Starting Linear Issue

Gather context for a Linear issue and prepare to begin work.

Load skills: using-linear

Prerequisites

• linear CLI installed and authenticated (linear auth)

Workflow

1. Get the Linear Issue

From URL or ID provided by user:

linear issue view ABC-123

2. Get Related Issues

Check for sub-issues and parent issues:

# Sub-issues (children)
linear issue list --sort priority --parent ABC-123

# If issue has a parent, view it
linear issue view <PARENT-ID>

Include any blocking/blocked relationships shown in the issue view output.

3. Get Project Context

If the issue belongs to a project:

linear project list --team <TEAM_KEY>
linear milestone list --project <PROJECT_ID>

4. Ask for Additional Context

After gathering details, ask:

"Is there any other context you'd like to share before we proceed?"

5. Confirm Approach

After any additional context, ask:

"How would you like me to proceed?"

6. Update Issue Status

Assign the issue and mark it in progress:

linear issue update ABC-123 -a self -s started

7. Create Branch and Begin

By default, start from a clean, up-to-date default branch. Do not assume the current branch is correct, even if its name matches the issue ID.

# Default: start fresh from the default branch
git checkout main
git pull origin main

# Create a new branch in Linear's format
# Format: <issue-id-lowercase>-<title-slugified>
# Example: mdc-123-add-user-auth
git checkout -b mdc-123-add-user-auth

If a local branch with that name already exists, create a fresh one with a different name prefixed with the issue ID.

Sometimes a ticket builds on an unmerged branch from a previous ticket (e.g. a blocking issue or parent task). In that case, the user will make this clear.

Keep branch names concise—truncate long titles sensibly.

Then proceed with the agreed approach.