue comment ENG-123 --body-file - --yes

Create and manage a project

# Create project (team UUID required)
linear project create --team TEAM_UUID --name "My Project" --state planned --yes

# Update project state
linear project update PROJECT_ID --state started --yes

# Add issue to project
linear project add-issue PROJECT_ID ISSUE_UUID --yes

Command Reference

Command	Purpose
linear issues list	List issues with filters
linear search "keyword"	Search issues by text
linear issue view ID	View single issue
linear issue create	Create new issue
linear issue update ID	Update issue (assign, state, priority, parent*)
linear issue link ID	Link issues (blocks, related, duplicate)
linear issue comment ID	Add comment to issue
linear issue delete ID	Archive an issue
linear projects list	List projects
linear project view ID	View project details
linear project create	Create new project
linear project update ID	Update project (state, name, dates)
linear project delete ID	Archive a project
linear project add-issue	Add issue to project
linear project remove-issue	Remove issue from project
linear teams list	List available teams
linear me	Show current user
linear gql	Run raw GraphQL
linear help CMD	Command-specific help

*--parent requires UUIDs, not identifiers. See Finding IDs.

Common Flags

• --team ID\|KEY - Specify team (required for most commands)
• --json - Output as JSON
• --yes - Confirm mutations without prompt
• --human-time - Show relative timestamps
• --fields LIST - Select specific fields
• --help - Show command help

Workflow: Creating and Linking Issues

Note: --parent requires UUIDs. Get UUID with linear issue view ID --json | jq -r '.issue.id'

Progress:
- [ ] List teams to get TEAM_KEY: `linear teams list`
- [ ] Create parent issue: `linear issue create --team KEY --title "Epic" --yes`
- [ ] Create child issue: `linear issue create --team KEY --title "Task" --yes`
- [ ] Get parent UUID: `linear issue view PARENT_ID --json | jq -r '.issue.id'`
- [ ] Set parent (UUID required): `linear issue update CHILD_ID --parent PARENT_UUID --yes`
- [ ] Create another issue to link: `linear issue create --team KEY --title "Blocked" --yes`
- [ ] Link blocking issue: `linear issue link ISSUE_ID --blocks OTHER_ID --yes`
- [ ] Verify: `linear issue view ISSUE_ID --json`

Common Gotchas

Problem	Cause	Solution
Empty results	No team specified	Add --team TEAM_KEY
401 Unauthorized	Invalid/missing API key	Run linear auth test
Mutation does nothing	Missing confirmation	Add --yes flag
Can't find issue	Wrong ID or missing access	issue view accepts identifier or UUID; verify spelling and permissions
--parent fails	Using identifier	--parent flag requires UUID, not identifier

ID format summary: Most commands accept identifiers (ENG-123). Exception: --parent requires UUIDs.

Advanced Operations

For operations not covered by built-in commands, use linear gql with GraphQL:

• Add attachments - See graphql-recipes.md → "Attach URL to Issue"
• Upload files - See graphql-recipes.md → "Upload File"

Note: Adding comments is now available via linear issue comment. Setting parent is available via issue update --parent, but requires UUIDs. Use linear issue view ID --json to get UUIDs.

Finding IDs

Important: issue update --parent requires UUIDs.

# Get issue UUID from identifier
linear issue view ENG-123 --json | jq -r '.issue.id'

# Current user UUID
linear me --json | jq -r '.viewer.id'

# All teams with UUIDs
linear teams list --json

# Issue full details including UUID
linear issue view ENG-123 --json

Or in Linear app: Cmd/Ctrl+K → "Copy model UUID"

JSON Output Structures

Commands with --json return nested structures. Use these jq paths:

Command	Root path	Items path
issue view ID	.issue	N/A (single object)
issue view ID --fields ...	.	N/A (flat object of selected fields)
issues list	.issues	.issues.nodes[]
project view ID	.project	N/A (single object)
projects list	.projects	.projects.nodes[]
teams list	.teams	.teams.nodes[]
me	.viewer	N/A (single object)
search	.issues	.issues.nodes[]

Null handling: Many fields can be null (name, description, dates, assignee). Use null-safe filters.

jq Patterns

# List all projects (correct path)
linear projects list --json | jq '.projects.nodes[]'

# Filter projects by name (null-safe)
linear projects list --json | jq '.projects.nodes[] | select(.name) | select(.name | ascii_downcase | contains("keyword"))'

# Get project names as array
linear projects list --json | jq '[.projects.nodes[].name]'

# Filter issues by title
linear issues list --team TEAM --json | jq '.issues.nodes[] | select(.title | ascii_downcase | contains("bug"))'

# Extract specific fields
linear issues list --team TEAM --json | jq '.issues.nodes[] | {id: .identifier, title, state: .state.name}'

# Get issue UUID from identifier
linear issue view ENG-123 --json | jq -r '.issue.id'

Common mistakes:

• .[] on root - use .projects.nodes[] or .issues.nodes[]
• test("pattern"; "i") on null - filter nulls first with select(.field)
• Escaping != in shells - use select(.field) instead of select(.field != null)

Reference Files

• graphql-recipes.md - GraphQL mutations for attachments, relations, comments, file uploads
• troubleshooting.md - Common errors and debugging steps

External Links

• Linear API Docs
• Schema Explorer