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Linear MCP Server

by scoutos

list_teams

Retrieve a detailed list of Linear teams, including members and projects, to gain a comprehensive overview of your workspace structure. Filter and limit results for precise insights.

Instructions

List Linear teams with details about their members, projects, and issues. Use this to get a high-level view of all teams in your Linear workspace.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
debugNoDebug mode to show extra diagnostics
includeMembersNoInclude sparse member listing for each team
includeProjectsNoInclude sparse project listing for each team
limitNoMaximum number of teams to return
nameFilterNoFilter teams by name (partial match)

Implementation Reference

  • The primary handler function that implements the core logic for the 'list_teams' tool. It processes input parameters, interacts with the Linear API via effects, fetches and formats team data, and returns a structured text response or detailed error.
    const handler = async (
      ctx,
      { nameFilter, includeMembers, includeProjects, limit, debug }
    ) => {
      const logger = ctx.effects.logger;
    
      try {
        // Log details about parameters
        logger.debug('List teams called with parameters:', {
          nameFilter,
          includeMembers,
          includeProjects,
          limit,
          debug,
        });
    
        // Debug log for API key (masked)
        const apiKey = ctx.config.linearApiKey || '';
        const maskedKey = apiKey
          ? apiKey.substring(0, 4) + '...' + apiKey.substring(apiKey.length - 4)
          : '<not set>';
        logger.debug(`Using Linear API key: ${maskedKey}`);
    
        if (!ctx.config.linearApiKey) {
          throw new Error('LINEAR_API_KEY is not configured');
        }
    
        // Create a Linear client using our effect
        logger.debug('Creating Linear client');
        const linearClient = ctx.effects.linear.createClient(
          ctx.config.linearApiKey
        );
    
        // List teams using the Linear SDK client
        logger.debug('Executing Linear API to list teams');
        const results = await listTeams(
          linearClient,
          { nameFilter },
          { includeMembers, includeProjects, limit },
          logger
        );
    
        // Log the results count
        logger.info(`Found ${results.results.length} teams matching criteria`);
    
        // Format the output
        let responseText = '';
    
        if (results.results.length === 0) {
          responseText = 'No teams found matching your criteria.';
        } else {
          responseText = 'Teams found:\n\n';
    
          // Format dates for display
          const formatDisplayDate = timestamp => {
            if (!timestamp) return 'Not available';
            try {
              const date = new Date(timestamp);
              return date.toLocaleString();
            } catch (e) {
              return 'Invalid date';
            }
          };
    
          results.results.forEach((team, index) => {
            responseText += `${index + 1}. **${team.name}** (${team.key}) [ID: ${
              team.id
            }]\n`;
    
            if (team.description) {
              responseText += `   Description: ${team.description}\n`;
            }
    
            // Add metrics
            const memberCount = team.memberCount || 0;
            const projectCount = team.projectCount || 0;
            const issueCount = team.issueCount || 0;
            const completedIssueCount = team.completedIssueCount || 0;
    
            responseText += `   Members: ${memberCount} | Projects: ${projectCount} | Issues: ${completedIssueCount}/${issueCount} completed\n`;
    
            // Add created/updated dates
            if (team.createdAt) {
              responseText += `   Created: ${formatDisplayDate(team.createdAt)}\n`;
            }
    
            if (team.url) {
              responseText += `   URL: ${team.url}\n`;
            }
    
            // Add members if included
            if (team.members && team.members.length > 0) {
              responseText += `   Members: `;
              const memberNames = team.members
                .slice(0, 5)
                .map(m => m.displayName || m.name)
                .join(', ');
    
              responseText += memberNames;
    
              if (team.members.length > 5) {
                responseText += `, +${team.members.length - 5} more`;
              }
    
              responseText += '\n';
            }
    
            // Add projects if included
            if (team.projects && team.projects.length > 0) {
              responseText += `   Projects: `;
              const projectNames = team.projects
                .slice(0, 5)
                .map(p => p.name)
                .join(', ');
    
              responseText += projectNames;
    
              if (team.projects.length > 5) {
                responseText += `, +${team.projects.length - 5} more`;
              }
    
              responseText += '\n';
            }
    
            responseText += '\n';
          });
        }
    
        logger.debug('Returning formatted list results');
        return {
          content: [{ type: 'text', text: responseText }],
        };
      } catch (error) {
        logger.error(`Error listing teams: ${error.message}`);
        logger.error(error.stack);
    
        // Create a user-friendly error message with troubleshooting guidance
        let errorMessage = `Error listing teams: ${error.message}`;
    
        // Add detailed diagnostic information if in debug mode
        if (debug) {
          errorMessage += '\n\n=== DETAILED DEBUG INFORMATION ===';
    
          // Add filter parameters that were used
          errorMessage += `\nParameters:
    - nameFilter: ${nameFilter || '<not specified>'}
    - includeMembers: ${includeMembers}
    - includeProjects: ${includeProjects}
    - limit: ${limit}`;
    
          // Check if API key is configured
          const apiKey = ctx.config.linearApiKey || '';
          const keyStatus = apiKey
            ? `API key is configured (${apiKey.substring(
                0,
                4
              )}...${apiKey.substring(apiKey.length - 4)})`
            : 'API key is NOT configured - set LINEAR_API_KEY';
    
          errorMessage += `\n\nLinear API Status: ${keyStatus}`;
    
          // Add error details
          if (error.name) {
            errorMessage += `\nError type: ${error.name}`;
          }
    
          if (error.code) {
            errorMessage += `\nError code: ${error.code}`;
          }
    
          if (error.stack) {
            errorMessage += `\n\nStack trace: ${error.stack
              .split('\n')
              .slice(0, 3)
              .join('\n')}`;
          }
    
          // Add Linear API info for manual testing
          errorMessage += `\n\nLinear API: Using official Linear SDK (@linear/sdk)
    For manual testing, try using the SDK directly or the Linear API Explorer in the Linear UI.`;
        }
    
        // Add a note that debug mode can be enabled for more details
        if (!debug) {
          errorMessage += `\n\nFor more detailed diagnostics, retry with debug:true in the input.`;
        }
    
        return {
          content: [
            {
              type: 'text',
              text: errorMessage,
            },
          ],
          isError: true,
        };
      }
    };
  • Zod input schema defining parameters for the list_teams tool, including optional filters and options for members, projects, limit, and debug mode.
    const ListTeamsInputSchema = z.object({
      nameFilter: z
        .string()
        .optional()
        .describe('Filter teams by name (partial match)'),
      includeMembers: z
        .boolean()
        .default(true)
        .describe('Include sparse member listing for each team'),
      includeProjects: z
        .boolean()
        .default(true)
        .describe('Include sparse project listing for each team'),
      limit: z
        .number()
        .min(1)
        .max(100)
        .default(25)
        .describe('Maximum number of teams to return'),
      debug: z
        .boolean()
        .default(false)
        .describe('Debug mode to show extra diagnostics'),
    });
  • Tool factory registration using create_tool, specifying the name 'list_teams', description, input schema, and handler function.
    export const ListTeams = create_tool({
      name: 'list_teams',
      description:
        'List Linear teams with details about their members, projects, and issues. Use this to get a high-level view of all teams in your Linear workspace.',
      inputSchema: ListTeamsInputSchema,
      handler,
    });
  • Core helper function that performs the actual Linear API interactions to list and enrich team data with members, projects, and metrics.
    async function listTeams(
      client,
      filters = {},
      { includeMembers = true, includeProjects = true, limit = 25 } = {},
      logger
    ) {
      try {
        logger?.debug('Building Linear SDK parameters', {
          filters,
          includeMembers,
          includeProjects,
          limit,
        });
    
        // Get all teams
        // @ts-ignore - The Linear SDK types may not be fully accurate
        const teamsResponse = await client.teams();
        logger?.debug(`Found ${teamsResponse.nodes.length} teams`);
    
        // Filter teams by name if specified
        let filteredTeams = teamsResponse.nodes;
        if (filters.nameFilter) {
          const nameFilterLower = filters.nameFilter.toLowerCase();
          logger?.debug(`Filtering teams by name: ${filters.nameFilter}`);
    
          filteredTeams = filteredTeams.filter(team => {
            const name = team.name.toLowerCase();
            const key = team.key.toLowerCase();
            const description = team.description?.toLowerCase() || '';
    
            // Check for direct inclusion
            if (
              name.includes(nameFilterLower) ||
              key.includes(nameFilterLower) ||
              description.includes(nameFilterLower)
            ) {
              return true;
            }
    
            // No match found
            return false;
          });
    
          logger?.debug(
            `After name filtering, found ${filteredTeams.length} teams`
          );
        }
    
        // Apply limit to teams
        filteredTeams = filteredTeams.slice(0, limit);
    
        // Process teams to extract detailed information
        const processedTeams = await Promise.all(
          filteredTeams.map(async team => {
            logger?.debug(`Processing team ${team.name} (${team.id})`);
    
            // Build base team object
            const teamData = {
              id: team.id,
              name: team.name,
              key: team.key,
              description: team.description,
              createdAt: formatDate(team.createdAt),
              updatedAt: formatDate(team.updatedAt),
              color: team.color,
              private: team.private,
              // @ts-ignore - SDK may have different property name
              cycleEnable: team.cyclesEnabled || team.cycleEnable,
              timezone: team.timezone,
              // @ts-ignore - SDK structure may differ from types
              markedAsDuplicate: team.markedAsDuplicate,
              // @ts-ignore - SDK structure may differ from types
              issuesPerCycle: team.issuesPerCycle,
              // @ts-ignore - SDK structure may differ from types
              url: team.url,
            };
    
            // Add members if requested
            if (includeMembers) {
              try {
                // @ts-ignore - The Linear SDK types may not be fully accurate
                const membersResponse = await team.members();
                if (membersResponse?.nodes) {
                  teamData.members = membersResponse.nodes.map(member => ({
                    id: member.id,
                    name: member.name,
                    displayName: member.displayName || member.name,
                    active: member.active !== false,
                  }));
                  teamData.memberCount = teamData.members.length;
                }
                logger?.debug(
                  `Added ${teamData.memberCount || 0} members for team ${team.name}`
                );
              } catch (membersError) {
                logger?.warn(
                  `Error fetching members for team ${team.name}: ${membersError.message}`
                );
              }
            }
    
            // Add projects if requested
            if (includeProjects) {
              try {
                // @ts-ignore - The Linear SDK types may not be fully accurate
                const projectsResponse = await team.projects();
                if (projectsResponse?.nodes) {
                  teamData.projects = await Promise.all(
                    projectsResponse.nodes.map(async project => {
                      // Get state information
                      let stateName = undefined;
                      try {
                        if (project.state) {
                          const state = await project.state;
                          if (state) {
                            // @ts-ignore - SDK structure may differ from types
                            stateName = state.name;
                          }
                        }
                      } catch (stateError) {
                        logger?.warn(
                          `Error fetching project state: ${stateError.message}`
                        );
                      }
    
                      return {
                        id: project.id,
                        name: project.name,
                        state: stateName,
                        // @ts-ignore - SDK has different property name
                        completed: project.completedAt ? true : false,
                      };
                    })
                  );
                  teamData.projectCount = teamData.projects.length;
                }
                logger?.debug(
                  `Added ${teamData.projectCount || 0} projects for team ${
                    team.name
                  }`
                );
              } catch (projectsError) {
                logger?.warn(
                  `Error fetching projects for team ${team.name}: ${projectsError.message}`
                );
              }
            }
    
            // Add issue counts
            try {
              // @ts-ignore - The Linear SDK types may not be fully accurate
              const issuesResponse = await team.issues();
              if (issuesResponse) {
                teamData.issueCount = issuesResponse.nodes.length;
                teamData.activeIssueCount = issuesResponse.nodes.filter(
                  issue => !issue.completedAt
                ).length;
                teamData.completedIssueCount = issuesResponse.nodes.filter(
                  issue => issue.completedAt
                ).length;
              }
              logger?.debug(
                `Added issue counts for team ${team.name}: ${
                  teamData.issueCount || 0
                } total`
              );
            } catch (issuesError) {
              logger?.warn(
                `Error fetching issues for team ${team.name}: ${issuesError.message}`
              );
            }
    
            return teamData;
          })
        );
    
        logger?.debug(`Successfully processed ${processedTeams.length} teams`);
        return TeamSearchResultsSchema.parse({ results: processedTeams });
      } catch (error) {
        // Enhanced error logging
        logger?.error(`Error listing Linear teams: ${error.message}`, {
          filters,
          includeMembers,
          includeProjects,
          limit,
          stack: error.stack,
        });
    
        // Check if it's a Zod validation error (formatted differently)
        if (error.name === 'ZodError') {
          logger?.error(
            'Zod validation error details:',
            JSON.stringify(error.errors, null, 2)
          );
        }
    
        // Rethrow the error for the tool to handle
        throw error;
      }
    }
  • src/index.js:109-149 (registration)
    Top-level MCP server registration: instantiates ListTeams at line 115 and registers it via server.tool in the loop (lines 121-149).
    const all_tools = [
      new tools.ListIssues(toolContext),
      new tools.GetIssue(toolContext),
      new tools.ListMembers(toolContext),
      new tools.ListProjects(toolContext),
      new tools.GetProject(toolContext),
      new tools.ListTeams(toolContext),
      new tools.AddComment(toolContext),
      new tools.CreateIssue(toolContext),
    ];
    
    // Register tools with the MCP server
    for (const tool of all_tools) {
      server.tool(
        tool.name,
        tool.description,
        tool.inputSchema.shape ?? {},
        async args => {
          try {
            // Call our tool
            const result = await tool.call(args);
    
            // Return format expected by MCP SDK
            return {
              content: result.content,
              error: result.isError
                ? {
                    message: result.content[0]?.text || 'An error occurred',
                  }
                : undefined,
            };
          } catch (error) {
            logger.error(`Error executing tool ${tool.name}: ${error.message}`);
            return {
              content: [{ type: 'text', text: `Error: ${error.message}` }],
              error: { message: error.message },
            };
          }
        }
      );
    }
Behavior2/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

No annotations are provided, so the description carries the full burden of behavioral disclosure. While it mentions what data is included (members, projects, issues), it doesn't describe important behavioral aspects like whether this is a read-only operation, if it requires authentication, rate limits, pagination behavior (beyond the limit parameter), or what the output format looks like. For a list operation with no annotation coverage, this leaves significant gaps.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is two concise sentences that efficiently convey the tool's purpose and usage. Every word earns its place, with no redundant information. The structure is front-loaded with the core functionality followed by the usage context.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness3/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given that there's no output schema and no annotations, the description should do more to explain what the tool returns and its behavioral characteristics. While it adequately describes the purpose and high-level usage, it lacks details about output format, error conditions, and operational constraints that would be important for an agent to use this tool effectively.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

The schema description coverage is 100%, so all parameters are documented in the schema. The description doesn't add any parameter-specific information beyond what's in the schema (like explaining how nameFilter works or when to use debug mode). With complete schema coverage, the baseline score of 3 is appropriate since the description doesn't enhance parameter understanding.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description clearly states the verb ('List') and resource ('Linear teams'), specifies the scope ('with details about their members, projects, and issues'), and distinguishes this tool from siblings like list_issues and list_projects by focusing on teams as the primary entity. It provides a high-level view purpose that differentiates it from more specific sibling tools.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

The description explicitly states when to use this tool ('to get a high-level view of all teams'), which provides clear context. However, it doesn't specify when NOT to use it or mention alternatives among the sibling tools (like whether list_members or list_projects might be better for specific needs), so it falls short of the highest score.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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