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Connect AI agents to Linear with MCP

Issue tracking and project planning for engineering teams. Wiring it to your agents over the Model Context Protocol lets Claude Code, Cursor, and other clients work against it safely.

Official MCP server commonly available

Why connect Linear to your AI agents?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for exposing a system’s capabilities to AI models as typed tools. Wire Linear up once as an MCP server and any MCP-capable client — Claude Code, Cursor, and others — can use it, instead of every developer hand-rolling their own integration.

Issue tracking and project planning for engineering teams. Today, most engineers copy-paste data from Linear into a chat by hand. With an MCP connection the agent reaches it directly and safely — which is the difference between a demo and something a whole team can rely on.

What an agent can do with Linear

Once connected, the agent can act against Linear as part of a task rather than asking you to fetch context for it. Common uses:

  • Let an agent create and update issues from a code change
  • Pull the spec and acceptance criteria for the issue it’s working on
  • Summarize the current sprint or a project’s status

The right default is read-only: let the agent observe and reason first, then grant specific write actions deliberately, each behind audit logging and — for anything high-impact — human approval.

Connect Claude Code to Linear

  1. Pick or build an MCP server for Linear (official mcp server commonly available).
  2. Register it with Claude Code via claude mcp add (or your project’s MCP config), pointing at the server’s command or URL.
  3. Provide credentials out of band — Linear OAuth or a personal API key, scoped to the right teams. Never hardcode them in the repo.
  4. Restart Claude Code so it discovers the server’s tools, then confirm the Linear tools appear.
  5. Try a read-only task first to validate scope and permissions before granting any write access.

Connect Cursor to Linear

  1. Open Cursor’s settings and find the MCP / tools configuration.
  2. Add the Linear MCP server entry (command or URL + transport).
  3. Supply credentials via environment or Cursor’s secret handling — Linear OAuth or a personal API key, scoped to the right teams.
  4. Reload Cursor and verify the Linear tools are available to the agent.

Authentication

Linear OAuth or a personal API key, scoped to the right teams.

Claude Code or Cursor for Linear?

Both speak MCP, so the same Linear server works in either. Reach for Claude Code when you want an agent to use Linearas part of an autonomous, multi-step task or in automation; reach for Cursor when you’re working interactively in the editor and want Linear context inline. Many teams wire it into both — see Claude Code vs Cursor for the full breakdown.

What a production setup needs

A working connection is the easy part. The hard part — and what actually matters for letting a team use agents against Linear — is oAuth per user, team scoping, and audit logs for agent-created issues. A well-built server adds scoped credentials, read-only defaults, audit logging, and human approval gates on high-impact actions.

Linear MCP security checklist

What separates a safe team-wide integration from a liability:

  • Scope credentials to the minimum Linear access the task needs — never a full-access token.
  • Default to read-only; add write actions one at a time, deliberately.
  • Log every tool call with who, what, and when, so agent actions are auditable.
  • Keep credentials out of the repo and out of the agent’s sandbox — inject them at the boundary.
  • Gate high-impact or irreversible actions behind explicit human approval.

Troubleshooting

If the Linear tools don’t appear after setup, it’s almost always auth or transport. See MCP server not connecting for the step-by-step fix — and note that hosted servers often need OAuth, not a plain API key. To understand how MCP relates to ordinary tool use, see MCP vs function calling.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official MCP server for Linear?

Official MCP server commonly available. Whichever you use, a production setup needs oauth per user, team scoping, and audit logs for agent-created issues.

How does authentication work for Linear over MCP?

Linear OAuth or a personal API key, scoped to the right teams. Credentials should never live in the sandbox or the repo; route them through your client’s secret handling or a vaulted credential.

What can an agent actually do with Linear?

Let an agent create and update issues from a code change; Pull the spec and acceptance criteria for the issue it’s working on; Summarize the current sprint or a project’s status. Start read-only and add write access deliberately, behind audit logging.

Is it safe to give agents access to Linear?

Yes, when scoped correctly: least-privilege credentials, read-only by default, audit logs on every call, and human approval for any high-impact action. OAuth per user, team scoping, and audit logs for agent-created issues.

Reference current as of June 2026.