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.

Generated from linear CLI v1.8.1

Prerequisites

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

linear --version

If not installed, follow the instructions at:\
https://github.com/schpet/linear-cli?tab=readme-ov-file#install

Available Commands

linear auth               # Manage Linear authentication
linear issue              # Manage Linear issues
linear team               # Manage Linear teams
linear project            # Manage Linear projects
linear project-update     # Manage project status updates
linear milestone          # Manage Linear project milestones
linear initiative         # Manage Linear initiatives
linear initiative-update  # Manage initiative status updates (timeline posts)
linear label              # Manage Linear issue labels
linear document           # Manage Linear documents
linear config             # Interactively generate .linear.toml configuration
linear schema             # Print the GraphQL schema to stdout

Reference Documentation

• auth - Manage Linear authentication
• issue - Manage Linear issues
• team - Manage Linear teams
• project - Manage Linear projects
• project-update - Manage project status updates
• milestone - Manage Linear project milestones
• initiative - Manage Linear initiatives
• initiative-update - Manage initiative status updates (timeline posts)
• label - Manage Linear issue labels
• document - Manage Linear documents
• config - Interactively generate .linear.toml configuration
• schema - Print the GraphQL schema to stdout

For curated examples of organization features (initiatives, labels, projects, bulk operations), see organization-features.

Discovering Options

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

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.

Using the Linear GraphQL API Directly

Prefer the CLI for all supported operations. Direct API calls via curl are slower and should only be used as a fallback for advanced queries not covered by the CLI. For complex queries involving multiple calls, write and execute a script.

To make direct API calls, use linear schema and linear auth token:

1. Check the schema for available types and fields

Write the schema to a tempfile, then search it:

# Write schema to a tempfile (cross-platform)
linear schema -o "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"

# Search for specific types or fields
grep -i "cycle" "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"
grep -A 30 "^type Issue " "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"

# View filter options
grep -A 50 "^input IssueFilter" "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"

2. Get the auth token

linear auth token

3. Make a curl request

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $(linear auth token)" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issues(filter: { team: { key: { eq: \"CLI\" } } }, first: 5) { nodes { identifier title state { name } } } }"}'

Example queries

# Get issues assigned to current user
curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $(linear auth token)" \
  -d '{"query": "{ viewer { assignedIssues(first: 10) { nodes { identifier title state { name } } } } }"}'