Linear CLI, Skill Guide

Overview

Use the linear CLI to manage Linear issues, teams, and projects from the terminal. Prefer CLI flows over raw GraphQL when a command exists.

Quick Start

1. Verify the CLI is available: linear --version.
2. Install the CLI if needed (see Install Linear CLI).
3. Configure the API key and repo settings (see Configure API Key).
4. Use linear issue list, linear issue start, and linear issue view for day-to-day workflows.

Install Linear CLI

Prefer NPM-distributed version from Injective Labs:

npm i -g @injectivelabs/linear-cli

One-time commands can be run via npx @injectivelabs/linear-cli.

If NPM is not available

Fetch binary for current platform using https://github.com/InjectiveLabs/linear-cli/releases/latest install it so it available in $PATH.

Configure API Key

• Create a personal API key in Linear account settings: https://linear.app/settings/account/security.
• If linear auth login exists, run it to authenticate. Otherwise export the key for the CLI session: export LINEAR_API_KEY=....
• Run linear config inside the repo to generate .linear.toml interactively.
• Use linear auth token or linear auth whoami to verify authentication.
• Note: API key creation requires member access (not guest).

Common Workflows

• List issues: linear issue list with filters like --state, --assignee, --team, or --limit.
• Start work on an issue: linear issue start ABC-123 (use -b to specify a branch).
• View an issue: linear issue view ABC-123 (use -w for web or -a for app).
• Create an issue: linear issue create --title "..." --team TEAM (add --project, --label, --priority, or --estimate as needed).
• Update an issue: linear issue update ABC-123 --state STATE --assignee USER.
• Add a comment: linear issue comment add ABC-123 --body "...".
• Browse teams/projects: linear team list, linear project list, then linear project view.

Command Reference

Instead of guessing flag and command arguments, check the reference.

See references/commands.md for the full command and flag list extracted from linear completions bash.

When some command feels missing try npx @injectivelabs/linear-cli@latest completions bash to refresh the completions.

Safety

• Confirm destructive actions explicitly before running linear issue delete.
• Avoid raw schema dumps unless needed; prefer regular commands to inspect data.