Linear MCP server

MCP Linear is a server implementation of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for the Linear GraphQL API, enabling AI assistants to interact with Linear project management systems. It allows you to retrieve, create, and update issues, manage projects, assign tasks to team members, and perform many other Linear-related actions through natural language commands.

Getting Started

Getting Your Linear API Token

To use MCP Linear, you'll first need to obtain a Linear API token:

1. Log in to your Linear account at linear.app
2. Click on the organization avatar in the top-left corner
3. Select Settings
4. Navigate to Security & access in the left sidebar
5. Under Personal API Keys click New API Key
6. Give your key a name (e.g., MCP Linear Integration)
7. Copy the generated API token and store it securely - you won't be able to see it again!

Installation Options

Installing via Smithery (Recommended)

For Cursor:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear --client cursor

For Claude Desktop:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear --client claude

Manual Configuration

Add the following to your MCP settings file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration File Locations

Depending on your AI assistant, the configuration file will be in one of these locations:

• Cursor: ~/.cursor/mcp.json
• Claude Desktop: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Claude VSCode Extension: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
• GoMCP: ~/.config/gomcp/config.yaml

Manual Installation

If you prefer manual installation, follow these steps:

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (v18+)
• NPM or Yarn
• Linear API token

Installation Command:

# Install globally
npm install -g @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear

Running the Server Manually

Run the server with your Linear API token:

mcp-linear --token YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN

Or set the token as an environment variable:

export LINEAR_API_TOKEN=YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN
mcp-linear

Using MCP Linear

Once MCP Linear is set up, you can interact with your Linear workspace using natural language commands through your AI assistant. Here are some example prompts you can use:

• "Show me all my Linear issues"
• "Create a new issue titled 'Fix login bug' in the Frontend team"
• "Change the status of issue FE-123 to 'In Progress'"
• "Assign issue BE-456 to John Smith"
• "Add a comment to issue UI-789: 'This needs to be fixed by Friday'"

Available Features

MCP Linear provides comprehensive access to Linear functionality, including:

• Retrieving issues, projects, teams, and other data
• Creating and updating issues
• Changing issue status
• Assigning issues to team members
• Adding comments
• Creating projects and teams

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "linear" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"],"env":{"LINEAR_API_TOKEN":"<YOUR_TOKEN>"}}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For 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 > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

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

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "linear": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"
            ],
            "env": {
                "LINEAR_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>"
            }
        }
    }
}

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 explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "linear": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"
            ],
            "env": {
                "LINEAR_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect