Linear MCP Server

A production-ready Model Context Protocol server for the Linear API.

This template lets Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code, and other MCP-compatible clients list Linear issues, inspect issue details, create issues, list teams, and list projects through controlled Linear tools.

Built as a starter template for teams that want a secure baseline before adding company-specific issue tracking, engineering workflow, and project management automation.

Who this is for

This repository is useful for:

• developers building AI assistants for Linear workspaces,

• engineering teams connecting Linear to Claude, Cursor, or AI agents,

• platform engineers who need a clean TypeScript MCP server example,

• agencies building Linear automation for clients,

• teams that want controlled Linear read/write tools with authentication and rate limiting.

Related MCP server: Linear

Features

• TypeScript + Express MCP server

• Linear GraphQL API client

• API key protection for /mcp

• Rate limiting for MCP requests

• Health endpoint at /health

• Structured Pino logging

• Zod-based environment validation

• MCP tools for issues, teams, and projects

• Jest + Supertest test setup

• GitHub Actions CI workflow

• Dockerfile and Docker Compose support

Architecture

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf
        │
        │  HTTP POST /mcp
        │  X-API-Key: <MCP_API_KEY>
        ▼
  Express Server
        │
        ├── JSON body parser
        ├── Rate limiter
        ├── API key middleware
        │
        ▼
   MCP SDK Handler
        │
        ├── list_issues    ─┐
        ├── get_issue      ─┤
        ├── create_issue   ─┤──► Linear GraphQL API
        ├── list_teams     ─┤
        └── list_projects  ─┘

  GET /health → Linear API dependency status

See the larger diagram in docs/architecture.md.

Source Code

The complete production-ready Linear MCP Server template is available on GitHub.

Repository:

https://github.com/kamolc4/linear-mcp-server

The repository includes:

• Complete TypeScript source code

• Linear GraphQL API client

• MCP tools for issues, teams, and projects

• GitHub Actions CI

• Jest test suite

• MIT License

• Claude Desktop and Cursor configuration

• Production deployment examples

Fork the repository or download it as a ZIP to start building immediately.

Available MCP tools

Quick start

1. Clone and install

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/kamolc4/linear-mcp-server.git

cd linear-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm ci

2. Configure environment

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env:

PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development
LOG_LEVEL=info

LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_your_linear_api_key
LINEAR_API_URL=https://api.linear.app/graphql

MCP_API_KEY=replace-with-a-long-random-secret

RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS=60000
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS=100

3. Run locally

npm run dev

4. Check health

curl http://localhost:3000/health \
  -H "X-API-Key: replace-with-your-mcp-api-key"

5. List MCP tools

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "X-API-Key: replace-with-your-mcp-api-key" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}'

Linear API setup

This starter template uses a Linear API key.

1. Open Linear.

2. Go to workspace settings.

3. Open API settings.

4. Create a personal API key or use a workspace token appropriate for your use case.

5. Add it to .env as LINEAR_API_KEY.

For production, use a managed secret store and rotate API keys regularly.

If your Linear deployment uses OAuth or a brokered token service, replace the static LINEAR_API_KEY loading with per-user or per-workspace token resolution.

Connect to Claude Desktop

Build and start the server first:

npm run build
npm start

Then add an MCP server entry in your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear": {
      "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "replace-with-your-mcp-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after editing the configuration.

Connect to Cursor

In Cursor, add a new MCP server using the HTTP endpoint:

{
  "name": "linear",
  "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
  "headers": {
    "X-API-Key": "replace-with-your-mcp-api-key"
  }
}

Then restart Cursor or reload the MCP server list.

Security notes

This template is safer than a minimal demo, but you should harden it before production use.

Recommended production changes:

• Store LINEAR_API_KEY and MCP_API_KEY in a managed secret manager, not in plain .env files.

• Rotate MCP_API_KEY regularly.

• Add per-user or per-workspace authorization if multiple users will access the server.

• Restrict write tools such as create_issue behind approvals.

• Add audit logs for every MCP tool call.

• Use HTTPS in production.

• Review Linear API permissions and keep scopes minimal.

• Add monitoring for Linear API failures and rate limit responses.

Security Review

Verify this server with MCPForge:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/verify

MCPForge can help review:

• exposed tools,

• authentication behavior,

• health checks,

• compatibility with MCP clients,

• risk level of write operations,

• security posture before publishing or deployment.

Verified MCP profile:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/verified/linear-mcp

Starter template on MCPForge:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/code/linear-api-client-template

Read the complete Linear MCP Server guide:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-server

Related MCPForge guides:

• Linear MCP OAuth: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-oauth

• Linear MCP Setup: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-setup

• Linear MCP with Claude: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-with-claude

• Linear MCP with Cursor: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-with-cursor

• Linear MCP Security Review: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-security-review

• Best MCP Servers for Claude Code: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/best-mcp-servers-for-claude-code

Deployment

A common production setup:

1. Deploy this service to Railway, Render, Fly.io, AWS, GCP, Azure, or a private Kubernetes cluster.

2. Configure environment variables in the hosting provider.

3. Set LINEAR_API_KEY and MCP_API_KEY as protected secrets.

4. Verify /health before connecting production MCP clients.

5. Test /mcp with tools/list.

6. Run a public or private verification with MCPForge.

Local development commands

npm run lint
npm run typecheck
npm test
npm run build

API endpoints

Releases

Latest stable release:

v1.0.0

See the Releases page for the full changelog.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome.

If you want to improve this Linear MCP Server template, open an issue or submit a pull request.

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• PostgreSQL MCP Server

Browse the complete collection:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/code

License

MIT — see LICENSE.