Linear
# Linear MCP Server
An MCP server for interacting with Linear's API. This server provides a set of tools for managing Linear issues, projects, and teams through Cline.
## Setup Guide
### 1. Environment Setup
1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies:
```bash
npm install
```
3. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`:
```bash
cp .env.example .env
```
### 2. Authentication
The server supports two authentication methods:
#### API Key (Recommended)
1. Go to Linear Settings
2. Navigate to the "Security & access" section
3. Find the "Personal API keys" section
4. Click "New API key"
5. Give the key a descriptive label (e.g. "Cline MCP")
6. Copy the generated token immediately
7. Add the token to your `.env` file:
```
LINEAR_API_KEY=your_api_key
```
#### OAuth Flow (Alternative) ***NOT IMPLEMENTED***
1. Create an OAuth application at https://linear.app/settings/api/applications
2. Configure OAuth environment variables in `.env`:
```
LINEAR_CLIENT_ID=your_oauth_client_id
LINEAR_CLIENT_SECRET=your_oauth_client_secret
LINEAR_REDIRECT_URI=http://localhost:3000/callback
```
### 3. Running the Server
1. Build the server:
```bash
npm run build
```
2. Start the server:
```bash
npm start
```
### 4. Cline Integration
1. Open your Cline MCP settings file:
- macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json`
- Windows: `%APPDATA%/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json`
- Linux: `~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json`
2. Add the Linear MCP server configuration:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"linear": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/linear-mcp/build/index.js"],
"env": {
"LINEAR_API_KEY": "your_personal_access_token"
},
"disabled": false,
"autoApprove": []
}
}
}
```
## Available Actions
The server currently supports the following operations:
### Issue Management
- ✅ Create issues with full field support (title, description, team, project, etc.)
- ✅ Update existing issues (priority, description, etc.)
- ✅ Delete issues (single or bulk deletion)
- ✅ Search issues with filtering
- ✅ Associate issues with projects
- ✅ Create parent/child issue relationships
- ✅ Read and create comments and threaded comments
### Project Management
- ✅ Create projects with associated issues
- ✅ Get project information **with rich text descriptions**
- ✅ Search projects **with rich text descriptions**
- ✅ Associate issues with projects
- ✅ Proper description handling using Linear's `documentContent` field
### Team Management
- ✅ Get team information (with states and workflow details)
- ✅ Access team states and labels
### Authentication
- ✅ API Key authentication
- ✅ Secure token storage
### Batch Operations
- ✅ Bulk issue creation
- ✅ Bulk issue deletion
### Bulk Updates (In Testing)
- 🚧 Bulk issue updates (parallel processing implemented, needs testing)
## Rich Text Description Support
The server now properly handles Linear's rich text descriptions for projects:
- **Legacy Support**: Maintains compatibility with the old `description` field
- **Rich Content**: Uses Linear's `documentContent` field for actual description content
- **Automatic Fallback**: Falls back to legacy field if rich content is unavailable
- **Type Safety**: Includes proper TypeScript types for both description formats
### How It Works
Linear uses a dual-field system for descriptions:
1. `description` - Legacy field (often empty for backward compatibility)
2. `documentContent.content` - Contains the actual rich text description content
The MCP server automatically:
- Queries both fields from Linear's API
- Prioritizes `documentContent.content` over the legacy `description` field
- Provides a utility function `getProjectDescription()` for consistent access
- Returns an `actualDescription` field in responses for easy access
## Features in Development
The following features are currently being worked on:
### Issue Management
- 🚧 Complex search filters
- 🚧 Pagination support for large result sets
### Metadata Operations
- 🚧 Label management (create/update/assign)
- 🚧 Cycle/milestone management
### Project Management
- 🚧 Project template support
- 🚧 Advanced project operations
### Authentication
- 🚧 OAuth flow with automatic token refresh
### Performance & Security
- 🚧 Rate limiting
- 🚧 Detailed logging
- 🚧 Load testing and optimization
## Development
```bash
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Run tests
npm test
# Run integration tests (requires LINEAR_API_KEY)
npm run test:integration
# Build the server
npm run build
# Start the server
npm start
```
## Integration Testing
Integration tests verify that authentication and API calls work correctly:
1. Set up authentication (API Key recommended for testing)
2. Run integration tests:
```bash
npm run test:integration
```
For OAuth testing:
1. Configure OAuth credentials in `.env`
2. Remove `.skip` from OAuth tests in `src/__tests__/auth.integration.test.ts`
3. Run integration tests
## Recent Improvements
### Project Description Support (Latest)
- ✅ Fixed empty project descriptions by implementing Linear's `documentContent` field support
- ✅ Added proper TypeScript types for rich text content
- ✅ Implemented automatic fallback from rich content to legacy description
- ✅ Updated all project-related queries and handlers
- ✅ Added comprehensive tests for new description handling
- ✅ Maintained backward compatibility with existing API consumers
### Previous Improvements
- ✅ Enhanced type safety across all operations
- ✅ Implemented true batch operations for better performance
- ✅ Improved error handling and validation
- ✅ Added comprehensive test coverage
- ✅ Refactored architecture for better maintainabilityTDQS
Scored across 22 tools
Most tools are clearly distinct by resource and action (e.g., issues vs. projects vs. milestones). The few potentially confusable pairs are singular/plural variants like create_issue/create_issues and delete_issue/delete_issues, but the plural forms clearly indicate bulk operations.
All tools use a consistent linear_ prefix followed by snake_case verb_noun patterns (e.g., create_issue, search_projects, get_project_milestones). The singular/plural distinction is applied uniformly, and there are no mixed conventions or vague verbs.
At 22 tools, the count falls into the borderline-heavy range (16-25). However, the coverage spans multiple subdomains (issues, projects, milestones, comments, auth, teams, user), so the count is defensible but feels slightly high for an MCP server.
Issues have create, update (bulk), delete, and search, but no single-issue get; projects support create/get/search but not update or delete; comments only support get and create. These are notable gaps in lifecycle coverage for the core resources.