Linear CLI

A command-line interface for Linear.app. Manage issues, search, comment, and streamline your development workflow directly from the terminal.

Features

• Issue Management: List, create, update, and search issues
• Sub-issues: Create and view sub-issues for breaking down work
• Team Transfers: Move issues between teams
• Quick Actions: Open issues in browser, add comments
• Start Command: One command to assign yourself, set "In Progress", and create a git branch
• Status Filtering: Filter issues by any Linear state
• User Queries: Get issues assigned to you

Installation

Prerequisites

• Go 1.21 or later
• Linear.app account with API access

Install

go install github.com/Boostly/linear-cli@latest

Setup

1. Get your API key from Linear Settings > API

2. Create a .env file:

   # Option 1: Project directory
   echo "LINEAR_API_KEY=your_api_key" > .env
   
   # Option 2: Global config
   mkdir -p ~/.config/linear
   echo "LINEAR_API_KEY=your_api_key" > ~/.config/linear/.env

Commands

List Issues

# Your assigned issues
linear-cli me
linear-cli me -s "In Progress"
linear-cli me -d                      # Include descriptions

# All workspace issues
linear-cli list
linear-cli list -s "Backlog" -d

Search

linear-cli search "authentication bug"
linear-cli search "login" -d          # With descriptions

View Issue Details

linear-cli get ENG-123

Displays issue details including state, assignee, description, parent issue (if any), and sub-issues.

View Comments

linear-cli comments ENG-123

Open in Browser

linear-cli open ENG-123

Add Comment

linear-cli comment ENG-123 -m "Fixed in latest commit"
linear-cli comment ENG-123            # Interactive prompt

Create Issue

linear-cli create -t "Fix login bug" -T ENG
linear-cli create -t "New feature" -T ENG -d "Description here" -p 2
linear-cli create -t "Sub-task" -T ENG -P ENG-123   # Create sub-issue

Flags:

• -t, --title (required) - Issue title
• -T, --team (required) - Team key (e.g., ENG)
• -d, --description - Issue description
• -p, --priority - Priority (1-4)
• -s, --state - Initial state
• -a, --assignee - Assignee
• -P, --parent - Parent issue for sub-issues (e.g., ENG-123)

Update Issue

linear-cli update -i ENG-123 -s "Done"
linear-cli update -i ENG-123 -a "john@example.com" -p 1
linear-cli update -i ENG-123 -T "Product"         # Move to another team

Flags:

• -i, --issue (required) - Issue identifier
• -t, --title - New title
• -d, --description - New description
• -s, --state - New state
• -a, --assignee - New assignee
• -p, --priority - New priority
• -T, --team - Move issue to another team (by name or key)

Note: When moving an issue to another team, the issue identifier will change (e.g., ENG-123 → PROD-456).

Start Working (Power Command)

The start command streamlines beginning work on an issue:

linear-cli start ENG-123

This will:

1. Assign the issue to you (if not already)
2. Set status to "In Progress"
3. Create and checkout a git branch (using Linear's branch naming)

Options:

linear-cli start ENG-123 --no-branch     # Skip git branch creation
linear-cli start ENG-123 -b "my-branch"  # Custom branch name

Examples

Daily Workflow

# What am I working on?
linear-cli me -s "In Progress"

# Pick up new work
linear-cli me -s "Backlog"
linear-cli start ENG-456

# Quick search
linear-cli search "payment"

# Done with a task
linear-cli update -i ENG-456 -s "Done"
linear-cli comment ENG-456 -m "Completed - see PR #123"

With Claude Code

# Get context for current work
linear-cli me -s "In Progress" -d

# Find issues to work on
linear-cli search "needs review" -d

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/Boostly/linear-cli.git
cd linear-cli
go build -o linear-cli .

License

MIT