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Linear Kanban Server

Exposes the Linear API for kanban board management as an MCP server for Claude Desktop and Claude Code.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "0xikarus-linear-kanban-mcp": {
      "command": "bun",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "/path/to/linear-kanban-server/src/mcp-server.ts"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_KEY": "lin_api_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

This MCP server exposes the Linear API for kanban board management, enabling seamless integration with Claude Desktop and Claude Code for managing issues and workflows from your Linear data.

How to use

You will interact with this MCP server through your MCP client in Claude. Start by ensuring your API key for Linear is available as an environment variable, then connect the server so your Claude tools can issue commands like listing all issues, creating or moving items, and querying boards or teams. Typical usage patterns include asking Claude to show all issues assigned to a team, creating a new issue, or moving an existing issue to a different status. The server handles requests by translating your MCP client actions into Linear API calls.

When you have the Linear API key configured, you can use common conversational commands to manage kanban items, such as requesting a list of issues for a specific team, creating a new issue with a given title and description, or moving an issue to a new lane. Your MCP client relays these intents to the server, which then communicates with Linear to perform the requested actions and returns results to you.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Bun installed to run the TypeScript MCP server file.

Step by step commands to set up the server locally:

bun install

Add the MCP server configuration to Claude Code settings. Use your path to the server file and provide the Linear API key.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear-kanban": {
      "command": "bun",
      "args": ["run", "/path/to/linear-kanban-server/src/mcp-server.ts"],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_KEY": "lin_api_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Quick setup from the command line for adding the MCP server to Claude: you can register the server with a one-liner that passes the API key in the environment.

claude mcp add linear-kanban -- bun run /path/to/linear-kanban-server/src/mcp-server.ts -e LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_YOUR_KEY

Additional content

Configuration notes: the server runs as a local process started with Bun and the specific MCP server script. The Linear API key must be provided as LINEAR_API_KEY in the environment for the server to access your Linear data.

Security: protect your API key and limit access to Claude tools that can trigger changes in Linear. Rotate the key if you suspect it has been exposed.

Notes and examples: use phrases like Show me all issues in the Engineering team, Create a new bug report for the login issue, or Move issue ENG-123 to In Progress to perform common kanban operations through the MCP server.