Linear

The Linear MCP Server lets Claude or other MCP clients access Linear’s project management data through a dedicated MCP endpoint. It enables reading and updating issues, projects, teams, and users, and supports actions like creating issues, adding comments, and assigning work, all through a simple, token-based authentication flow.

How to use

You connect a client to Linear MCP Server using a local process configuration. The server exposes commands you run on your machine to talk to Linear via the MCP protocol. To start, provide your Linear API token either as a command argument or as an environment variable, then use your MCP client to discover and invoke available actions such as listing issues, creating or updating issues, adding comments, and assigning work.

How to install

Prerequisites: Node.js v18 or newer, npm or yarn, and a Linear API key.

# Install the MCP server via Smithery (recommended for Claude Desktop)
npx -y @smithery/cli install @emmett.deen/linear-mcp-server --client claude

Manual configuration involves wiring the MCP server into your client setup. Create or update your MCP settings with the following configuration snippet. This config runs the MCP server using npx and passes your Linear API key through the environment.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@emmett.deen/linear-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_KEY": "your_linear_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Client-specific configuration locations (examples): Claude Desktop, Claude VSCode Extension, and GoMCP use their own config files to register MCP servers.

# Claude Desktop: CLAUDE_CONFIG.json (example path)
# Claude VSCode Extension: cline_mcp_settings.json
# GoMCP: config.yaml

Additional installation options

If you prefer to run everything directly from source, you can clone the project repository, install dependencies, and start the server with your Linear API key.

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/Linear-MCP-Server.git
cd Linear-MCP-Server
npm install
npm run build

# Create an environment file with your Linear API token
echo "LINEAR_API_KEY=your_linear_api_key_here" > .env

# Start the server
npm start

Configuration and running notes

When you run the server, you can supply the token directly or through an environment variable. The most common run method is to start the MCP server and pass your token via the --token flag.

# Run with token inline
linear-mcp-server --token YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN

Alternatively, set the environment variable and run without arguments.

export LINEAR_API_KEY=YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN
linear-mcp-server

Using with Claude Desktop

To connect Linear MCP Server to Claude Desktop as a local process, configure a new server with these details.

Name: Linear MCP Server
Type: Local Process
Command: linear-mcp-server
Arguments: --token YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN

If you prefer manual config, you can add the server entry to your Claude Desktop settings as shown below.

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": [
      {
        "name": "Linear MCP Server",
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "linear-mcp-server",
          "args": ["--token", "YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN"]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Example prompts you can try

Once connected, you can ask for common Linear tasks such as listing issues, creating new issues, updating statuses, assigning work, and adding comments.

Examples include: “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'”

Development and contributions

If you want to develop locally, clone the project, install dependencies, and run in development mode. The server can be run with a token for testing.

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/Linear-MCP-Server.git
cd Linear-MCP-Server
npm install
npm run dev -- --token YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN

Notes and troubleshooting

Ensure your Linear API key has the necessary permissions for the actions you intend to perform. If you encounter connection issues, verify that the token is valid and that the MCP server process is running. Check the client configuration if the server isn’t appearing in your MCP client.