How to connect Linear to Claude: connector and MCP

Short answer

Claude has a Linear connector, made by Linear. Open Customize › Connectors, add Linear from the directory and sign in. It takes a minute, on every plan, Free included. It runs on Linear's own MCP server, the same one Upsy uses, so for many people it's enough. Use Upsy instead if you want limits that hold in Claude Code too, a record of every change, or one Linear connection for all your assistants.

The built-in way

Claude's Linear connector

The directory page lists Linear as made by Linear Orbit, Inc., with the address https://mcp.linear.app/mcp. That's Linear's MCP server, a connector that lets an assistant find, create and update issues, projects and comments. The page lists 22 tools, but the server offered 76 when we connected it in October 2026, including documents, initiatives and your Linear inbox.

Web connectors work for all users in Claude, Cowork, Claude Desktop and the mobile apps (Anthropic's help), and Claude reaches only what your Linear account can open.

On Team and Enterprise, an Owner first adds Linear under Organization settings › Connectors, clicks Browse connectors, then Add to your team. Each member then signs in to Linear with their own account.

Claude Code

Claude Code picks up your claude.ai connectors, so Linear shows up there as "claude.ai Linear". You can also add Linear's server yourself with claude mcp add --transport http linear-server https://mcp.linear.app/mcp, then run /mcp to sign in (Linear's docs).

Where it stops

• Per-tool limits, inside Claude only. Under Customize › Connectors, Linear's tools are grouped into read-only and write/delete, and each can be Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner can set them for everyone. Anthropic's own example: Claude may view Linear issues but not create them or change their status.
• Those settings skip Claude Code. A June 2026 report found that Claude Code in the terminal ignores the approval settings from claude.ai and uses its own allow, ask and deny rules.
• A read-only address exists, but it's all or nothing. Linear also runs https://mcp.linear.app/mcp/readonly, which only offers read tools. You can add it as a custom connector instead of the directory one. On Free, that uses your one custom connector.
• One sign-in. The connector holds one Linear sign-in. Linear says each workspace needs its own sign-in.
• No record outside the chat. What Claude did in Linear lives in each conversation, with no list across chats.

Where Upsy fits

• Limits Upsy enforces itself. Read-only, or only the Linear tools you pick. Upsy refuses the rest on its side, so the limit holds in claude.ai, Claude Desktop and Claude Code alike.
• History: every Linear tool Claude runs is listed in Upsy, with the issue or search it was about.
• More than one Linear account: up to five, each with its own access.
• One setup: connect Linear once, and Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Grok and Muse all use it, each at its own level.
• Your other apps in the same chat, such as turning a Gmail thread into an issue.

What you need

• A Linear account. Linear's docs list no plan requirement for its MCP server.
• Claude on any plan. Upsy is a custom connector, and Free allows one.
• On Team or Enterprise, an Owner. They add Upsy once under Organization settings › Connectors (Add › Custom › Web), then you click Connect.
• Upsy: a free account.

Connect Linear to Claude

1. Sign up at upsy.ai with Set up Upsy.

2. In Upsy, open Apps, click Connect an app and pick Linear. Linear's consent screen opens. Approve access for the workspace you want. There's no API key to create.

3. Open Assistants, click Add assistant and pick Claude under Which assistant?. Copy your Upsy address:

   https://upsy.ai/connect
   

4. In Claude, go to Customize › Connectors. Click Add, hover over Custom and choose Web. Some accounts show an Add custom connector button instead.

5. Name it Upsy, paste the address and click Continue twice, keeping the sign-in settings Claude detects. Then click Add.

6. Click Connect next to Upsy. Sign in on the Upsy page that opens. Linear is ticked and set to All; switch it to Read-only if Claude should only look. Click Allow.

7. In a chat, click +, hover over Connectors and check that Upsy is on.

Each screen is in how to add a custom connector to Claude.

To allow only some Linear actions, use Pick actions on Claude's page under Assistants.

Already using Upsy in Claude? Just connect Linear on the Apps page. It starts at Full access for the assistants you've added, so start a new chat, and lower the level on Claude's page if you want.

Check that it works

Using Upsy, which Linear workspace am I connected to? Then list my open issues, highest priority first.

Claude should name your workspace, then list issues with identifiers such as ENG-142. It may ask before running Upsy's app_read tool the first time. In Upsy's History, you'll see "linear get workspace" and "linear list issues" under Claude.

What Claude can do with Linear

Upsy passes on Linear's own tools. Claude lists them with app_tools, runs the reading ones with app_read and the rest with app_call.

With Read-only, Claude can:

• Find issues by team, status, assignee, label, cycle, project or text, and open one in full, with its attachments and git branch name.
• Read projects, milestones, initiatives, cycles, documents and comments.
• Look up teams, people, statuses, labels, templates and saved views.
• Read project and initiative updates, your Linear inbox, and releases where your workspace uses them.
• Search Linear's own help docs.

With Full access, it can also:

• Create and update issues: title, description, status, assignee, priority, labels, due date, estimate, project, cycle and parent.
• Link issues as blocking, blocked by, related or duplicate.
• Comment on issues, projects and documents.
• Create and update projects, milestones, initiatives, documents and status updates.
• Share an issue with a teammate, and mark inbox items read or snooze them.
• Delete comments, attachments and status updates. When we checked, no tool deleted an issue or a project.
• Review and merge pull requests in Linear's code review, which Linear calls diffs.

With Pick actions, you tick tools one by one. Note that Linear uses one tool, save_issue, to both create and update issues, so ticking it allows both. Leave out merge_diff unless Claude should merge code. Any tool Linear adds later stays off until you tick it.

Read-only allows only tools Linear marks read-only, and never one whose name says it changes something, such as save or delete.

Prompts to try

• "Write my stand-up from Linear: what I moved to Done since yesterday, and what's In Progress now."
• "Summarize the last finished cycle for the Web team. What shipped, what slipped, and which bugs we closed?"
• "Read this spec and propose a Linear project with milestones and issues. Show me the list before you create anything."
• "Comment on ENG-142 with a short summary of what we decided in this chat."

Troubleshooting

"Your account was authorized, but no MCP server was found at the provided URL"

Claude shows this right after the Linear sign-in. In a June 2026 report, Anthropic traced it to a connector saved with Linear's old /sse address, which Linear has removed. In Claude Code, the same cause shows as "DEPRECATED TRANSPORT" on every Linear call, and reconnecting doesn't fix it. Remove the Linear connector in Customize › Connectors and add it again from the directory, which uses /mcp.

"MCP server 'linear' skipped — same command/URL as already-configured 'claude.ai Linear'"

You installed Linear in Claude Code while the claude.ai connector also exists. It's informational: both reach the same server. Disconnect one if the message bothers you.

Linear says "not connected" after /compact in Claude Code

A September 2026 report, still open, describes this in the desktop app. Disconnecting and reconnecting Linear under Connectors brings the tools back in the same session.

"The user hasn't allowed you to use Linear's "save_issue""

That's Upsy refusing a tool outside Claude's level, such as a create or update on Read-only. Change Linear's level on Claude's page in Upsy if Claude should be able to do it.

"Linear access expired. Ask the user to reconnect it in Upsy"

On Upsy's Apps page, click Reconnect next to Linear and approve again.

Claude uses its own Linear connector instead of Upsy

With both connected, Claude may pick either. Say "using Upsy", or switch the Linear connector off for that chat under + › Connectors.

Security and privacy

• Linear's own sign-in. Upsy connects to Linear's MCP server with your Linear login, and the token stays in Upsy. Claude calls Upsy, Upsy calls Linear, and the level you set narrows what Claude may do.
• History: every Linear tool Claude runs is listed under Claude, and so are refused attempts. No one can edit or delete it.
• Alerts: an email when one assistant opens 100 or more items in 10 minutes or deletes 50 or more, and when a new assistant or app is connected.
• Claude's prompts are the check. Upsy has no approval step of its own. It marks app_read as read-only and app_call as able to change things, so Claude's tool permissions can treat them differently.
• Turning it off: set Linear to No access for Claude, click Remove Claude on its page in Upsy, or disconnect Linear on the Apps page.

FAQ

Does Claude have a Linear integration?

Yes. Linear is in Claude's Connectors Directory, built by Linear, on every plan. Upsy adds per-action access and a history on top.

Is Claude's Linear connector an MCP server?

Yes. It connects to https://mcp.linear.app/mcp, Linear's hosted MCP server. Upsy connects to the same server.

Can Claude create Linear issues?

Yes, with either one. Through Upsy, Claude needs Full access, or Pick actions with save_issue ticked.

Can I make Claude read-only in Linear?

Yes. Set Linear's write/delete tools to Blocked under Customize › Connectors, or add Linear's /mcp/readonly address as a custom connector. Through Upsy, set Linear to Read-only for Claude; Upsy refuses changes itself, in Claude Code too.

Can Claude use two Linear workspaces?

With Upsy, yes, up to five Linear accounts with different email addresses. Upsy tells Linear accounts apart by email, so signing in again with the same email replaces the earlier connection.

Does it work in Claude Code?

Yes. Run claude mcp add --transport http upsy https://upsy.ai/connect, then /mcp to sign in. Claude Code gets its own level in Upsy. See Claude Code MCP servers.