Linear MCP server

This MCP server enables AI assistants to interact with Linear through the Model Context Protocol standard, currently supporting the retrieval of a user's todo tickets by user ID or email address.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js installed on your system
• A Linear API key

Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/username/linear-mcp-server.git
   cd linear-mcp-server
   

2. Install dependencies

   npm install
   

3. Configure environment variables

   • Create a .env file at the root of the project
   • Add your Linear API key to the file:

     LINEAR_API_KEY=your_linear_api_key_here
     

   • You can obtain your Linear API key from the Linear Developer Console

Usage

Starting the Server

For production use:

1. Build the TypeScript code

   npm run build
   

2. Start the server

   npm start
   

Connecting with MCP Clients

This server implements the standard MCP protocol and can be used with any compatible MCP client.

Using with Claude Code

To register the Linear MCP server with Claude Code:

claude mcp add linear-mcp-server -- node dist/index.js

Once registered, you can access Linear tickets directly within your Claude conversations.

Available Tools

get-user-todo-tickets

This tool retrieves all tickets in the "Todo" state for a specified user.

Parameters:

• userId (optional): The ID of the user
• email (optional): The email of the user

Note: You must provide either userId or email parameter.

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": "issue-id",
    "identifier": "PROJ-123",
    "title": "Fix login issue",
    "url": "https://linear.app/...",
    "priority": 1
  }
]

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.