Ranked roundup · Linear
Best MCP Server for Linear
The best MCP server for Linear is the one Linear runs itself, which makes this an unusually settled category. Linear launched its official remote server on 1 May 2025 at mcp.linear.app/mcp — hosted by Linear, authenticated over OAuth 2.1, nothing to install — and it remains the default for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, and Zed. The effect on the community scene was predictable: the most-starred community repo (348 stars) is formally deprecated, its author pointing users to the official server, and most of the rest went quiet during 2025. What's left is one actively maintained community server for people who need API-key auth or coverage the official tools don't expose, plus managed aggregators — Composio and Zapier — for teams wiring Linear into a broader stack. Rankings below come from what we could verify on 1 September 2026: official status, commit recency, stars, auth model, and documented capability coverage. Nobody paid for placement.
Facts checked September 1, 2026 · ranked on verifiable criteria · placement is never for sale
Founder, Automation Squad ·
The ranking
- Official · Linear
Almost everyone — the default choice for any MCP-capable client
Find, create, and update issues, projects, and comments; dedicated read-only endpoint at mcp.linear.app/mcp/readonly; Streamable HTTP as primary transport with SSE as a deprecated fallback; native support in Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, and Zed
Remote, hosted and maintained by Linear at mcp.linear.app/mcp — nothing to install or run · OAuth 2.1 with dynamic client registration (browser flow); also accepts a Linear API key or bearer token via Authorization header
- Tool coverage is curated, not the full Linear GraphQL API — no webhook management or workspace admin
- Multiple Linear workspaces need separate connection contexts
- Older clients without remote MCP support need the mcp-remote shim, and Linear's docs note some setups occasionally require manual reconnection
- The SSE endpoint (mcp.linear.app/sse) is deprecated — older configs should migrate to Streamable HTTP
- Community
Teams that need coverage the official server lacks — webhooks, custom fields, documents — or prefer a local API-key setup
Broader surface than the official server: issues, projects, initiatives, milestones, cycles, saved views, documents, templates, custom fields, attachments, and workspace webhook management, plus MCP resources and triage/summary prompts
Self-hosted local stdio via npx (Node.js required) · Linear personal API key in an environment variable; OAuth access tokens also supported · MIT · 146★
- Unofficial — not affiliated with Linear
- A personal API key grants broad workspace access and sits in plaintext env/config, a weaker security model than the official server's OAuth
- 146 stars — real but modest adoption
- Its client-credentials OAuth tokens expire after 30 days with no refresh, per its own docs
- Community
Agent builders routing many SaaS apps through a single managed MCP endpoint
Roughly two to three dozen Linear tools per its docs: read and write issues, projects, teams, users, cycles, comments, and labels, plus milestone and attachment management; dynamic tool loading through Composio's tool router
Managed by Composio; one endpoint can route Linear alongside 1,000+ other app toolkits · Composio account plus Composio API key; Composio brokers and stores the Linear connection
- Unofficial; puts a third party between your agent and your Linear data
- Requires a Composio account and API key — another credential to manage
- Tool behavior tracks Composio's release cycle, not Linear's
- Community
No-code users already on Zapier who want hand-picked, tightly scoped actions
Linear actions from Zapier's catalog (creating and updating issues, etc.) with per-action selection, so you can enable exactly the operations your agent may perform
Managed by Zapier; you paste a Zapier connect URL into your MCP client as a custom server · Zapier account; Linear connects through Zapier's existing Linear integration
- Unofficial; every call routes through Zapier's infrastructure
- Actions are Zapier integration actions rather than a native Linear MCP toolset — expect shallower coverage than the official server
- Usage is tied to your Zapier account and plan
- Community
New setups: nobody. Listed because it's the most-starred community repo and old tutorials still point to it
Five tools: create issue, update issue, search issues, get a user's issues, add comment; plus resource URIs for issue and team views
Self-hosted local stdio (Node.js) · Linear API key via LINEAR_API_KEY environment variable · MIT · 348★
- Formally deprecated — the README says it is no longer maintained and recommends the official Linear remote server
- Last pushed 1 May 2025, the same day the official server launched
- Only five tools; no project, cycle, or team write support
Linear MCP servers compared
| Server | Maintained by | Runs | Auth | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linear MCP server (official) | Linear | Remote, hosted and maintained by Linear at mcp.linear.app/mcp — nothing to install or run | OAuth 2.1 with dynamic client registration (browser flow); also accepts a Linear API key or bearer token via Authorization header | — |
| tacticlaunch/mcp-linear | Community | Self-hosted local stdio via npx (Node.js required) | Linear personal API key in an environment variable; OAuth access tokens also supported | MIT |
| Composio Linear toolkit | Community | Managed by Composio; one endpoint can route Linear alongside 1,000+ other app toolkits | Composio account plus Composio API key; Composio brokers and stores the Linear connection | — |
| Zapier MCP (Linear) | Community | Managed by Zapier; you paste a Zapier connect URL into your MCP client as a custom server | Zapier account; Linear connects through Zapier's existing Linear integration | — |
| jerhadf/linear-mcp-server | Community | Self-hosted local stdio (Node.js) | Linear API key via LINEAR_API_KEY environment variable | MIT |
How to choose
Pick the official Linear server if you want the least friction and the safest auth — OAuth 2.1, hosted, with a read-only endpoint for agents that shouldn't write. That covers most people. Pick tacticlaunch/mcp-linear if you need what the official server doesn't expose — webhooks, custom fields, documents, templates — or you'd rather run locally on an API key. Pick Zapier MCP if you want per-action scoping without code and already pay for Zapier. Pick Composio if Linear is one of many apps behind a single managed endpoint. Skip jerhadf/linear-mcp-server for new setups; it's listed because old tutorials still link to it.
How this ranking works
Every server here is real and was checked against its repository or vendor documentation on the date above — stars and licenses come from the GitHub API, not from memory. Order reflects verifiable criteria only: official support, maintenance recency, adoption, auth model, and documented capability coverage. We do not run paid placements, and we list every caveat we find, including the unflattering ones.
Common questions
- Does Linear have an official MCP server?
- Yes. Linear has hosted one at mcp.linear.app/mcp since 1 May 2025, with a read-only variant at mcp.linear.app/mcp/readonly. It's remote and vendor-maintained — there is nothing to install.
- What does setup and authentication actually look like?
- For the official server you add the endpoint in Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, or Zed and complete a browser-based OAuth 2.1 flow; bearer-token auth with a Linear API key is also supported. Community servers instead take a personal API key in an environment variable, which grants broad workspace access in plaintext. Older clients without remote MCP support need the mcp-remote shim.
- Can I make Linear MCP access read-only?
- Yes — the official server has a dedicated read-only endpoint at mcp.linear.app/mcp/readonly. On Zapier MCP you can approximate this by enabling only read actions.
- Are the community Linear MCP servers still worth using?
- Mostly no. The most-starred one (jerhadf/linear-mcp-server, 348 stars) is deprecated and its own README points to the official server. The exception is tacticlaunch/mcp-linear — pushed as recently as 29 August 2026 — which covers webhooks, custom fields, and documents that the official tools don't expose.
MCP servers we build
Automation Squad publishes its own open-source MCP servers and agent skills, documented with the same rules this ranking uses.