Step 1

Clarify the user's goal and scope (e.g., issue triage, sprint planning, documentation audit, workload balance). Confirm team/project, priority, labels, cycle, and due dates as needed.

Step 2

Select the appropriate workflow (see Practical Workflows below) and identify the Linear MCP tools you will need. Confirm required identifiers (issue ID, project ID, team key) before calling tools.

Step 3

Execute Linear MCP tool calls in logical batches:

• Read first (list/get/search) to build context.
• Create or update next (issues, projects, labels, comments) with all required fields.
• For bulk operations, explain the grouping logic before applying changes.

Step 4

Summarize results, call out remaining gaps or blockers, and propose next actions (additional issues, label changes, assignments, or follow-up comments).

Available Tools

Issue Management: list_issues, get_issue, create_issue, update_issue, list_my_issues, list_issue_statuses, list_issue_labels, create_issue_label

Project & Team: list_projects, get_project, create_project, update_project, list_teams, get_team, list_users

Documentation & Collaboration: list_documents, get_document, search_documentation, list_comments, create_comment, list_cycles

Practical Workflows

• Sprint Planning: Review open issues for a target team, pick top items by priority, and create a new cycle (e.g., "Q1 Performance Sprint") with assignments.
• Bug Triage: List critical/high-priority bugs, rank by user impact, and move the top items to "In Progress."
• Documentation Audit: Search documentation (e.g., API auth), then open labeled "documentation" issues for gaps or outdated sections with detailed fixes.
• Team Workload Balance: Group active issues by assignee, flag anyone with high load, and suggest or apply redistributions.
• Release Planning: Create a project (e.g., "v2.0 Release") with milestones (feature freeze, beta, docs, launch) and generate issues with estimates.
• Cross-Project Dependencies: Find all "blocked" issues, identify blockers, and create linked issues if missing.
• Automated Status Updates: Find your issues with stale updates and add status comments based on current state/blockers.
• Smart Labeling: Analyze unlabeled issues, suggest/apply labels, and create missing label categories.
• Sprint Retrospectives: Generate a report for the last completed cycle, note completed vs. pushed work, and open discussion issues for patterns.

Tips for Maximum Productivity

• Batch operations for related changes; consider smart templates for recurring issue structures.
• Use natural queries when possible ("Show me what John is working on this week").
• Leverage context: reference prior issues in new requests.
• Break large updates into smaller batches to avoid rate limits; cache or reuse filters when listing frequently.

Troubleshooting

• Authentication: Clear browser cookies, re-run OAuth, verify workspace permissions, ensure API access is enabled.
• Tool Calling Errors: Confirm the model supports multiple tool calls, provide all required fields, and split complex requests.
• Missing Data: Refresh token, verify workspace access, check for archived projects, and confirm correct team selection.
• Performance: Remember Linear API rate limits; batch bulk operations, use specific filters, or cache frequent queries.