Project Management

Linear

Connect Claude Code to Linear via MCP to read issues, create branches, implement features, and update ticket status automatically.

Setup

1.
Get a Linear API key
Go to Linear Settings → API → Personal API keys and create a new key. Claude Code needs this to read and update issues on your behalf.
2.
Configure the Linear MCP server
Add the Linear MCP server to your Claude Code configuration. This gives Claude Code tools to search issues, read details, update status, and create new tickets.
```
claude mcp add linear -- npx -y @anthropic-ai/linear-mcp-server
# Then set your API key when prompted
```
3.
Verify the connection
Start Claude Code and ask it to list your current issues. If the MCP server is configured correctly, it will fetch your Linear tickets directly.
```
claude "show me my assigned Linear issues"
```

Features

+Reads Linear issues including title, description, labels, priority, and comments
+Creates feature branches named after Linear ticket IDs automatically
+Updates issue status (In Progress, Done) as work progresses
+Creates new Linear issues for bugs discovered during development
+Links pull requests to Linear tickets for automatic status tracking
+Searches across projects and teams to find relevant issues

Use Cases

Issue-to-PR pipeline

Give Claude Code a Linear issue identifier. It reads the requirements, creates a branch, implements the feature, runs tests, and opens a PR that references the issue — updating the Linear status to "In Progress" along the way.

Sprint planning assistant

Ask Claude Code to analyze your current sprint's issues, estimate complexity, and suggest task ordering based on dependencies and priority levels.

Bug triage automation

Claude Code reads incoming bug reports in Linear, analyzes the described symptoms against your codebase, identifies the likely root cause, and adds a comment with its findings and a suggested fix.

Connecting Claude Code to Linear with MCP

Claude Code integrates with Linear through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). MCP servers are lightweight processes that expose external tools to Claude Code. The Linear MCP server gives Claude Code the ability to search, read, create, and update issues — turning your AI coding agent into a full development workflow tool.

Once connected, you can reference Linear issues naturally in conversation. Say "implement ENG-142" and Claude Code will fetch the issue details, understand the requirements, and start coding. As it works, it can update the issue status and add implementation notes as comments.

Example workflow

MCP server configuration

The Linear MCP server can be configured per-project or globally. For team projects, add it to your .mcp.json file in the repository root so every developer on the team has the same Linear integration available.

Does Claude Code modify my Linear issues without asking?+

Claude Code always asks for permission before making changes. In interactive mode it shows you the proposed action (e.g., updating status to "In Review") and waits for your approval.

Can I use Claude Code with Linear projects across multiple teams?+

Yes. The MCP server uses your API key's permissions. If your key has access to multiple teams and projects, Claude Code can work across all of them.

What happens if the Linear MCP server is not running?+

Claude Code will still work for coding tasks but won't be able to read or update Linear issues. It will let you know when a Linear tool is unavailable.

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