Linear — Issue & Project Management

Manage Linear issues, projects, and teams directly via the GraphQL API using curl. No MCP server, no OAuth flow, no extra dependencies.

Setup

1. Get a personal API key from Linear Settings > API > Personal API keys
2. Set LINEAR_API_KEY in your environment (via clawg setup or your env config)

API Basics

• Endpoint: https://api.linear.app/graphql (POST)
• Auth header: Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY (no "Bearer" prefix for API keys)
• All requests are POST with Content-Type: application/json
• Both UUIDs and short identifiers (e.g., ENG-123) work for issue(id:)

Base curl pattern:

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ viewer { id name } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Workflow States

Linear uses WorkflowState objects with a type field. 6 state types:

Each team has its own named states (e.g., "In Progress" is type started). To change an issue's status, you need the stateId (UUID) of the target state — query workflow states first.

Priority values: 0 = None, 1 = Urgent, 2 = High, 3 = Medium, 4 = Low

Common Queries

Get current user

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ viewer { id name email } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List teams

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ teams { nodes { id name key } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List workflow states for a team

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ workflowStates(filter: { team: { key: { eq: \"ENG\" } } }) { nodes { id name type } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List issues (first 20)

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issues(first: 20) { nodes { identifier title priority state { name type } assignee { name } team { key } url } pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List my assigned issues

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ viewer { assignedIssues(first: 25) { nodes { identifier title state { name type } priority url } } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Get a single issue (by identifier like ENG-123)

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issue(id: \"ENG-123\") { id identifier title description priority state { id name type } assignee { id name } team { key } project { name } labels { nodes { name } } comments { nodes { body user { name } createdAt } } url } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Search issues by text

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issueSearch(query: \"bug login\", first: 10) { nodes { identifier title state { name } assignee { name } url } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Filter issues by state type

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issues(filter: { state: { type: { in: [\"started\"] } } }, first: 20) { nodes { identifier title state { name } assignee { name } } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Filter by team and assignee

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issues(filter: { team: { key: { eq: \"ENG\" } }, assignee: { email: { eq: \"user@example.com\" } } }, first: 20) { nodes { identifier title state { name } priority } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List projects

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ projects(first: 20) { nodes { id name description progress lead { name } teams { nodes { key } } url } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List team members

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ users { nodes { id name email active } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

List labels

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issueLabels { nodes { id name color } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Common Mutations

Create an issue

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "mutation($input: IssueCreateInput!) { issueCreate(input: $input) { success issue { id identifier title url } } }",
    "variables": {
      "input": {
        "teamId": "TEAM_UUID",
        "title": "Fix login bug",
        "description": "Users cannot login with SSO",
        "priority": 2
      }
    }
  }' | python3 -m json.tool

Update issue status

First get the target state UUID from the workflow states query above, then:

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "mutation { issueUpdate(id: \"ENG-123\", input: { stateId: \"STATE_UUID\" }) { success issue { identifier state { name type } } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Assign an issue

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "mutation { issueUpdate(id: \"ENG-123\", input: { assigneeId: \"USER_UUID\" }) { success issue { identifier assignee { name } } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Set priority

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "mutation { issueUpdate(id: \"ENG-123\", input: { priority: 1 }) { success issue { identifier priority } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Add a comment

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "mutation { commentCreate(input: { issueId: \"ISSUE_UUID\", body: \"Investigated. Root cause is X.\" }) { success comment { id body } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Set due date

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "mutation { issueUpdate(id: \"ENG-123\", input: { dueDate: \"2026-04-01\" }) { success issue { identifier dueDate } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Add labels to an issue

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "mutation { issueUpdate(id: \"ENG-123\", input: { labelIds: [\"LABEL_UUID_1\", \"LABEL_UUID_2\"] }) { success issue { identifier labels { nodes { name } } } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Add issue to a project

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "mutation { issueUpdate(id: \"ENG-123\", input: { projectId: \"PROJECT_UUID\" }) { success issue { identifier project { name } } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Create a project

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "mutation($input: ProjectCreateInput!) { projectCreate(input: $input) { success project { id name url } } }",
    "variables": {
      "input": {
        "name": "Q2 Auth Overhaul",
        "description": "Replace legacy auth with OAuth2 and PKCE",
        "teamIds": ["TEAM_UUID"]
      }
    }
  }' | python3 -m json.tool

Pagination

Linear uses Relay-style cursor pagination:

# First page
curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issues(first: 20) { nodes { identifier title } pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

# Next page — use endCursor from previous response
curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Authorization: $LINEAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issues(first: 20, after: \"CURSOR_FROM_PREVIOUS\") { nodes { identifier title } pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor } } }"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Default page size: 50. Max: 250. Always use first: N to limit results.

Filtering Reference

Comparators: eq, neq, in, nin, lt, lte, gt, gte, contains, startsWith, containsIgnoreCase

Combine filters with or: [...] for OR logic (default is AND within a filter object).

Typical Workflow

1. Query teams to get team IDs and keys
2. Query workflow states for target team to get state UUIDs
3. List or search issues to find what needs work
4. Create issues with team ID, title, description, priority
5. Update status by setting stateId to the target workflow state
6. Add comments to track progress
7. Mark complete by setting stateId to the team's "completed" type state

Rate Limits

• 5,000 requests/hour per API key
• 3,000,000 complexity points/hour
• Use first: N to limit results and reduce complexity cost
• Monitor X-RateLimit-Requests-Remaining response header

Important Notes

• Always use terminal tool with curl for API calls — do NOT use web_extract or browser
• Always check the errors array in GraphQL responses — HTTP 200 can still contain errors
• If stateId is omitted when creating issues, Linear defaults to the first backlog state
• The description field supports Markdown
• Use python3 -m json.tool or jq to format JSON responses for readability