Linear MCP Integration Server

This server provides Linear integration capabilities through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It allows AI models to interact with Linear for issue tracking and project management.

Features

The server provides the following tools through the MCP interface:

linear_create_issue

Creates a new Linear issue with the following parameters:

• title (required): Issue title
• teamId (required): Team ID to create issue in
• description (optional): Issue description (markdown supported)
• priority (optional): Priority level (0-4)
• status (optional): Initial status name

linear_search_issues

Search Linear issues with flexible filtering:

• query (optional): Text to search in title/description
• teamId (optional): Filter by team
• status (optional): Filter by status
• assigneeId (optional): Filter by assignee
• priority (optional): Priority level (0-4)
• limit (optional, default: 10): Max results to return

linear_sprint_issues

Get all issues in the current sprint/iteration:

• teamId (required): Team ID to get sprint issues for

linear_search_teams

Search and retrieve Linear teams:

• query (optional): Text to search in team names

linear_filter_sprint_issues

Filter current sprint issues by status and automatically filters to the current user:

• teamId (required): Team ID to get sprint issues for
• status (required): Status to filter by (e.g. "Pending Prod Release")

linear_get_workflow_states

Get all available workflow states (statuses) for a team:

• teamId (required): Team ID to get workflow states for

linear_list_projects

Get a list of all projects available with their IDs:

• teamId (optional): Team ID to filter projects by team
• limit (optional, default: 50): Max number of projects to return

Developer Setup

1. Get your Linear API key from Linear's settings > API section

2. Copiez le fichier d'exemple d'environnement :

   cp .env.example .env
   

3. Modifiez le fichier .env et ajoutez votre clé API Linear :

   LINEAR_API_KEY=votre_clé_api_linear_ici
   

4. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

5. Start the server:

   # Development mode with auto-reload
   npm run dev
   
   # Production mode
   npm start
   
   # Build TypeScript
   npm run build
   
   # Run linter
   npm run lint
   
   # Run tests
   npm run test
   
   # Inspect MCP server
   npm run inspect
   

Docker Setup if project cloned from GitHub

You can also run this application using Docker:

1. Make sure you have Docker and Docker Compose installed on your system

2. Create a .env file with your Linear API key as described above

3. Build and start the container:

   # Build and start the container in detached mode
   docker-compose up -d
   
   # View logs
   docker-compose logs -f
   
   # Stop the container
   docker-compose down
   

4. The server will be running inside the container and will automatically restart unless explicitly stopped

Using Docker (Simplified method with docker-compose)

1. Create a .env file with your Linear API key:

   LINEAR_API_KEY=your_linear_api_key_here
   

2. Create a docker-compose.yml file:

   version: '3.8'
   
   services:
     mcp-linear-server:
       image: madebynando/mcp-linear-server:latest
       container_name: mcp-linear-server
       restart: unless-stopped
       env_file:
         - .env
       volumes:
         - ./logs:/app/logs
   

3. Start the container:

   docker-compose up -d
   

4. To configure Cursor, use:

   • Transport type: command
   • Command: docker exec -i mcp-linear-server node dist/server.js

Docker Development

For development with Docker:

# Build the image
docker build -t mcp-linear-server .

# Run in development mode with auto-reload
docker run -it --rm \
  -v $(pwd):/app \
  -v /app/node_modules \
  --env-file .env \
  mcp-linear-server \
  npm run dev

Technical Details

• Built with TypeScript and the Model Context Protocol SDK
• Uses Linear SDK for API interactions
• Includes error handling, rate limiting, and connection management
• Supports automatic reconnection with configurable retry attempts
• Implements heartbeat monitoring for connection health
• Provides detailed logging in debug mode

Error Handling

The server includes comprehensive error handling:

• API timeout protection
• Automatic reconnection attempts on connection loss
• Detailed error logging with timestamps
• Graceful shutdown handling
• Heartbeat monitoring for connection health

Dependencies

• @linear/sdk: Linear API client
• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk: MCP server implementation
• zod: Runtime type checking and validation
• dotenv: Environment variable management
• TypeScript and related development tools

For the complete list of dependencies, see package.json.

Use in Cursor

To use this server in Cursor, you can add it as a MCP server.

Without Docker

Warning Make sure to set the LINEAR_API_KEY directly in the command when adding the MCP server in Cursor. This is crucial for the server to authenticate and interact with the Linear API correctly. Failure to do so will result in authentication errors and the server will not function as expected.

Example:

env LINEAR_API_KEY=your_linear_api_key node /path/to/your/mcp-linear-server/dist/server.js

1. Open the Cursor settings menu

2. Go to the "MCP Servers" section

3. Click "Add MCP Server"

4. Enter the following details:

   • Name: linear-mcp-server
   • Transport type: command
   • Command: env LINEAR_API_KEY=your_linear_api_key node /path/to/your/mcp-linear-server/dist/server.js

5. Click "Save"

6. You should now see the Linear tool in the list of tools in Cursor.

With Docker

1. Open the Cursor settings menu

2. Go to the "MCP Servers" section

3. Click "Add MCP Server"

4. Enter the following details:

   • Name: linear-mcp-server
   • Transport type: command
   • Command: docker exec -i mcp-linear-server node dist/server.js

5. Click "Save"

6. You should now see the Linear tool in the list of tools in Cursor.

Instructing Claude

When instructing Claude to use this MCP server, you can refer to the following endpoints:

linear_create_issue

Create a new Linear issue with title, description, teamId, priority, and status.

linear_search_issues

Search Linear issues with flexible filtering by query, team, status, assignee, priority, and limit.

linear_sprint_issues

Get all issues in the current sprint/iteration for a specific team.

linear_search_teams

Search and retrieve Linear teams by name.

linear_filter_sprint_issues

Filter current sprint issues by status for a specific team.

linear_get_workflow_states

Get all available workflow states (statuses) for a specific team.

linear_list_projects

Get a list of all projects available with their IDs, optionally filtered by team.