Linear Issue Management is a comprehensive Claude Code skill designed to streamline management of Linear issues, projects, and teams through integration with Claude AI capabilities. This skill provides eight primary capabilities that cover the full spectrum of issue tracking workflows.
Key features include Discovery Before Creation which prevents duplicate projects and issues through mandatory verification checks—essential for maintaining clean project boards. MCP Tool Integration enables simple operations using the Linear MCP server for quick tasks. SDK Automation supports complex operations via TypeScript scripts for advanced workflows. GraphQL API Access allows direct API queries for functionality beyond what MCP provides. Project Management handles content, descriptions, milestones, and resource links. Status Management works with project status UUIDs for workflow automation. MCP Reliability Workarounds provide fallback patterns for timeout and failure scenarios. Bulk Sync synchronizes code changes with Linear via CLI, agents, or hooks.
Installation is straightforward: use the recommended plugin command or manually clone to ~/.claude/skills/linear. Prerequisites include a Linear API Key (generated via Linear Settings) and Linear MCP Server configured in .mcp.json.
The skill emphasizes three critical patterns. Always verify Linear before creating new projects or issues to avoid duplicates. Check codebase state before accepting issue descriptions at face value, as implementations may already exist. Understand MCP reliability limitations—certain operations like status updates and comments require GraphQL alternatives due to timeout issues.
Usage scenarios include creating issues through MCP commands, updating project statuses via GraphQL mutations, bulk operations using TypeScript patterns, automated synchronization triggered by code edits or agent tasks, and multi-issue updates with verification workflows. Licensed under MIT.
