Linear MCP Server

A production-ready Model Context Protocol server for the Linear API.

This template lets Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code, and other MCP-compatible clients list Linear issues, inspect issue details, create issues, list teams, and list projects through controlled Linear tools.

Built as a starter template for teams that want a secure baseline before adding company-specific issue tracking, engineering workflow, and project management automation.

Who this is for

This repository is useful for:

• developers building AI assistants for Linear workspaces,
• engineering teams connecting Linear to Claude, Cursor, or AI agents,
• platform engineers who need a clean TypeScript MCP server example,
• agencies building Linear automation for clients,
• teams that want controlled Linear read/write tools with authentication and rate limiting.

Features

• TypeScript + Express MCP server
• Linear GraphQL API client
• API key protection for /mcp
• Rate limiting for MCP requests
• Health endpoint at /health
• Structured Pino logging
• Zod-based environment validation
• MCP tools for issues, teams, and projects
• Jest + Supertest test setup
• GitHub Actions CI workflow
• Dockerfile and Docker Compose support

Architecture

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf
        │
        │  HTTP POST /mcp
        │  X-API-Key: <MCP_API_KEY>
        ▼
  Express Server
        │
        ├── JSON body parser
        ├── Rate limiter
        ├── API key middleware
        │
        ▼
   MCP SDK Handler
        │
        ├── list_issues    ─┐
        ├── get_issue      ─┤
        ├── create_issue   ─┤──► Linear GraphQL API
        ├── list_teams     ─┤
        └── list_projects  ─┘

  GET /health → Linear API dependency status

See the larger diagram in docs/architecture.md.

Source Code

The complete production-ready Linear MCP Server template is available on GitHub.

Repository:

https://github.com/kamolc4/linear-mcp-server

The repository includes:

• Complete TypeScript source code
• Linear GraphQL API client
• MCP tools for issues, teams, and projects
• GitHub Actions CI
• Jest test suite
• MIT License
• Claude Desktop and Cursor configuration
• Production deployment examples

Fork the repository or download it as a ZIP to start building immediately.

Available MCP tools

Tool	Purpose
list_issues	List Linear issues with optional filters for team, assignee, state, and priority.
get_issue	Retrieve a Linear issue by ID or identifier such as ENG-123.
create_issue	Create a new Linear issue in a selected team.
list_teams	List Linear teams available to the configured API key.
list_projects	List Linear projects, optionally filtered by team.

Quick start

1. Clone and install

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/kamolc4/linear-mcp-server.git

cd linear-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm ci

2. Configure environment

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env:

PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development
LOG_LEVEL=info

LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_your_linear_api_key
LINEAR_API_URL=https://api.linear.app/graphql

MCP_API_KEY=replace-with-a-long-random-secret

RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS=60000
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS=100

3. Run locally

npm run dev

4. Check health

curl http://localhost:3000/health \
  -H "X-API-Key: replace-with-your-mcp-api-key"

5. List MCP tools

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "X-API-Key: replace-with-your-mcp-api-key" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}'

Linear API setup

This starter template uses a Linear API key.

1. Open Linear.
2. Go to workspace settings.
3. Open API settings.
4. Create a personal API key or use a workspace token appropriate for your use case.
5. Add it to .env as LINEAR_API_KEY.

For production, use a managed secret store and rotate API keys regularly.

If your Linear deployment uses OAuth or a brokered token service, replace the static LINEAR_API_KEY loading with per-user or per-workspace token resolution.

Connect to Claude Desktop

Build and start the server first:

npm run build
npm start

Then add an MCP server entry in your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear": {
      "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "replace-with-your-mcp-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after editing the configuration.

Connect to Cursor

In Cursor, add a new MCP server using the HTTP endpoint:

{
  "name": "linear",
  "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
  "headers": {
    "X-API-Key": "replace-with-your-mcp-api-key"
  }
}

Then restart Cursor or reload the MCP server list.

Security notes

This template is safer than a minimal demo, but you should harden it before production use.

Recommended production changes:

• Store LINEAR_API_KEY and MCP_API_KEY in a managed secret manager, not in plain .env files.
• Rotate MCP_API_KEY regularly.
• Add per-user or per-workspace authorization if multiple users will access the server.
• Restrict write tools such as create_issue behind approvals.
• Add audit logs for every MCP tool call.
• Use HTTPS in production.
• Review Linear API permissions and keep scopes minimal.
• Add monitoring for Linear API failures and rate limit responses.

Security Review

Verify this server with MCPForge:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/verify

MCPForge can help review:

• exposed tools,
• authentication behavior,
• health checks,
• compatibility with MCP clients,
• risk level of write operations,
• security posture before publishing or deployment.

Verified MCP profile:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/verified/linear-mcp

Starter template on MCPForge:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/code/linear-api-client-template

Read the complete Linear MCP Server guide:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-server

Related MCPForge guides:

• Linear MCP OAuth: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-oauth
• Linear MCP Setup: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-setup
• Linear MCP with Claude: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-with-claude
• Linear MCP with Cursor: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-with-cursor
• Linear MCP Security Review: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/linear-mcp-security-review
• Best MCP Servers for Claude Code: https://www.mcpforge.tech/blog/best-mcp-servers-for-claude-code

Deployment

A common production setup:

1. Deploy this service to Railway, Render, Fly.io, AWS, GCP, Azure, or a private Kubernetes cluster.
2. Configure environment variables in the hosting provider.
3. Set LINEAR_API_KEY and MCP_API_KEY as protected secrets.
4. Verify /health before connecting production MCP clients.
5. Test /mcp with tools/list.
6. Run a public or private verification with MCPForge.

Local development commands

npm run lint
npm run typecheck
npm test
npm run build

API endpoints

Method	Path	Description
GET	/health	Health and Linear connectivity check.
POST	/mcp	MCP endpoint protected by X-API-Key.

Releases

Latest stable release:

v1.0.0

See the Releases page for the full changelog.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome.

If you want to improve this Linear MCP Server template, open an issue or submit a pull request.

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Browse the complete collection:

https://www.mcpforge.tech/code

License

MIT — see LICENSE.