Linear MCP (tacticlaunch) — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Name: Linear MCP (tacticlaunch) MCP Server
Author: tacticlaunch

Why use it

Key features

Full CRUD on issues, comments, projects, teams
Status transitions by name (no UUID hunting)
Filter issues by assignee, project, label, status
Project + roadmap reads for sprint planning
PAT in env — no OAuth dance

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

linear-mcp-tacticlaunch.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear-mcp-tacticlaunch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_TOKEN": "your_linear_api_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear-mcp-tacticlaunch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_TOKEN": "your_linear_api_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear-mcp-tacticlaunch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_TOKEN": "your_linear_api_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear-mcp-tacticlaunch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_TOKEN": "your_linear_api_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "linear-mcp-tacticlaunch",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "linear-mcp-tacticlaunch": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "@tacticlaunch/mcp-linear"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add linear-mcp-tacticlaunch -- npx -y @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use Linear MCP (tacticlaunch)

Ship a feature without opening Linear once

👤 Devs who hate context switching ⏱ ~10 min beginner

When to use: You're heads-down coding and don't want to break flow to update tickets.

Prerequisites

Linear PAT — linear.app → Settings → API → Personal API keys

Flow

Pick up

Use Linear MCP. Show me my open issues in 'In Progress'. Pick the highest-priority one and mark it 'In Review' — I'm done.✓ Copied

→ Issue listed, status updated
Comment

Add a comment: 'PR #1234 ready for review. Tests pass, perf benchmarks linked.' Link the PR.✓ Copied

→ Comment posted with PR link
Plan next

What's next in my queue? Group by project.✓ Copied

→ Grouped issue list

Outcome: Project-management hygiene without leaving the terminal.

Pitfalls

Status name mismatch (e.g., 'In Review' vs 'Review') — Ask Claude to list workflow states for the team first

Combine with: github

Auto-generate your weekly standup from Linear activity

👤 ICs writing weekly updates ⏱ ~5 min beginner

When to use: Friday afternoon — you can't remember what you did this week.

Flow

Pull

Pull all issues I closed or commented on this week. Group by project.✓ Copied

→ Grouped activity log
Draft

Write a 5-bullet update — Done / In Progress / Blocked. Keep it concise.✓ Copied

→ Tight 5-bullet summary

Outcome: Standup doc generated in 30 seconds, not 30 minutes.

Pitfalls

Missing PR-only work — Combine with github MCP to capture PR activity

Combine with: github

Triage an inbox of bug reports into Linear

👤 On-call / triage rotation ⏱ ~30 min intermediate

When to use: Customer support sent 30 bugs. They need labeling, priority, and assignment.

Flow

Bulk import

Read /tmp/bugs.md. Each bullet is a bug. Create a Linear issue per bullet with the right team and project.✓ Copied

→ N issues created, IDs returned
Prioritize

Read each issue's description and set priority (urgent/high/medium/low) based on user impact.✓ Copied

→ Priorities applied

Outcome: Inbox zeroed; Linear has triaged work.

Pitfalls

Duplicate issues — Search for similar titles before create

Combine with: filesystem

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

linear-mcp-tacticlaunch + github

Auto-link PRs to Linear issues; close issues on merge

When PR #1234 merges, find the linked LIN-456 and mark it Done.✓ Copied

linear-mcp-tacticlaunch + filesystem

Bulk import from a markdown bug file

Read /tmp/bugs.md and create one Linear issue per bullet.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call	Cost
list_issues	team?, assignee?, status?, project?, limit?	Find work to do	1 GraphQL call
create_issue	title, description?, team, project?, assignee?, priority?	Capture a new bug or task	1 mutation
update_issue	id, status?, assignee?, priority?, title?, description?	Move tickets through the workflow	1 mutation
add_comment	issue_id, body	Status updates, PR links	1 mutation
list_projects	team?	Project-level reporting	1 query
list_teams	(none)	Cross-team queries	1 query

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: Linear plan limits — Free 250 members, Plus and above raise rate limits
Tokens per call: 200–2000
Monetary: Free (the MCP itself)
Tip: Filter aggressively; one big list_issues is cheaper than a hundred individual gets

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Minimum scopes: Personal API token — workspace member scope

Credential storage: LINEAR_API_TOKEN env var

Data egress: api.linear.app only

Never grant: Workspace admin tokens to agents

PAT inherits your full workspace permissions — rotate if your laptop is compromised

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

401 Unauthorized

Token missing or revoked; regenerate at linear.app/settings/api

Verify: curl -H 'Authorization: <token>' https://api.linear.app/graphql

Status not found

Workflow states are per-team; list states for that team first

Rate limited (429)

Back off; batch operations where possible

Alternatives

Linear MCP (tacticlaunch) vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
Linear official MCP	You want OAuth + first-party support	Less feature surface in some forks
GitHub issues	Your team lives in GitHub	Different model — no projects/cycles like Linear

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills