linear-cli — Claude Code skill: what it does, how to install

---
name: linear-cli
description: Manage Linear issues from the command line using the linear cli. This skill allows automating linear management.
allowed-tools: Bash(linear:*), Bash(curl:*)
---

# Linear CLI

A CLI to manage Linear issues from the command line, with git and jj integration.

## Prerequisites

The `linear` command must be available on PATH. To check:

```bash
linear --version
```

If not installed globally, you can run it without installing via npx:

```bash
npx @schpet/linear-cli --version
```

All subsequent commands can be prefixed with `npx @schpet/linear-cli` in place of `linear`. Otherwise, follow the install instructions at:\
https://github.com/schpet/linear-cli?tab=readme-ov-file#install

## Common Tasks

Copy-pasteable recipes for the most frequent flows. Prefer these dedicated commands over `linear api` — reach for the GraphQL fallback only when no dedicated command or flag covers the operation.

### Query issues with filters

`issue query` searches across all assignees and supports structured filters that can be combined:

```bash
linear issue query --team ENG --state started --json
linear issue query --project "Mobile App" --state backlog --state triage --unassigned
linear issue query --assignee sam --label bug --updated-after 2026-01-01
```

Note: `linear issue list` (alias `issue mine`) shows _your_ issues by default — use `issue query` for anything scoped to other people or a whole team/project.

### List my issues

```bash
linear issue list --state started --sort priority
```

### Create an issue

```bash
linear issue create --team ENG --title "Fix login redirect" \
  --description-file ./description.md --no-input
```

Write multi-line markdown to a file and pass `--description-file` (see the markdown section below); `--no-input` makes the command fail instead of prompting for anything missing in scripted use.

### Update an issue's state, assignee, or labels

```bash
linear issue update ENG-123 --state "In Review" --assignee sam
linear issue update ENG-123 --unassign
linear issue update ENG-123 --delegate linear                # hand to an agent; separate from the assignee
linear issue update ENG-123 --clear-delegate
linear issue update ENG-123 --add-label security             # add, keep existing labels
linear issue update ENG-123 --remove-label sprint-42         # detach; does not delete the label
linear issue update ENG-123 --remove-label sprint-42 --add-label sprint-43  # atomic swap
linear issue update ENG-123 --label infra --label security   # replaces the label set
```

### Create an issue or project from a template

```bash
linear template list --type issue --team ENG              # find the template a team expects
linear template view "Bug report"                         # see what it pre-fills (title, fields, body, sub-issues)
linear issue create --team ENG --template "Bug report" --title "Login fails on Safari"
linear project create --name "Q3 launch" --team ENG --template "Kickoff"
```

Explicit flags override the template's values, `--label` merges with its labels, and `--description` replaces its body (omit it to keep the body). Document templates cannot be applied through the API.

### Add a comment

```bash
linear issue comment add ENG-123 --body-file ./comment.md
```

### Attach an image or screenshot so it is visible inline

```bash
linear issue comment add ENG-123 --attach ./screenshot.png
```

This uploads the image and embeds it in a comment, where Linear renders it inline. Do not use `linear issue attach` when the image must be visible: that command creates a sidebar link attachment and does not render images inline.

### Resolve or reopen comment threads

```bash
linear issue comment list ENG-123 --unresolved            # open threads only, with their replies
linear issue comment resolve <COMMENT> <COMMENT>          # resolve threads by their top-level comment IDs
linear issue comment resolve <COMMENT> --with <REPLY>     # record the reply that resolved the thread
linear issue comment unresolve <COMMENT>                  # reopen a thread
```

Name a thread by its top-level comment's ID; a reply's ID is refused. In `comment list --json`, `resolvedAt` is set only on a resolved thread's top-level comment, and a reply carries its thread's state in `parent.resolvedAt`. The IDs of open threads are `jq -r '.[] | select(.parent == null and .resolvedAt == null) | .id'`.

### View an issue / get its URL

```bash
linear issue view ENG-123          # details incl. comments
linear issue view ENG-123 --json   # structured output
linear issue url ENG-123           # print just the URL
```

### Close, delete, or archive an issue

```bash
linear issue update ENG-123 --state Done       # or Canceled; Linear auto-archives closed issues later
linear issue delete ENG-123                    # trash; restorable in Linear for 30 days
linear issue archive ENG-123 --yes             # rarely appropriate, see below
```

Prefer closing or deleting over archiving. Linear's docs say "archiving happens automatically with no option to manually archive items" (https://linear.app/docs/delete-archive-issues): closed issues are auto-archived after the team's configured period, and Linear removed manual archiving from its app because people used it as a trash can. `issue archive` calls the `issueArchive` mutation directly, bypassing auto-archive's checks for open parents, sub-issues, cycles, and projects, and archived issues vanish from `issue list`, `issue query`, and search unless `--include-archived` is passed. Only archive when the user explicitly asks for it.

## Best Practices for Markdown Content

When working with issue descriptions or comment bodies that contain markdown, **always prefer using file-based flags** instead of passing content as command-line arguments:

- Use `--description-file` for `issue create` and `issue update` commands
- Use `--body-file` for `comment add` and `comment update` commands

**Why use file-based flags:**

- Ensures proper formatting in the Linear web UI
- Avoids shell escaping issues with newlines and special characters
- Prevents literal `\n` sequences from appearing in markdown
- Makes it easier to work with multi-line content

**Example workflow:**

```bash
# Write markdown to a temporary file
cat > /tmp/description.md <<'EOF'
## Summary

- First item
- Second item

## Details

This is a detailed description with proper formatting.
EOF

# Create issue using the file
linear issue create --title "My Issue" --description-file /tmp/description.md

# Or for comments
linear issue comment add ENG-123 --body-file /tmp/comment.md
```

**Only use inline flags** (`--description`, `--body`) for simple, single-line content.

## Linear Markdown Features

### Mention people and resources with plain URLs

Linear turns a resource's **plain Linear URL** in Markdown into a linked mention. A literal `@name`, `@[Name](id)`, or a Markdown link such as `[Name](url)` does not create the same mention. Put the plain URL directly in the comment or description:

```markdown
https://linear.app/yourworkspace/profiles/someuser could you review this? https://linear.app/yourworkspace/issue/ENG-123 is related.
```

Resolve people within the relevant team first. The team can usually be inferred from the issue identifier or current directory:

```bash
linear team members ENG --json
```

Use the selected member's `url` field verbatim in the Markdown. If the intended person is not a member of that team, stop and confirm before searching the whole workspace with `linear user list --json`; mentioning someone outside the team is likely accidental. For issues, use `linear issue url ENG-123` and include that plain URL.

### Add collapsible sections

Open a collapsible section with `+++ [title]` and close it with `+++`:

```markdown
+++ [Server log]

Markdown content that is initially hidden.

+++
```

The square brackets around the title and the closing `+++` are required.

## Exit Status

The exit status says why a command failed, so scripts need not parse stderr:

- `0` success
- `1` any other failure, including GraphQL errors from `linear api`
- `2` usage error: fix the flags or values; nothing was sent
- `3` not found: the issue, team, or other entity does not exist
- `4` authentication: no usable API key, or Linear rejected it; retrying will not help
- `5` unavailable: network failure, timeout, rate limit, or server error; retry later, but a create or update may already have happened
- `130` cancelled

## Available Commands

Compact command list, generated from `linear --help`:

```bash
linear api

linear auth
linear auth login
linear auth logout
linear auth list
linear auth default
linear auth token
linear auth whoami
linear auth migrate

linear config

linear cycle
linear cycle list
linear cycle view

linear document
linear document list
linear document view
linear document create
linear document update
linear document delete
linear document comment
linear document comment add
linear document comment list

linear initiative
linear initiative list
linear initiative view
linear initiative create
linear initiative update
linear initiative archive
linear initiative unarchive
linear initiative delete
linear initiative add-project
linear initiative remove-project
linear initiative comment
linear initiative comment add
linear initiative comment list

linear initiative-update
linear initiative-update create
linear initiative-update list

linear issue
linear issue list
linear issue query
linear issue view
linear issue create
linear issue update
linear issue delete
linear issue archive
linear issue start
linear issue id
linear issue title
linear issue url
linear issue describe
linear issue commits
linear issue pull-request
linear issue comment
linear issue comment add
linear issue comment list
linear issue comment update
linear issue comment delete
linear issue comment resolve
linear issue comment unresolve
linear issue attach
linear issue link
linear issue relation
linear issue relation add
linear issue relation delete
linear issue relation list
linear issue agent-session
linear issue agent-session list
linear issue agent-session view

linear label
linear label list
linear label create
linear label delete

linear markdown

linear milestone
linear milestone list
linear milestone view
linear milestone create
linear milestone update
linear milestone delete

linear project
linear project list
linear project view
linear project create
linear project update
linear project delete
linear project comment
linear project comment add
linear project comment list

linear project-update
linear project-update create
linear project-update list

linear schema

linear team
linear team list
linear team create
linear team delete
linear team members
linear team states
linear team id
linear team autolinks

linear template
linear template list
linear template view

linear user
linear user list
```

## Reference Documentation

- [api](references/api.md) - Send a raw GraphQL request to the Linear API
- [auth](references/auth.md) - Log in to workspaces and manage their credentials
- [config](references/config.md) - Write a .linear.toml for the current repository
- [cycle](references/cycle.md) - View team cycles
- [document](references/document.md) - Manage documents
- [initiative](references/initiative.md) - Manage initiatives
- [initiative-update](references/initiative-update.md) - Post and list initiative status updates
- [issue](references/issue.md) - Manage issues
- [label](references/label.md) - Manage issue labels
- [markdown](references/markdown.md) - Explain Linear-flavored Markdown: mentions and collapsible sections
- [milestone](references/milestone.md) - Manage project milestones
- [project](references/project.md) - Manage projects
- [project-update](references/project-update.md) - Post and list project status updates
- [schema](references/schema.md) - Print the Linear GraphQL schema
- [team](references/team.md) - Manage teams
- [template](references/template.md) - Browse issue, project and document templates
- [user](references/user.md) - List workspace members

For curated examples of organization features (initiatives, labels, projects, bulk operations), see [organization-features](references/organization-features.md).

## Discovering Options

To see available subcommands and flags, run `--help` on any command:

```bash
linear --help
linear issue --help
linear issue list --help
linear issue create --help
```

Each command has detailed help output describing all available flags and options.

Some commands have required flags that aren't obvious. Notable examples:

- `issue list` sorts by priority by default — override via `--sort` (valid values: `manual`, `priority`), the `issue_sort` config option, or the `LINEAR_ISSUE_SORT` env var. Requires `--team <key>` unless the team can be inferred from the directory — if unknown, run `linear team list` first (`linear team list --json` maps team names to their `key` and `id`).
- `--no-pager` is only supported on `issue list`, `issue query`, `issue view`, and `project view` — passing it to other commands like `project list` will error.

## Using the Linear GraphQL API Directly

**Prefer the CLI for all supported operations.** The `api` command should only be used as a fallback for queries not covered by the CLI.

### Check the schema for available types and fields

Write the schema to a tempfile, then search it:

```bash
linear schema -o "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"
grep -i "cycle" "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"
grep -A 30 "^type Issue " "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"
```

### Make a GraphQL request

`linear api` takes the GraphQL document as its only positional argument and has no subcommands. Put a leading `query` or `mutation` keyword inside that quoted document: use `linear api 'query { ... }'`, never `linear api query '...'`. `linear issue query` is a separate, real subcommand for searching issues.

**Important:** GraphQL queries containing non-null type markers (e.g. `String` followed by an exclamation mark) must be passed via heredoc stdin to avoid escaping issues. Simple queries without those markers can be passed inline.

```bash
# Simple query (no type markers, so inline is fine)
linear api '{ viewer { id name email } }'

# Query with variables — use heredoc to avoid escaping issues
linear api --variable teamId=abc123 <<'GRAPHQL'
query($teamId: String!) { team(id: $teamId) { name } }
GRAPHQL

# Search issues by text
linear api --variable term=onboarding <<'GRAPHQL'
query($term: String!) { searchIssues(term: $term, first: 20) { nodes { identifier title state { name } } } }
GRAPHQL

# Numeric and boolean variables
linear api --variable first=5 <<'GRAPHQL'
query($first: Int!) { issues(first: $first) { nodes { title } } }
GRAPHQL

# Complex variables via JSON
linear api --variables-json '{"filter": {"state": {"name": {"eq": "In Progress"}}}}' <<'GRAPHQL'
query($filter: IssueFilter!) { issues(filter: $filter) { nodes { title } } }
GRAPHQL

# Pipe to jq for filtering
linear api '{ issues(first: 5) { nodes { identifier title } } }' | jq '.data.issues.nodes[].title'
```

### Advanced: Using curl directly

For cases where you need full HTTP control, use `linear auth token`:

```bash
curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $(linear auth token)" \
  -d '{"query": "{ viewer { id } }"}'
```