linear_addIssueLabel
Add a label to an issue in Linear
LABSCO SUMMARY
Issues and projects are the only things that can be created, so an agent can file and triage without being able to restructure the workspace.
Teams, labels and users are read surfaces with no write tool behind them, which puts a hard floor under what a mistaken call can do. Moving an issue through its workflow goes through linear_updateIssue's stateId, and the npm release has no tool that lists a team's workflow states (linear_getWorkflowStates exists only in the source), so that id has to come from somewhere else. Label work is per issue rather than per set — add and remove take one issueId and one labelId at a time.
What it is
A Linear client whose npm release covers 15 tools over issues, projects, teams, labels and users; the repository source defines 32.
What you get
- Issue reads by recency, by identifier or by filter: linear_getIssues for recent ones under a limit, linear_getIssueById by id or identifier such as ABC-123, and linear_searchIssues filtered by query, teamId, projectId, assigneeId and states.
- Issue writes: linear_createIssue with title, description, priority, team, project and assignee, and linear_updateIssue, which additionally takes stateId.
- linear_createComment, which adds a comment to an issue by id.
- Labels moved per issue through linear_addIssueLabel and linear_removeIssueLabel, with linear_getLabels listing what the workspace has.
- Workspace context: linear_getViewer for the authenticated user, plus linear_getOrganization, linear_getUsers, linear_getTeams and linear_getProjects, and linear_createProject with a name, description, state and teamIds.
Requirements
A Linear API token for your organization. The npx configs pass it as LINEAR_API_KEY; the globally installed linear-mcp-server binary takes the same token with --token or LINEAR_API_TOKEN. One of them is enough.
Setup effort
Add the configuration to your client
USE CASES
01
Filing a bug from wherever you happened to find it
The team and project are read first because the issue has to name them, and the label goes on straight after so the new issue lands in the right triage view.
02
Triaging the queue against who is available
Search filters on team, project, assignee and state together, so an unassigned backlog in one team is one call. The update carries the assignee, the priority and the new state.
03
Looking up the issue behind an identifier someone pasted
An identifier such as ABC-123 resolves directly without a search, and a comment can go back on the same issue in the next call.
04
Opening a project and pointing teams at it
A project is created with its state and the teams that own it in one call, which is the only structural change this surface allows.
15 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
linear_createComment
Add a comment to an issue in Linear
linear_createIssue
Create a new issue in Linear
linear_createProject
Create a new project in Linear
linear_getIssueById
Get a specific issue by ID or identifier (e.g., ABC-123)
linear_getIssues
Get a list of recent issues from Linear
linear_getLabels
Get a list of issue labels from Linear
linear_getOrganization
Get information about the current Linear organization
linear_getProjects
Get a list of projects from Linear
linear_getTeams
Get a list of teams from Linear
linear_getUsers
Get a list of users in the Linear organization
linear_getViewer
Get information about the currently authenticated user
linear_removeIssueLabel
Remove a label from an issue in Linear
linear_searchIssues
Search for issues with various filters
linear_updateIssue
Update an existing issue in Linear
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
15 tools when we connected; the project documents 32. The only npm release, @emmett.deen/linear-mcp-server 1.0.0 (28 February 2025), ships these 15, and it is what the install commands fetch. The other 17, among them cycles, workflow states, assigning, archiving and transferring issues, exist only if you build from source.
Requires
- npx on PATH
- Node.js
- LINEAR_API_KEY in your environment
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 32 documented tool definitions. A default launch registers 15, so what rides along on every turn is smaller than this rating suggests
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
MCP Clients
Claude Desktop — npx, Cline — npx
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"linear": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@emmett.deen/linear-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"LINEAR_API_KEY": "<YOUR_LINEAR_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Claude Desktop — binary
CLAUDE DESKTOP — BINARY · TERMINAL
npm install -g @emmett.deen/linear-mcp-serverCLAUDE DESKTOP — BINARY · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"Linear MCP Server": {
"command": "linear-mcp-server",
"args": [
"--token",
"<YOUR_LINEAR_API_TOKEN>"
]
}
}
}
