In my previous posts, I showed how I used Claude with Composio's MCP layer to skip dashboards and manage tools like Neon and Supabase from a Claude session window. I also shared how I automated my day-to-day Jira tasks using the same approach. So if you're interested, check out that post too..

Linear and Jira both handle project Management, but Linear's focus is on fast, modern issue tracking, perfect for developers who want a smooth experience. Still, even in Linear, opening the UI every time you want to create a bug, assign tasks, or update statuses can get old fast.

So, I used the Linear MCP server from Composio, connected it to Claude Code, and now you can manage Linear projects just from your terminal, i.e., no UI, no endless clicking.

What is MCP?

This time, let’s briefly explain MCPs with a use-case lens:

Think of MCPs as a way to turn APIs into something that Claude can “understand” and “use”, like plugging tools into some AI Agent’s brain.

If you want more background on it, check out my Jira blog or Anthropic’s MCP overview.

What can a Linear MCP Server do?

Let’s say you’re in a flow, ideating or writing code, and you suddenly think:

“I should create a bug ticket and assign it to someone in the frontend team.”

With Linear MCP and Claude, you just type:

“Create a bug in the Payments project called “Fix refund edge case crash” and assign it to @alex.”

… and it’s done.

No switching tabs. No forms, no remembering project IDs.

What you can do with Linear MCP:

• Create issues using LINEAR_CREATE_LINEAR_ISSUE
• Update issue status, title, priority with LINEAR_UPDATE_ISSUE
• Delete issues when no longer relevant using LINEAR_DELETE_LINEAR_ISSUE.
• Fetch issue details on demand with LINEAR_GET_LINEAR_ISSUE

And there are a lot of tools you can use: Follow this docs page.

Why use Composio for this?

Let’s say you’re building a productivity AI or just want to let Claude manage your Linear workspace without building everything yourself. If you connect directly to Linear’s API or its MCP, you’d still need to handle:

• OAuth flows or personal access tokens.
• Managing sessions and tokens.
• Keeping everything updated with Linear’s API changes

Composio handles all of that for you. It acts as an integration layer that hosts MCP specs, handles auth, so all you have to do is to pick Linear from Composio’s integrations list and start prompting.

What we’ll be covering

In this post, we’ll go through:

• What’s a Linear MCP and how it works
• How to set it up using Composio
• Using the MCP server with Claude Code in your terminal

How to set up the Linear MCP using Claude Code

You can easily set up a Composio MCP in 2 ways:

Option 1: Quick Setup via Composio MCP page

1. Head over to the Composio MCP Page for Linear
2. Switch to the Claude tab.
3. Click Generate, then copy the generated command.
4. Paste and run it in your terminal.

npx @composio/mcp@latest setup "https://mcp.composio.dev/partner/composio/linear/mcp?customerId=[your-customer-id]&agent=claude" "linear-vbusm8-8" --client claude

1. Copy the config to your local project:

cp ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json .mcp.json

1. Start Claude, and ask it to authenticate you with Linear MCP. It’ll generate an Auth URL to authenticate and authorize your Client.

I could have saved a few tokens if I passed a correct prompt, i.e., to initiate connection using linear mcp..

Option 2: Use the Composio Dashboard

If you want to set up scopes, test actions, or run more advanced flows:

1. Head over to the Composio Dashboard
2. Navigate to MCP Configs, then hit Create MCP Config.
3. Give a name to the MCP config, pick Linear from the list of toolkits, and select how you want to handle authentication → Select the tools you want to use from the list.
4. In the integration step, look for Linear in the MCP Configs page, and proceed by clicking Create MCP.
5. Once that’s done, you’ll be prompted to connect your Linear account. A new tab will open where you can log in and grant the necessary permissions.
6. After that, a modal will appear with a ready-to-run npx command, copy and run it in your terminal to use the MCP with Claude code.

Once everything’s connected, test it right in the Playground in Composio first.

Example:

Create a bug in the Growth project titled "Login button unresponsive", and add "Users can't click the button on mobile."

Using the Linear MCP Server with Claude Code

Now that it’s all set up, try prompting Claude with things like

• “Create a bug in the Billing project with priority High.”
• “Assign this issue to Emily and label it urgent.”
• “List all tasks due this week.”

You can run this from Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or your own CLI wrapper using HTTP.

Conclusion

The blog post isn’t about Linear’s UI being bad (it’s super cool), but because sometimes I just want to think in tasks, not a typical dashboard. If you’re building your own AI workflows or just want a more natural way to manage issues, give the Linea MCP a try.

The best part? Once you’ve set up one MCP, doing the same for other tools like Github, Supabase, or Notion feels like a simple 5-minute job.