Linear
Connect Linear to create, assign, and track issues across projects, cycles, teams, and roadmaps for your software team.
You paste one value into PopMCP: a Linear personal API key beginning with lin_api_, shown exactly once when you create it.
- Setup time
- 3 min
- Auth
- API credentials
- API base URL
- https://api.linear.app/graphql
- Rate limits
- Personal API keys get 2,500 requests and 3,000,000 GraphQL complexity points per hour per user, on a rolling one-hour window, with a 10,000-point ceiling on any single query.
Before you begin
- A Linear workspace you are a member of
- Permission to create personal API keys. A workspace admin can switch this off for Members under Settings, Administration, API, Member API keys.
- Membership of the teams whose issues you want the MCP to reach
Get your credentials
Open Security & access in your account settings
Press G then S, or click your workspace name and choose Settings. Under Account, click Security & access and scroll to Personal API keys.
Security & access
Sessions, passkeys, API keys and authorized applications for your Linear account.
- Chrome on macOS
- Sydney, AU. Current session
- Linear for iOS
- Sydney, AU. 2 days ago
| Label | Permissions | Teams | Created | Last used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CI botlin_api_****2B77 | Read | All teams | Mar 4, 2026 | Mar 9, 2026 |
Existing keys are listed by label. Linear never re-displays a key's value.
Create a new API key
Click New API key and enter a label such as PopMCP. Choose Full access or tick individual permissions, set team access, then click Create.
Security & access
Sessions, passkeys, API keys and authorized applications for your Linear account.
Leave team access as All teams unless you want a deliberately narrower key.
Copy the key while it is on screen
Click Copy in the dialog. The value starts with lin_api_ and Linear does not show it again.
Security & access
Sessions, passkeys, API keys and authorized applications for your Linear account.
This is the only time the full value is displayed.
Paste the key into PopMCP
In PopMCP, paste the value into API key and click Save.
Connect in PopMCP
Open your workspace, choose Linear in the marketplace, and fill in the connect dialog:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| API keysecret | In Linear, open Settings → Security & access → "New API key", give it a label, create it, and paste it here. Stored encrypted; used server-side only. The key inherits your workspace permissions and doesn't expire until you revoke it.Encrypted with AES-256-GCM on save and never shown again. |
PopMCP verifies the credential against Linear immediately. On success the connection flips to Verified and its MCP tools are provisioned.
Verify it worked
PopMCP marks the Linear connection as Connected and an issue-listing tool returns real issue identifiers such as ENG-142 from the teams the key can reach.
Troubleshooting
401 `Authentication required, not authenticated`
Why: The key was sent with a `Bearer ` prefix, or was pasted incomplete.
Fix: Paste the raw `lin_api_` value with no prefix and no surrounding whitespace. Linear expects the bare key in the `Authorization` header and PopMCP sends it that way.
There is no New API key button
Why: A workspace admin has restricted personal API key creation under Settings, Administration, API, Member API keys.
Fix: Ask an admin to allow key creation for Members, or to issue a key on your behalf.
You are on a page that only lists OAuth applications
Why: You opened the workspace-wide **API** page under **Administration**, which controls who may create keys.
Fix: Go to **Account**, **Security & access** instead. Personal keys live there.
Reads work but creating an issue fails with an access error
Why: The key was created with Read-only permissions, or scoped to a team that does not contain the target issue.
Fix: Create a replacement key with Write or Full access and, if needed, All teams.
429 Too Many Requests
Why: You crossed the hourly request or GraphQL complexity budget. Quotas are per user and shared across all of that user's keys.
Fix: Back off until the rolling hour clears, then request fewer fields or smaller pages per query.
The key was lost before copying
Why: Linear displays a key only at creation time.
Fix: Delete the key from **Security & access** and create a new one.