Linear MCP server with Atomic Agent

Linear hosts an official MCP server at https://mcp.linear.app/mcp over Streamable HTTP. It can find, create and update issues, projects and comments. Atomic Agent connects to it with a Linear API key sent as a bearer header.

Config

{
  "name": "linear",
  "description": "Linear issues and projects",
  "transport": {
    "kind": "streamable_http",
    "url": "https://mcp.linear.app/mcp",
    "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer lin_api_YOUR_KEY" }
  }
}

Replace lin_api_YOUR_KEY with a personal API key from Linear › Settings › Account › Security & Access. Paste the real value: Atomic Agent sends headers exactly as written and does not expand ${VAR}.

Where to add it:

• Desktop app: Settings › Connections › MCP servers › Add server, paste the object, press ⌘Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Windows and Linux), then Restart on the new row.
• Terminal UI: /mcp add, paste the object. It connects right away.
• By hand: add the object to mcp.servers in ~/.atomic-agent/config.json and restart the agent.

Read-only variant

If the agent only needs to look things up, point it at Linear’s read-only endpoint, which exposes read tools only. Because nothing on it can write, you can let those tools skip the approval prompt:

{
  "name": "linear-read",
  "trust": "pure_read",
  "transport": {
    "kind": "streamable_http",
    "url": "https://mcp.linear.app/mcp/readonly",
    "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer lin_api_YOUR_READ_KEY" }
  }
}

For a second layer, create the key with only the Read permission. Linear documents both options in its MCP docs.

What to ask the agent

Tools arrive as mcp.linear.<tool>. Some prompts that work well:

• “List my open Linear issues in the current cycle, grouped by status, and flag anything with no estimate.”
• “Read NOTES.md and turn each action item into a Linear issue in the Platform team. Show me the list before you create anything.”
• “Find the Linear issue about the login redirect bug, read its comments, then search this repo for the code it mentions and post a comment with the likely cause.”
• “Summarize what the Mobile team closed this week, one line per issue, for a standup note.”

The second and third prompts mix Linear with the agent’s own tools (reading files, searching code). That is where connecting Linear to a local agent pays off: the agent has your working copy and your tracker in one place.

Tokens and approvals

• Where the key lives. In ~/.atomic-agent/config.json, in plain text. The agent writes that file with owner-only permissions (0600) on macOS and Linux. Do not commit it or paste it into chats.
• Why an API key, not OAuth. Linear’s interactive setup uses OAuth 2.1, and Atomic Agent does not run the MCP OAuth flow. Linear accepts API keys and OAuth access tokens directly in the Authorization: Bearer header, which is the path shown here.
• What asks for approval. On the read-write endpoint every Linear tool that is not marked read-only by the server asks before it runs. Creating or editing issues always waits for you. In the TUI, Ctrl+Y approves one call; Ctrl+F allows the whole category for the session, which also covers every other MCP tool, so prefer Ctrl+Y for writes. At approval level 5 (full trust) nothing asks.
• Changing its own key always asks. Writes to config.json and .env stay behind an approval prompt at every level below 5 (full trust), and a session grant does not cover them.

Troubleshooting

Row shows failed with a 401. The key is wrong, revoked, or still contains a placeholder such as ${LINEAR_API_KEY}. Paste the literal key and press Restart.

Connected, but the agent cannot see a team. API keys can be limited to specific teams and permissions. Check the key’s settings in Linear.

Create calls fail on linear-read. That is the read-only endpoint working as intended. Add the read-write server for writes.

Answers about large projects look truncated. Each tool result reaches the model capped at about 8,000 characters. Ask for one team, cycle or label at a time.

FAQ

Is this the official Linear MCP server?

Yes. mcp.linear.app is hosted and maintained by Linear. Community servers on GitHub use the Linear API directly and are a different thing.

Does it work with a local model?

Yes. The MCP server runs at Linear; the model that decides which tool to call can be local or a cloud provider you configured. Issue titles and descriptions you fetch go into that model’s prompt.

Can I connect two Linear workspaces?

Add two entries with different name values (for example linear-work and linear-side) and a key from each workspace.

Do I need mcp-remote?

No. Linear suggests mcp-remote for clients without remote MCP support. Atomic Agent speaks Streamable HTTP natively.

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Checked on 22 Oct 2026 against Atomic Agent v0.6.10 and Desktop v0.0.4, and linear.app/docs/mcp.