SKILL.md
Mode: Cognitive/Prompt-Driven - No standalone utility script; use via agent context.
Linear PM Skill
Overview
This skill provides comprehensive Linear project management capabilities with progressive disclosure for optimal context usage.
Context Savings: ~92% reduction
- Direct API Mode: ~15,000 tokens for full API documentation
- Skill Mode: ~300 tokens metadata + on-demand loading
Requirements
- LINEARAPIKEY environment variable set
- Internet connectivity for Linear API access
Toolsets
| Toolset | Description |
|---|---|
| issues | Issue creation, updates, comments, state changes |
| projects | Project management and issue association |
| cycles | Sprint/cycle management and planning |
| teams | Team structure and member management |
| labels | Label and workflow state management |
Tools by Category
Issue Operations (Confirmation Required for Mutations)
| Tool | Description | Confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| list-issues | List issues with filters (state, assignee, label) | No |
| get-issue | Get detailed issue information | No |
| create-issue | Create new issue with title, description, team | Yes |
| update-issue | Update issue fields (state, assignee, priority) | Yes |
| add-comment | Add comment to an issue | Yes |
| search-issues | Search issues by text query | No |
| assign-issue | Assign issue to team member | Yes |
| set-priority | Set issue priority (urgent, high, medium, low) | Yes |
| add-label | Add label to issue | Yes |
Project Operations
| Tool | Description | Confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| list-projects | List all projects for a team | No |
| get-project | Get project details and metadata | No |
| project-issues | Get all issues in a project | No |
| create-project | Create new project | Yes |
| update-project | Update project details | Yes |
Cycle Operations (Sprints)
| Tool | Description | Confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| list-cycles | List cycles for a team | No |
| current-cycle | Get current active cycle | No |
| cycle-issues | Get issues in a specific cycle | No |
| cycle-progress | Get cycle completion metrics | No |
Team Operations
| Tool | Description | Confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| list-teams | List all teams in workspace | No |
| get-team | Get team details | No |
| team-members | List team members | No |
Label & State Operations
| Tool | Description | Confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| list-labels | List all labels for a team | No |
| list-states | List workflow states (backlog, to-do, in-progress, done) | No |
| create-label | Create new label | Yes |
Security
- Never expose LINEARAPIKEY in logs or output
- API key should have minimal required permissions
- All tools that modify data require confirmation
Error Handling
- Verify API Key: Check LINEARAPIKEY is set correctly
- Check API Rate Limits: GraphQL 1500 requests/hour; REST 500 requests/hour
- Validate Query Syntax: Ensure GraphQL queries are well-formed
- Check Team/Issue IDs: Verify IDs exist and are accessible
Agent Integration
- planner: Project management and backlog prioritization
- developer: Issue tracking during development
Common Workflows
Sprint Planning
- current-cycle - Get current sprint
- list-issues --state Backlog - Get backlog items
- update-issue --cycle-id ... - Assign issues to sprint
Issue Triage
- list-issues --state Backlog - Get unplanned issues
- set-priority --issue-id ... --priority 2 - Set priority
- add-label --issue-id ... --label bug - Categorize
Project Tracking
- list-projects --team-id ... - Get all projects
- project-issues --project-id ... - Get project issues
- cycle-progress --cycle-id ... - Check sprint progress
Related
- Official Linear API Documentation: <https://developers.linear.app/docs/graphql/working-with-the-graphql-api>;
- Linear GraphQL Explorer: <https://studio.apollographql.com/public/Linear-API/home>;
- Linear Webhook Documentation: <https://developers.linear.app/docs/graphql/webhooks>;
Iron Laws
- ALWAYS verify
LINEARAPIKEYis set before any API call — Linear's API returns a 401 with a generic error message when the key is missing or expired; early validation produces a clear, actionable error. - NEVER create duplicate issues without first searching by title — Linear doesn't deduplicate issues automatically; running the skill twice without a search creates duplicate work items that confuse team tracking.
- ALWAYS use issue state IDs (not state names) when transitioning issues — state names are case-sensitive, locale-dependent, and change when teams rename states; IDs are stable.
- NEVER fetch all team issues without a filter — unbounded team queries return thousands of issues, exhaust the API rate limit, and produce unusable context dumps.
- ALWAYS cache team and project metadata within a session — team IDs and project keys don't change during a session; re-fetching on every operation wastes API quota and slows workflows.
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern | Why It Fails | Correct Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Creating issues without deduplication check | Duplicate issues split tracking; team velocity metrics skewed | Search with a title filter (issues query with filter.title.eq field) before creating |
| Using state names in transitions | Case-sensitive; breaks when team renames state; locale issues | Use workflowState { id } query to get stable IDs; transition by ID |
| Fetching all team issues without filter | Thousands of results; rate limit hit; unusable output | Filter by state, assignee, cycle, or label in GraphQL query |
| Re-fetching team/project metadata per operation | Multiple identical API calls; rate limit waste; slow execution | Fetch team and project IDs once at session start; reuse for all subsequent calls |
| Ignoring pagination cursors | Only first page returned; missed issues cause incomplete reports | Use pageInfo { hasNextPage, endCursor } and paginate until hasNextPage: false |
Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)
Before starting: Read .claude/context/memory/learnings.md
After completing:
- New pattern -> .claude/context/memory/learnings.md
- Issue found -> .claude/context/memory/issues.md
- Decision made -> .claude/context/memory/decisions.md
ASSUME INTERRUPTION: If it is not in memory, it did not happen.