Is Linear CLI an official Linear product?

No. Community-built by schpet (Peter Schilling), open-source with 455+ GitHub stars. Not maintained by Linear the company. It is the most popular Linear CLI and actively maintained. Linear does not offer its own CLI tool.

How do you authenticate Linear CLI?

Create a personal API key at linear.app/settings/account/security (requires member access, not guest). Run `linear auth login` and paste your key. Credentials are stored in your OS keyring (macOS Keychain, Linux libsecret, Windows Credential Manager) as of v1.11.0.

Does Linear CLI work with Jujutsu (jj)?

Yes. Set `vcs` to `jj` in your `.linear.toml` config or `LINEAR_VCS` environment variable. The CLI detects issues from Linear-issue trailers in jj commit descriptions. `linear issue start` adds the trailer automatically. Your agent works with either git or jj seamlessly.

Can AI agents use Linear CLI?

Yes. The CLI ships with a Claude Code skill, installable via the plugin marketplace or skills.sh. Your agent creates issues, updates status, and manages workflows programmatically. For agents that only need data access, Linear's official MCP server is an alternative.

How is this different from Linear's MCP server?

The CLI provides terminal workflows like branch creation, issue start/stop, and PR generation. Linear's MCP server (February 2026) is a data access layer for initiatives, milestones, and updates. Use CLI when your agent needs to create branches and PRs. Use MCP when it only needs to read and write Linear data.

Linear CLI

455 stars

open-source macOS Cross-platform Actively maintained

Manage Linear issues, branches, and PRs from the terminal. Git and jj aware, agent friendly, with built-in skills for AI coding workflows.

Part of the Linear CLI tools for AI agents

What your agent can do

Sprint planning. New bug reports pile up. Each one needs categorization, priority, team assignment, duplicate checking, related issue linking. Thirty minutes of mechanical work before anyone writes code. Your agent handles this through Linear's Triage Intelligence (Business/Enterprise) and the CLI for direct issue management: `linear issue create -t "Fix auth bug" -d "Login fails on Safari"`.The core workflow eliminates context switching. Your agent runs `linear issue start`, picks an issue, creates a properly named git branch, and marks the issue as started in Linear. When the code is done, `linear issue pr` creates a GitHub pull request with the title and description pre-filled from the Linear issue. No copy-pasting between tabs. No formatting branch names to match Linear's conventions.The CLI ships with a Claude Code skill that lets your agent create issues, update status, and manage Linear alongside your code. Your agent files bugs it discovers, updates issue status as it works, and keeps Linear in sync without you touching the web UI. As of 2026, you can assign issues directly to the Codex agent, which reads the issue context, picks the right repo, and starts working on a solution.Linear's GraphQL API is identical to its internal API. There's no "public API subset" with missing features. Everything Linear's own UI can do, your agent can do through the API. This is unusual. Most SaaS products ship a limited public API. Linear's decision to use one API for everything means agents get first-class access.Supports both git and jj (Jujutsu) version control. For jj users, the CLI detects issues from Linear-issue trailers in commit descriptions. Configuration is per-repo via `.linear.toml`, so different projects target different teams and workspaces.

Limitations

Community-built, not an official Linear product. Requires a personal API key with member access (guest accounts excluded). Linear-specific, with no support for Jira, Asana, or GitHub Issues. For agent workflows that only need data access (no branch creation or PRs), Linear's official MCP server (February 2026) may be more direct.

Key Commands

linear issue list List unstarted issues assigned to you, with optional state and sort filters

linear issue start Choose an issue to start, creates a git branch and marks the issue as started

linear issue pr Create a GitHub PR with title and body pre-filled from the Linear issue

linear issue create Create a new issue interactively or with flags for title, description, project, and milestone

linear issue view View the current branch's issue details in the terminal, browser, or Linear desktop app

linear config Set up your repo with team, workspace, and VCS settings

linear document list List and filter Linear documents by project or issue

GitHub Stats

repo schpet/linear-cli

stars 455

language TypeScript

license ISC

last commit Mar 11, 2026

Links

GitHub repository github.com/schpet/linear-cli Release notes github.com/schpet/linear-cli/releases npm package www.npmjs.com/package/@schpet/linear-cli JSR package jsr.io/@schpet/linear-cli Claude Code skill skills.sh/schpet/linear-cli/linear-cli

Alternatives

tool	description
Linear CLI	current tool
linearis	CLI tool for Linear.app with JSON output, smart ID resolution, and optimized GraphQL queries. Designed for scripting and piping.
linctl	A Linear CLI tool built with agents in mind, implemented in Go with structured JSON output.
lnr	Lightweight Linear CLI written in TypeScript. Simpler feature set focused on core issue operations.
linear-cli (Rust)	A Rust-based CLI for Linear published on crates.io. Covers issues, projects, cycles, and more.

FAQ

Is Linear CLI an official Linear product?: No. Community-built by schpet (Peter Schilling), open-source with 455+ GitHub stars. Not maintained by Linear the company. It is the most popular Linear CLI and actively maintained. Linear does not offer its own CLI tool.
How do you authenticate Linear CLI?: Create a personal API key at linear.app/settings/account/security (requires member access, not guest). Run `linear auth login` and paste your key. Credentials are stored in your OS keyring (macOS Keychain, Linux libsecret, Windows Credential Manager) as of v1.11.0.
Does Linear CLI work with Jujutsu (jj)?: Yes. Set `vcs` to `jj` in your `.linear.toml` config or `LINEAR_VCS` environment variable. The CLI detects issues from Linear-issue trailers in jj commit descriptions. `linear issue start` adds the trailer automatically. Your agent works with either git or jj seamlessly.
Can AI agents use Linear CLI?: Yes. The CLI ships with a Claude Code skill, installable via the plugin marketplace or skills.sh. Your agent creates issues, updates status, and manages workflows programmatically. For agents that only need data access, Linear's official MCP server is an alternative.
How is this different from Linear's MCP server?: The CLI provides terminal workflows like branch creation, issue start/stop, and PR generation. Linear's MCP server (February 2026) is a data access layer for initiatives, milestones, and updates. Use CLI when your agent needs to create branches and PRs. Use MCP when it only needs to read and write Linear data.