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Linear Zapier integrationAutomate Linear with Zapier.

The Linear Zapier integration gives you 15 triggers, 9 actions and 5 searches to plug your issues, projects and customer requests into a Zap, the automation you build on Zapier. Every trigger is instant, even on the free plan.

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Overview

What the Linear Zapier integration actually does

It connects your Linear workspace to Zapier, so what happens in Linear (a new issue, a comment, a project update, a customer request) can start steps in your other tools. In the other direction, a Zap can open issues, label them, comment on them, or create projects and customers from data that lives elsewhere.

Three results teams usually build. Requests that become work: New Customer Need picks up what a customer asked for, and Create Issue puts it in the right team's backlog. Status that reaches people who never open Linear: New Project Update or New Initiative Update sends the latest written update to your chat or email tool. Triage that sorts itself: New Issue starts the Zap, a filter reads the title, and Add Label to Issue tags it before anyone looks.

The limits are just as clear. Nothing can be deleted from a Zap: there is no action to remove an issue, a project or a customer. Projects can be created but not edited, and documents only appear through their comments. Zapier also ignores everything that existed before the Zap went live, so your current backlog is not replayed.

If you are comparing tools, read the Linear n8n integration and the Linear Make integration pages, built on the same plan.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Eight words carry the whole page. Here they are in plain terms, once, so the rest reads easily.

Zap
The automation you build: one trigger that starts it, then one or more actions that run every time that event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that sets the Zap off. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for that event to happen.
Action
What the Zap does once it has started: the step that writes, sends or moves something for you in an app.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action completed successfully. Your plan's allowance is counted in tasks.
Polling vs instant
Polling: Zapier checks the app on a timer for new items. Instant: the app calls Zapier itself as soon as the event occurs.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when the incoming data meets your condition, and stops it otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already in an app, so the steps after it can use what it found.
Connection
Your Linear account, linked to Zapier once and then reused by every step of every Zap that touches Linear.
Cost

What it really costs in tasks

Linear is not reserved to paid plans: it runs on the free one. Triggers cost nothing, and so does waiting for new events.

  • Free plan100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps only
  • TriggerNever billed
  • Each successful action1 task
  • Search or filterMakes the Zap multi-step

Each action that succeeds is one task, and each action in a Zap counts separately, so three actions use three times what one action uses. A failed action is not billed. The free plan builds two-step Zaps only: one trigger, one action. Add a filter, a search or a second action and the Zap becomes multi-step, which needs a paid plan. Since all 15 Linear triggers are instant, the polling grid below never slows them down, whatever your plan.

Connect

Connect Linear to Zapier in three steps

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, go to Apps and click + Add connection. In the dialog that opens, type Linear in the search box and pick it from the list of results.

  2. 02

    Sign in to Linear

    Click Add connection. A new tab opens on Linear: log in with the account that belongs to the workspace and the teams your Zaps will read from or write to.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Approve the access Zapier requests. Once that is done, the connection is saved in your Zapier account, ready to be selected in any Zap step that uses Linear.

First Zap

Your first Linear Zap, step by step

GoalWhen a comment on an issue mentions a blocker, tag that issue so it stands out on the board.

  1. 01

    Pick the trigger

    Create a Zap, choose Linear as the app and New Issue Comment as the event, then select your Linear connection from the list.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test: Zapier brings back the three most recent comments from your workspace, so you map the next steps on a real one rather than a sample.

  3. 03

    Add the filter

    Add a Filter step from the plus icon: pick the comment body, a text rule, and the word to look for. The Zap is now multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.

  4. 04

    Add the action

    Choose Add Label to Issue, map the issue from the trigger, and pick the label to apply. Both fields are required, so the label must already exist in Linear.

  5. 05

    Test and publish

    Run each step once and check that the label really landed on the issue. When it did, click Publish to switch the Zap on.

Triggers

Linear triggers on Zapier

15 events start a Zap when something happens in Linear, and 15 of them are instant: the app calls Zapier straight away, whatever your plan.

1

New Customer

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new customer is created.”

Starts the Zap as soon as someone adds a customer record in Linear, with the record ready to copy into the next step.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
keeping your CRM or billing tool aware of every account your product team starts tracking.
Watch out
this reacts to new records only; edits to an existing customer belong to Updated Customer.
2

New Customer Need

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new customer request is created.”

A customer need is a request attached to a customer in Linear. This trigger fires when one is logged, so the request can travel further.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
pushing every new request into the issue backlog of the team that owns that part of the product.
Watch out
Create Issue needs a team, so decide in advance which team receives these requests.
3

New Document Comment

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new document comment is created.”

Reacts to fresh comments left on Linear documents, which makes it the only way this integration hears about document activity at all.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
pinging the author of a spec in your chat tool when a reviewer leaves a note on it.
Watch out
there is no trigger for a new document itself, only for the comments posted on one.
4

New Initiative Update

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new initiative update is created.”

Picks up each written update posted on an initiative, and hands its text to the rest of the Zap.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
sending leadership a digest line in email each time an initiative owner reports progress.
Watch out
edits to an update already posted go through Updated Initiative Update, not this one.
5

New Issue Comment

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new issue comment is created.”

Fires on every comment added to any issue, so a reply on any piece of work can be routed or turned into an alert.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
flagging comments that mention a blocker, as in the first Zap described above.
Watch out
if the Zap posts a comment back with Create Comment, it will set itself off again.
6

New Issue

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new issue is created.”

An issue is created in the team you choose, and the Zap starts with that issue to work with.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
copying new bugs into the support tool so the agent who reported them can follow along.
Watch out
the Team field is mandatory, so the trigger watches the team you pick there.
7

New Project

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new project is created.”

Wakes up when a project is created anywhere in the workspace, so the people around it hear about it without checking Linear.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
creating a matching folder or channel in another tool for each project that kicks off.
Watch out
projects already running when you publish the Zap are not picked up afterwards.
8

New Project Update Comment

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new project update comment is created.”

Narrower than the issue comment trigger: it only listens to replies posted under a project update, and leaves every other kind of comment aside.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
alerting the project lead when someone questions the status they just posted.
Watch out
comments under issues or documents go through their own triggers, not this one.
9

New Project Update

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new project update is created.”

Each time a lead writes a status update on a project, this hands the text over to the Zap.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
relaying project updates to stakeholders who live in email or chat rather than in Linear.
Watch out
an update reworded after posting fires Updated Project Update instead.
10

Updated Customer

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a customer is updated.”

Catches changes made to an existing customer record, so the copy in your other tools does not drift away from Linear.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
syncing a renamed account or a changed owner into your CRM.
Watch out
any edit counts, so add a filter if only one field matters to you.
11

Updated Customer Need

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a customer request is updated.”

When a customer request is updated, this lets the Zap know, which keeps the people waiting on that request in the loop.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
telling the account manager that a request they logged has changed.
Watch out
every edit fires it, so a filter keeps the noise down when only some changes matter.
12

Updated Initiative Update

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an initiative update is updated.”

Someone corrected an initiative update after posting it: this trigger passes the revised version on, so no outdated text keeps circulating.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
replacing the earlier message in a shared status log with the corrected one.
Watch out
a small typo fix fires it too, so readers may get the same update twice.
13

Updated Issue

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an issue is updated.”

Any change on an issue in the chosen team starts the Zap with the issue as it now stands.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
telling a customer-facing tool when the bug it reported moves to done.
Watch out
Update Issue or a label action on the same issues will loop; filter on what changed.
14

Updated Project

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a project is updated.”

Follows edits on projects across the workspace, whatever the change, and passes the project as it now stands.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
updating a planning sheet the rest of the company reads instead of Linear.
Watch out
small edits count as much as big ones, so filter on the field that matters.
15

Updated Project Update

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a project update is updated.”

The edit counterpart of New Project Update: when a posted update gets reworded, the Zap receives the new text.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
keeping an archived copy of project updates accurate after their authors fix them.
Watch out
pair it with New Project Update only if both versions should be sent.
Actions

Linear actions on Zapier

Linear gives you 9 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Add Label to Issue

Action

In Zapier“Add a label to an existing issue in Linear”

Puts an existing label on an existing issue, which is the quickest way to make an automated decision visible on the board.

When to use it
marking issues raised by key accounts so they jump out during triage.
Watch out
both the issue and the label are required, and the label must already exist.
2

Create Customer

Action

In Zapier“Create a new customer in Linear”

Adds a customer record to Linear with just a name required, so requests can be tied to it later.

When to use it
mirroring new paying accounts from your billing tool into Linear.
Watch out
Linear has no find-or-create variant on Zapier, so nothing checks for an existing customer first.
3

Create Customer Need

Action

In Zapier“Create a new customer need in Linear”

Logs a request on behalf of a customer, so feedback gathered outside Linear is counted next to the rest.

When to use it
sending feature requests collected by your sales team straight into Linear.
Watch out
pick the customer the request belongs to, so it is counted where it should be.
4

Create Issue Attachment

Action

In Zapier“Create a new issue URL attachment in Linear”

Links a URL to an issue as an attachment, so a recording, a ticket or a document sits one click away from the work.

When to use it
attaching the help desk conversation that triggered a bug report.
Watch out
it attaches a link, not a file; both the issue and the URL are mandatory.
5

Create Project

Action

In Zapier“Create a new project in Linear”

Sets up a new project with a name and the teams that will work on it, both required.

When to use it
spinning up a delivery project each time a deal is signed in your CRM.
Watch out
the Teams field is mandatory, so the project cannot be created without at least one team.
6

Create Comment

Action

In Zapier“Create a new issue comment in Linear”

Posts a comment on an issue, written in markdown, so news from another tool lands where the team already discusses the work.

When to use it
adding the customer's latest reply from your help desk to the issue it concerns.
7

Create Issue

Action

In Zapier“Create a new issue in Linear”

Opens a new issue in the team you choose, filled with whatever earlier steps carried in.

When to use it
turning a support ticket or a form answer into tracked work without retyping it.
Watch out
the Team field is mandatory, so decide which team receives these issues before mapping the rest.
8

Remove Label From Issue

Action

In Zapier“Remove a label from an existing issue in Linear”

The reverse move: takes a label off an issue once the reason for it is gone.

When to use it
clearing a waiting-on-customer label as soon as the customer answers.
Watch out
both the issue and the label are mandatory, so map them from earlier steps.
9

Update Issue

Action

In Zapier“Update an existing issue in Linear”

Changes an issue that already exists, located by its ID, with new values mapped from earlier steps.

When to use it
closing an issue automatically when the matching ticket is resolved elsewhere.
Watch out
the issue ID is required, so it usually comes from a trigger or a Find Issue by ID step before it.
Searches

Linear searches on Zapier

5 search steps look for data that already exists in Linear, so a later step can use it.

A search step finds something already in Linear and passes it on. In the editor, these sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under SEARCH. Three settings decide what happens next.

1

Find Customer by ID

Search

In Zapier“Find a customer by ID”

Fetches one customer record from its Linear ID, so later steps can read its name and details.

When to use it
checking that a customer exists before Create Customer Need attaches a request to it.
Watch out
it needs the exact ID, not a name, so the ID must come from an earlier step.
2

Find Issue by ID

Search

In Zapier“Find an issue by ID or identifier”

Looks up one issue by its ID or by the short identifier the team sees in Linear.

When to use it
getting an issue's current status when another tool only stored its identifier.
Watch out
a wrong identifier finds nothing, which stops the Zap unless you changed that setting.
3

Find Issues by Name

Search

In Zapier“Find issues by name”

The only text search here: it matches part of an issue title, without caring about upper or lower case.

When to use it
spotting whether a bug reported by a customer already has an issue before opening a new one.
Watch out
partial matching can return several issues, so check the multiple-results setting.
4

Find Comments on Issue

Search

In Zapier“Find comments on a Linear issue by ID or identifier (e.g. SAM-15).”

Brings back the comments of one issue, found by ID or by an identifier such as SAM-15.

When to use it
pulling the discussion of an issue into a summary sent to a client.
Watch out
an issue can carry many comments, so check the multiple-results setting first.
5

Find Project by ID

Search

In Zapier“Find a project by ID or slug ID”

Retrieves a project from its ID or its slug ID, whichever the earlier step carries.

When to use it
reading a project's details before posting about it in another tool.
Watch out
it does not search by project name; the ID or slug ID must come from earlier.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    Left on its default, a search that finds nothing ends the Zap there and the steps relying on it are skipped. Switched on, the Zap continues with an empty result.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    This box turns a search into a find-or-create on apps that offer it. Linear exposes no such variant on Zapier, so the editor will not show it here.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out: keep the first match, which is the default, stop the Zap, or pass every match on at once.
When it breaks

When the Linear Zap breaks

Zapier lists no Linear-specific error, so the trouble comes from its general rules.

These four cases cover what usually goes wrong with a Linear Zap. For a full method, see our Zapier troubleshooting guide.

  • A loop between trigger and action

    Updated Issue plus Update Issue, or a label action, on the same issues restarts the Zap after each write. Every round costs a task until you add a filter.

  • The existing backlog is never sent

    A Zap only reacts to events after you publish it. Issues and projects that already existed stay where they are; moving them is a separate job.

  • A bulk change held back

    Moving or importing many issues at once can trigger a huge batch. Zapier's flood protection may hold that batch back.

  • A search that stops everything

    With default settings, a search that finds no match ends the run there, and the steps after it never happen. Decide this setting before publishing.
Need help

Need help automating Linear with Zapier?

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FAQ

Linear Zapier integration: frequent questions

01Is the Linear Zapier integration free?
Yes, Linear runs on the free Zapier plan, because Zapier does not keep it for paid plans. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps, meaning one trigger and one action. As soon as you add a filter, a search or a second action, the Zap is multi-step and needs a paid plan. Your own Linear subscription is a separate question that this page does not cover. Every Linear trigger is instant, so the free plan loses nothing on speed.
02How many tasks does a Linear Zap use?
One task per action that completes, and nothing for the trigger. A new issue that runs a Zap with two actions costs two tasks; one that a filter stops early costs only what ran before the filter. Failed actions are not billed. Watch the loops: a Zap that updates the issues its own trigger watches can spend a month's allowance quickly, since every update starts it again. A filter placed right after the trigger is the cheapest guard against that.
03Does Linear trigger Zapier in real time?
Yes, all 15 Linear triggers are instant. Linear tells Zapier the moment the event happens, so the Zap starts right away on every plan, the free one included. The polling intervals of the plans (15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise) do not apply to them. In the editor, a Zap built on an instant trigger shows a lightning bolt. Speed is therefore not a reason to upgrade here; the step limit is.
04What does it take to connect Linear to Zapier?
A Linear account in the workspace you want to automate, with access to the teams and projects the Zap will touch. You add the connection from the Apps page of Zapier, sign in to Linear in the tab that opens, and approve the access. Several steps ask for a team, so the account must belong to it. The connection is made once and reused by every Zap. If a step cannot reach a team, check that account's access in Linear first.
05Why does a Linear Zap keep running on its own?
Almost always because it writes into what its own trigger watches. Updated Issue fires on any change, so a Zap that then updates, labels or comments on the same issue sets itself off again. Add a filter right after the trigger that only lets through the change you care about, or trigger on New Issue instead. Each extra round costs a task, so it is worth fixing quickly, before the monthly allowance runs out.
06What if the Linear operation you need is missing?
The 29 visible operations cover issues, comments, labels, projects and customers, with no delete action and no project edit. When one is missing, a search step can sometimes bridge the gap by fetching an ID for an existing action. Otherwise, check whether another automation tool offers that operation for Linear, or ask whether the step really needs to be automated at all. API access outside Zapier is a separate project.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Linear?
There is no single winner, only criteria. On Zapier, the facts for Linear are on this page: 15 instant triggers, 9 actions, 5 searches, and billing per successful action. Put the same questions to any other tool you consider: which Linear events can start an automation and how fast, which actions and searches exist, and how usage is billed. Then decide on those answers and on the tool your team already runs.
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