name: linear-cli description: Manage Linear issues from the command line using the linear cli. This skill allows automating linear management. allowed-tools: Bash(linear:), Bash(curl:)

Linear CLI

A CLI to manage Linear issues from the command line, with git and jj integration.

Prerequisites

The linear command must be available on PATH. To check:

linear --version

If not installed, follow the instructions at:
https://github.com/schpet/linear-cli?tab=readme-ov-file#install

Available Commands

linear issue      # Manage issues (list, view, create, start, update, delete, comment)
linear team       # Manage teams (list, members, create, autolinks)
linear project    # Manage projects (list, view)
linear config     # Configure the CLI for the current repo
linear auth       # Manage authentication (token, whoami)
linear schema     # Print the GraphQL schema (SDL or JSON)

Discovering Options

To see available subcommands and flags, run --help on any command:

linear --help
linear issue --help
linear issue list --help
linear issue create --help

Each command has detailed help output describing all available flags and options.

Using the Linear GraphQL API Directly

Prefer the CLI for all supported operations. Direct API calls via curl are slower and should only be used as a fallback for advanced queries not covered by the CLI. For complex queries involving multiple calls, write and execute a script.

To make direct API calls, use linear schema and linear auth token:

1. Check the schema for available types and fields

Write the schema to a tempfile, then search it:

# Write schema to a tempfile (cross-platform)
linear schema -o "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"

# Search for specific types or fields
grep -i "cycle" "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"
grep -A 30 "^type Issue " "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"

# View filter options
grep -A 50 "^input IssueFilter" "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/linear-schema.graphql"

2. Get the auth token

linear auth token

3. Make a curl request

curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $(linear auth token)" \
  -d '{"query": "{ issues(filter: { team: { key: { eq: \"CLI\" } } }, first: 5) { nodes { identifier title state { name } } } }"}'

Example queries

# Get issues assigned to current user
curl -s -X POST https://api.linear.app/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: $(linear auth token)" \
  -d '{"query": "{ viewer { assignedIssues(first: 10) { nodes { identifier title state { name } } } } }"}'

linear-cli