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recipes / intermediate · 25 min

Claude Code + Linear MCP — turn tickets into PRs in one slash

Wire Claude Code's MCP support to Linear so /feature pulls a ticket, implements, opens a PR, and links back.

Stack: Claude Code

This recipe wires Claude Code to Linear so you can run /feature TICKET-123 and have Claude pull the ticket, implement the work, open a PR, and link the PR back on the Linear card — all from your terminal.

What you need

  • Claude Code installed and signed in
  • Linear workspace + a personal API key
  • A repo where you actually want changes (this isn’t a sandbox demo)

Step 1: Install the Linear MCP server

claude mcp add linear --command "npx" --args "-y" "@linear-mcp/server"

Verify:

claude mcp list

You should see linear listed as connected.

Step 2: Add your Linear API token

claude config set mcp.linear.api_token "lin_api_..."

Don’t commit this — it lives in your local Claude config.

Step 3: Create the slash command

In your repo, drop a file at .claude/commands/feature.md:

---
description: Implement a Linear ticket end-to-end
agent: orchestrator
argument-hint: "<TICKET-123>"
---

# /feature $ARGUMENTS

1. Pull ticket $ARGUMENTS from Linear via MCP.
2. Read the ticket description and acceptance criteria.
3. Plan the implementation (use plan mode).
4. After my approval, implement.
5. Run tests; if they fail, fix.
6. Open a PR with the ticket ID in the title.
7. Add a comment to the Linear ticket linking the PR.

Step 4: Try it

cd your-repo
claude
> /feature ENG-471

The first time, Claude will ask permission to call the Linear MCP. Approve.

Common pitfalls

  • Linear’s API has rate limits. If you bulk-fire /feature, expect 429s. Batch at most 3-5/min.
  • Don’t give Claude write access to Linear unless you’ve sandboxed your account. Read + comment is enough for most cases.
  • PR commit signing — if your repo enforces signed commits, install GPG before this works end-to-end.

Variations

  • Replace Linear with Jira MCP or GitHub Issues MCP — same pattern, different MCP package.
  • Add a reviewer subagent that auto-runs after the PR opens.

Why this matters

Most teams either context-switch between Linear and their editor 30 times a day, or they automate ticket → branch with Lazy scripts. This recipe is the cleanest middle ground: one slash command, full audit trail in both Linear and Git.