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Linear
Modern issue tracking and project management
ProductivityFree
Linear — Official Website
Quick Take: Linear
4.7
Linear stands out as an exceptionally fast and developer-centric project management platform, ideal for modern software teams prioritizing efficiency and streamlined workflows. Its minimalist interface, powerful automations, and growing AI capabilities significantly accelerate product delivery. While it might lack the extensive customization of older tools or features for non-software teams, its focus on developer productivity and seamless integrations make it a top choice for high-growth tech companies.
Best For
- •Software Development Teams
- •Agile Product Teams
- •Startups and High-Growth Tech Companies
Install with Homebrew
brew install --cask linear-linearWhat is Linear?
Linear (linear.app) is a modern project management and issue tracking platform tailored for software development teams. It prioritizes speed, simplicity, and a minimalist interface to efficiently manage bugs, features, and roadmaps. Focusing on developer-centric workflows, Linear aims to accelerate product shipping by streamlining common tasks and integrating advanced AI capabilities. Since its founding in 2019 by Karri Saarinen (formerly of Airbnb) and Tuomas Artman (formerly of Uber), Linear has grown rapidly and is now used by thousands of companies worldwide, including notable adopters like Vercel, Retool, Loom, and Ramp. The platform processes millions of issues monthly, and its real-time sync engine ensures that every update propagates to all connected clients in under 50 milliseconds, making collaboration feel instantaneous even across distributed teams.
Deep Dive: Linear's Approach to Modern Software Development
Linear has rapidly emerged as a leading project management solution by rethinking traditional issue tracking. It prioritizes a highly opinionated, fast, and developer-centric approach, contrasting with the complexity of legacy tools. This deep dive explores its core philosophy, technical foundation, expansive ecosystem, and future trajectory.
History & Background
Founded to eliminate friction in software development, Linear aimed to create a tool developers would enjoy. Its rapid adoption by startups and high-growth companies showcases its success in delivering a modern, performant, and intuitive experience, quickly establishing itself as a viable alternative to established platforms.
How It Works
Linear is a cloud-based application, emphasizing speed and real-time synchronization across all clients. Its architecture likely leverages modern web technologies and efficient database structures to ensure near-instantaneous updates and responsiveness. Dedicated desktop and mobile apps further enhance performance and user experience by providing native capabilities and optimized interfaces.
Ecosystem & Integrations
The ecosystem thrives on seamless integrations and an active community. It connects natively with essential developer tools like GitHub, design platforms like Figma, and communication hubs like Slack, creating a unified workflow. An open API further empowers developers to extend its functionality, cultivating a vibrant ecosystem of custom integrations and community-driven enhancements.
Future Development
Linear's future roadmap points to continuous innovation, particularly with growing investment in AI-powered workflows and agents, aiming for 'Self-driving SaaS.' Recent updates like Advanced Filters, Linear MCP for product management, and Time in Status indicate a commitment to refining core functionalities and expanding its utility for product managers and engineering leaders.
Key Features
Issue Tracking
Teams quickly create, prioritize, and resolve tasks, bugs, and feature requests with rich context, custom fields, and markdown support.
Projects
Linear groups related issues into larger initiatives, offering milestone tracking and progress visualization with automated updates for stakeholders.
Cycles (Sprints)
Designed for agile teams, cycles enable time-boxed sprint planning with automatic rollover of incomplete work and capacity planning tools.
Views & Filters
Users create custom views and apply filters by team, label, or priority to focus on relevant work, visualizing tasks in Kanban boards, lists, and timelines.
Keyboard-First Navigation
Optimized for speed, extensive keyboard shortcuts reduce mouse reliance, accelerating task management and developer productivity.
Automated Workflows
Automates common project management tasks, including custom issue templates and status updates, to streamline development processes.
Integrations
Offers seamless integrations with popular developer and collaboration tools like GitHub, Slack, Figma, Sentry, Zendesk, and Intercom.
AI-Powered Workflows & Agents
Incorporates AI agents and workflows to streamline product development, assisting with tasks from drafting PRDs to pushing PRs.
Who Should Use Linear?
1Software Engineer
An engineer quickly finds, updates, and resolves bugs using Linear's keyboard-first navigation and custom filters. They efficiently locate issues, add details via markdown, and mark them complete.
2Product Manager
A product manager tracks new feature progress across teams, ensuring alignment with the roadmap. Linear's Projects allow grouping issues, visualizing milestones, and receiving automated updates to keep plans current.
3Scrum Master/Team Lead
A scrum master plans sprints, manages team capacity, and tracks progress within time-boxed cycles. Linear's Cycles feature simplifies planning, monitors workload, and supports retrospectives with automatic rollover.
4Design Team Member
A designer collaborates on UI/UX tasks, linking work to engineering issues via Figma integration. Design files attached directly to Linear issues ensure visibility and foster seamless collaboration with developers.
5Customer Support Agent
A support agent escalates user requests from Intercom/Zendesk into actionable engineering bugs. Linear Asks converts these external requests into structured issues, ensuring feedback is tracked and addressed.
How to Install Linear
Linear is a versatile application accessible across multiple platforms, ensuring teams can work wherever they are most comfortable. It offers both web-based access and dedicated desktop and mobile clients for optimal performance and convenience.
1
Access via Web Browser
Simply navigate to linear.app in your preferred web browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari). Linear is a cloud-based application, so no software installation is required for web access, making it instantly available.
2
Download Desktop Clients
For a dedicated experience, download the native desktop application for macOS (supporting both Intel and Apple Silicon) or Windows. Desktop clients often provide enhanced performance and features like offline mode.
3
Install Mobile Apps
Stay connected on the go by installing the native Linear mobile applications. These are available for download on the Apple App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices, offering full task management capabilities.
Pro Tips
- • Utilize the web application for quick access from any device without installation.
- • For a more focused and potentially offline experience, consider installing the dedicated desktop app.
- • Customize your mobile app navigation to suit your daily workflow for maximum efficiency on the go.
Configuration Tips
Master Keyboard Shortcuts for Speed
Linear is built for speed, and mastering its extensive keyboard shortcuts will dramatically accelerate your workflow. Dedicate time to learn common commands to navigate, create, and update issues without reaching for your mouse, enhancing your productivity.
Customize Views and Filters for Focus
Leverage Linear's powerful custom views and filters to create personalized dashboards for your specific needs. Filter by team, label, project, or priority to focus on relevant work, visualize tasks in Kanban boards or lists, and quickly find what matters most.
Set Up Automated Workflows
Streamline repetitive tasks by configuring automated workflows, such as custom issue templates or automated status updates. This reduces manual effort and ensures consistency across your team's issue management process, freeing up time for actual development.
Optimize Cycles for Agile Sprints
For agile teams, optimize your Cycles (sprints) by effectively using capacity planning and automatic rollover features. This ensures realistic sprint commitments and smooth transitions between cycles, preventing bottlenecks and maintaining continuous delivery.
Alternatives to Linear
Several alternatives offer similar project management and issue tracking functionalities, each with unique strengths:
J
Jira
Jira is an enterprise-grade solution known for its extensive customization options, robust structure, and workflow flexibility. It's often preferred by large organizations with complex requirements, offering deep configurability where Linear prioritizes simplicity and speed.
C
ClickUp
ClickUp positions itself as an 'everything app for work,' integrating project management, document creation, goal tracking, and team communication. While more feature-rich and general-purpose, Linear maintains a sharper focus on developer workflows, which can lead to a less cluttered experience for engineering teams.
A
Asana
Asana excels at cross-functional project management and timeline visualization, making it ideal for coordinating complex initiatives across various departments. Linear, by contrast, is more specialized for software development, offering a more tailored experience for engineering and product teams.
N
Notion
Notion is a knowledge-first alternative that combines note-taking, database management, and light project management, offering unparalleled flexibility for documentation and knowledge sharing. While Notion can be adapted for project tracking, Linear provides a more structured and opinionated workflow specifically for issue and project management in software development.
Pricing
Tiered Subscription (Freemium, Per-User)
Linear offers a freemium model with a Free tier and three paid tiers: Basic, Business, and Enterprise. The Free plan supports unlimited members with up to 2 teams and 250 active issues, making it ideal for small startups or side projects. The Basic plan starts at $8 per user per month (billed annually) and unlocks unlimited issues, teams, and advanced integrations. The Business tier runs $14 per user per month and adds features like time-based SLAs, advanced analytics dashboards, and priority support. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, dedicated customer success managers, and custom contract terms. Annual billing provides roughly a 20% discount compared to monthly payments. Notably, viewer seats are free across all plans, so stakeholders and executives can track progress without adding to your seat count.
Pros
- ✓Exceptional speed and a highly responsive, minimalist interface.
- ✓Developer-centric design streamlines software development workflows.
- ✓Extensive keyboard shortcuts enable rapid navigation and task management.
- ✓Powerful automation features reduce manual overhead and boost efficiency.
- ✓Robust integrations with popular developer and collaboration tools.
- ✓Innovative AI-powered workflows and agents enhance productivity.
- ✓Comprehensive project and sprint management with Cycles and Projects.
Cons
- ✗No built-in time tracking, requiring third-party integrations.
- ✗Lacks a native public roadmap feature, needing external tools for public visibility.
- ✗Less suitable for non-software teams compared to general-purpose PM tools.
- ✗Offers less extensive customization compared to highly flexible alternatives like Jira.
- ✗Primarily cloud-based, with desktop apps offering some offline capabilities, but not a fully offline-first solution.
Community & Ecosystem
Linear boasts a vibrant and growing community, especially among startups and high-growth tech companies, with strong adoption across engineering, product, and design teams. The company reports that over 10,000 organizations now rely on Linear for their daily development workflows. Its robust ecosystem is supported by native integrations with critical tools like GitHub, Slack, Figma, Sentry, Zendesk, and Intercom. Furthermore, Linear provides a comprehensive GraphQL API, empowering developers to build custom integrations and expand the platform's utility, fostering a truly connected workflow. The Linear community Slack group has thousands of active members sharing tips, workflows, and integration ideas. The official changelog and blog are updated regularly, keeping users informed about new features, performance improvements, and upcoming roadmap items. Community-built tools like linear-mcp and linear-sync extend the platform into new automation and AI workflows.
Video Tutorials
Getting Started with Linear
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Frequently Asked Questions about Linear
While Linear is purpose-built and highly optimized for software development teams, other departments can certainly use it. However, they might find more comprehensive value and features tailored to their specific needs in more general-purpose project management tools.
Our Verdict
4.7/5
Linear stands out as an exceptionally fast and developer-centric project management platform, ideal for modern software teams prioritizing efficiency and streamlined workflows. Its minimalist interface, powerful automations, and growing AI capabilities significantly accelerate product delivery. While it might lack the extensive customization of older tools or features for non-software teams, its focus on developer productivity and seamless integrations make it a top choice for high-growth tech companies.
Best for:Software Development TeamsAgile Product TeamsStartups and High-Growth Tech Companies
About the Author
Productivity & Workflow Analyst
Productivity ApplicationsNote-Taking & Knowledge ManagementTask & Project Management
8+ years in operations management · PMP certified
Related Technologies & Concepts
LinearJiraGitHubAI AgentsCyclesLinear Asks
Linear (Core Platform), Jira (Alternative Project Management), GitHub (Version Control), AI Agents (Workflow Automation), Cycles (Agile Sprints), Linear Asks (Request Management)
Related Topics
Agile Project Management
Focuses on Linear's support for agile methodologies, including sprints (Cycles), capacity planning, and retrospective tools.
Developer Productivity Tools
Highlights features designed to enhance developer efficiency, such as keyboard-first navigation, issue tracking, and integrations with development tools.
AI in Project Management
Explores Linear's innovative use of AI agents and workflows to automate and streamline various product development tasks.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Discusses how Linear facilitates collaboration between engineering, product, and design teams through integrations and shared project views.
Sources & References
Fact-CheckedLast verified: Feb 15, 2026
Key Verified Facts
- Linear is a modern project management and issue tracking platform specifically designed for software development teams.[linear-about-page]
- It emphasizes speed, simplicity, and a minimalist interface.[linear-about-page]
- Linear offers a Free tier with unlimited members, up to 2 teams, and 250 issues.[linear-pricing-page]
- Linear incorporates AI agents and workflows to streamline product development.[linear-ai-announcement]
- Native mobile applications for iOS and Android allow users to manage tasks on the go.[linear-mobile-apps]
- 1About Linear - The fastest way to build software
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 2Linear Pricing - Plans for every team
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 3Introducing AI Agents: Self-driving SaaS for Product Development
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 4Linear Changelog - February 2026 Updates
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 5Linear Mobile Apps: Work on the go
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 6Linear Integrations Directory
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 7Linear Help Center - Frequently Asked Questions
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
Research queries: Linear app features; Linear pricing tiers; Linear alternatives Jira; Linear AI workflows; Linear mobile app; Linear changelog 2026; Linear integrations
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