Tech AI Insights

I Built a Linear API MCP Server for Cursor: Automate Project & Issue Management

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Introduction

Linear API MCP Server makes managing projects and issues effortless. If you’re tired of switching between your project management tool and command line, automating tasks such as creating projects or managing issues becomes essential for speed and accuracy.

That’s why I built a Linear API MCP Server for Cursor, a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI agents like Claude interact with Linear API seamlessly. Now, Cursor can create projects, assign issues, and fetch team/user information automatically using structured prompts.

To understand the underlying architecture and concept of MCP, check out our detailed blog on What Is MCP Server?

This blog explains how the Linear API MCP Server works, how to set it up, and how to connect it to Cursor for full automation.

You can also view the full source code of this project on GitHub: Linear API MCP Server Repository

Implementation Demo

Watch a quick demo of the Linear API MCP Server in action — see how easy it is to manage projects and issues via CLI and AI prompts.

Why Linear API MCP Server Matters

Automation improves productivity and reduces errors. By integrating Cursor (Claude) with Linear:

  • ✅ Better Performance – Avoid manual mistakes in repetitive tasks
  • ✅ Scalability – Automate large-scale project and issue creation
  • ✅ Maintainability – Reusable commands simplify long-term workflows

Developers can now focus on building applications while AI agents handle project management tasks intelligently.

Key Features of Linear API MCP Server

Project Management

  • ✅ Create Projects with custom names, descriptions, priorities, and content
  • ✅ List Projects in your workspace
  • ✅ View Project Details
  • ✅ Delete Projects

Issue Management

  • ✅ Create Issues with titles, descriptions, priorities, and project assignments
  • ✅ List Issues assigned to the current user
  • ✅ Delete Issues
  • ✅ Auto-Assignment to the authenticated user

Team & User Management

  • ✅ Get Team Info
  • ✅ Get Current User Info
  • ✅ Default Team automatically used for operations

Installation and Configuration

Prerequisites

Installation

git clone https://github.com/TechAIInsights/linear-mcp-server.git
cd linear-mcp-server
npm install
echo "LINEAR_API_KEY=your_linear_api_key_here" > .env

Connecting Linear MCP Server to Cursor

To enable Cursor (Claude AI) to interact with your MCP server, register it in mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/repo/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_KEY": "your_linear_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Explanation:

  • linear-mcp – Name Cursor recognizes.
  • command – Command to run MCP server (node).
  • args – Path to the compiled entry file (dist/index.js).
  • env – Environment variables, e.g., LINEAR_API_KEY.

Once configured, Cursor can call the MCP server to create projects, manage issues, and retrieve team/user information automatically using natural language prompts.

Architecture Overview

  • ✅ Model Context Protocol (MCP) for structured AI-agent communication
  • ✅ Modular Tool Design — Separate modules for project, issue, team, and user tools
  • ✅ Standardized Responses — Ideal for AI consumption
  • ✅ Error Handling — Context-aware messages for easier debugging
  • ✅ Type Safety — Full TypeScript support

🛠️ Available Tools

Project Management

  • create-project – Create a new Linear project
  • get-all-project – List all projects
  • view-project-detail – Get detailed project information
  • delete-project – Delete a project by ID

Issue Management

  • create-issue – Create a new issue
  • get-all-issues – List all assigned issues
  • delete-issue – Delete an issue by ID

Team & User Tools

  • get-team-info – Get team information
  • current-user – Get current user information

Example Workflow with Claude AI

User: Break the “Implement Contact API Endpoints” issue into multiple issues, one for each endpoint.

Claude: I’ll break down the API endpoints issue into separate issues for each endpoint and create the appropriate relationships.

Step 1: Create Issues

create-issue "Create Contact Endpoint"
create-issue "Update Contact Endpoint"
create-issue "Delete Contact Endpoint"

Step 2: Create Issue Relations

create-issue-relation "Create Contact Endpoint" depends-on "TypeScript Models"
create-issue-relation "Update Contact Endpoint" depends-on "TypeScript Models"
create-issue-relation "Delete Contact Endpoint" depends-on "TypeScript Models"

Pro Tips for Developers

  • Integrate MCP Server with CI/CD pipelines to automatically create issues when tests fail.
  • Use npm scripts for scheduled project automation.
  • Explore Linear API Documentation for custom commands.

Developer Scripts

  • npm run dev – Development mode with hot reload
  • npm run build – Compile TypeScript
  • npm run start – Production mode
  • npm run clean – Remove compiled output

Conclusion

The Linear API MCP Server for Cursor enables AI-driven automation of project and issue management. By integrating Cursor (Claude AI) with Linear API, developers can streamline repetitive workflows, improve productivity, and ensure consistent project tracking.

👉 Visit the Linear API Documentation to explore more.

For more insightful tutorials, visit our Tech Blogs and explore the latest in Laravel, AI, and Vue.js development.

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