mcp-linear

MCP Linear is a server that connects to the Linear GraphQL API and exposes a set of MCP-compliant tools that let an AI assistant interact with Linear data. After starting the server with your Linear API token, the MCP layer will surface capabilities such as listing issues, projects, teams, creating and updating issues, changing issue statuses, assigning issues to teammates, adding comments, and creating new projects or teams. This enables natural-language prompts to drive Linear workflows through the MCP protocol. To get started, ensure your Linear API token is available either through the LINEAR_API_TOKEN environment variable or by passing it as a CLI argument when starting the server. The server is designed to be used with clients like Cursor or Claude Desktop viaSmithery or direct MCP clients that understand the standard MCP schema.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js 18+ and npm (or yarn)
• A Linear API token with appropriate permissions
• Internet access to install packages

Option A: Install via Smithery (recommended)

• Install the MCP Linear client for your target client using Smithery:

  npx -y @smithery/cli install @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear --client cursor

  npx -y @smithery/cli install @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear --client claude

Option B: Global installation from the package registry

• Install MCP Linear globally (or locally then link):

  npm install -g @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear

Option C: Manual setup from source

• Clone the repository and install dependencies:

  git clone https://github.com/tacticlaunch/mcp-linear.git cd mcp-linear npm install

Running the server

• Ensure you have your Linear API token available

• Start the server (token can be provided as an argument or via environment):

  mcp-linear --token YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN

Or set the environment variable and run without arguments:

export LINEAR_API_TOKEN=YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN mcp-linear

• The server expects a Linear API token to authenticate with Linear. Store the token securely; avoid hard-coding it in source files.
• If using the npm package directly, you can also run via npx without a global install: npx -y @tacticlaunch/mcp-linear --token YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN
• Environment variable LINEAR_API_TOKEN is supported and preferred for automation.
• The MCP tools exposed by this server are documented in the repository’s TOOLS.md; capabilities include retrieving and manipulating Linear entities such as issues, projects, teams, and comments. For client integration, refer to the MCP specification compatibility.
• If you update token permissions or tokens, restart the MCP server to ensure changes take effect.