How do I find my Linear Personal API Key?

Go to [**Linear Settings > API**](https://linear.app/settings/api) and click **Create API Key**. Give it a descriptive name like 'Vinkius MCP' and copy the generated key immediately — it won't be shown again.

Can I create new issues with assignees and labels?

Yes! Use the `create_issue` tool with the required `team_id` and `title` parameters. Optionally provide `assignee_id`, `priority` (0-4), `description` in Markdown and `label_ids` as a comma-separated list. The agent will return the created issue's identifier and URL.

Does the agent have access to delete issues or modify team settings?

No. This server focuses on read operations and safe mutations — creating issues, updating fields and adding comments. Destructive actions like deletion or team configuration changes are not exposed, keeping your workspace secure.

Linear MCP Server for Claude Desktop 12 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: Linear
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 12 Tools IDE

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.

Get MCP Server for AI Agents

ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER

Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude Open in Perplexity

Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

RecommendedModern Approach — Zero Configuration

Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install Linear and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

Download Free Open SourceNo signup required

Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear": {
      // Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Fully ManagedVinkius Servers

60%Token savings

High SecurityEnterprise-grade

IAMAccess control

EU AI ActCompliant

DLPData protection

V8 IsolateSandboxed

Ed25519Audit chain

<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About Linear MCP Server

Connect your Linear workspace to any AI agent and take full control of your issue tracking and sprint workflows through natural conversation.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect Linear to your AI workflow. Add Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 12 tools in the chat interface. ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.

What you can do

User & Team Discovery — Retrieve the authenticated user profile and list all teams configured in your Linear workspace
Issue Management — List, search, inspect and create issues with full metadata including assignees, labels, priority and state
Project Oversight — Browse all active projects, view their status and drill into specific project details by ID
Comments & Collaboration — Add comments to issues to keep your team context aligned without switching to the Linear app
Cycle Tracking — List all sprint cycles for any team, including start/end dates and completion progress
Label Organization — View all issue labels used for categorization across teams

The Linear MCP Server exposes 12 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect Linear to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the Linear MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json

Add the MCP Server

Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server

Start using Linear

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat. your 12 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the Linear MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with Linear through the Model Context Protocol.

Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client. it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available

Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface

Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions

Enterprise-grade security with local config storage. your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to Vinkius Edge network

Linear + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the Linear MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation

Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies. all through natural language

Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary

Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation

Linear MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (12)

These 12 tools become available when you connect Linear to Claude Desktop via MCP:

create_comment

The body supports Linear Markdown format including @mentions and ~~strikethrough~~. Add a comment to a Linear issue

create_issue

Requires the team ID and issue title. Optionally set description, assignee, priority (0=No priority, 1=Urgent, 2=High, 3=Normal, 4=Low) and label IDs. Create a new Linear issue

get_issue

Use the issue ID (UUID) or the human-readable identifier (e.g. TEAM-123). Get full details for a Linear issue

get_project

Get details for a specific Linear project

get_viewer

Useful to verify which account the API token belongs to. Get current authenticated Linear user details

list_cycles

Each cycle has a number, name, start date, end date and completion progress percentage. List Linear cycles (sprints) for a team

list_issues

Optionally filter by team ID to get issues for a specific team only. List Linear issues

list_labels

Optionally filter by team ID. Each label has a name, color and optional description. List Linear issue labels

list_projects

Projects group issues across multiple teams. Use optional limit to control how many results to fetch. List Linear projects

list_teams

Each team has a unique ID, name, key prefix and optional description. Use this to discover teams before querying their issues or cycles. List all Linear teams

search_issues

Optionally filter results to a specific team. Returns issues with identifier, title, state, priority, assignee and URL. Search Linear issues by text

update_issue

Provide the issue ID (UUID) and only the fields you want to change. Update an existing Linear issue

Example Prompts for Linear in Claude Desktop

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with Linear immediately.

"Show me all unresolved issues assigned to the Engineering team."

"Create a new issue in the Backend team titled 'Add rate limiting to /api/search endpoint' with high priority."

"What's the current sprint cycle progress for the Mobile team?"

Troubleshooting Linear MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting Linear to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

Server not appearing after restart

Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).

Authentication error

Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.

Tools not showing in chat

Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting. wait a few seconds.

Linear + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating Linear MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?

When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.

What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?

Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully. if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.

Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?

Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.

Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?

Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.

Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?

Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL. Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.