Quick start

Set the API key in the environment. This keeps it out of the command line argument list and is the recommended form for an automated caller.

export LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_your_key_here

Verify the authenticated viewer:

linear-cli auth whoami

List teams and then read a small issue page:

linear-cli team list --limit 5
linear-cli issue list --team ENG --limit 5
linear-cli issue get ENG-123

Replace ENG and ENG-123 with values from your workspace. A successful command prints JSON like:

{"success":true,"data":[{"id":"...","name":"Engineering","key":"ENG"}],"pagination":{"hasNextPage":false}}

Use --pretty for indented output while investigating a response. The next page cursor, when a command exposes pagination, is in pagination.endCursor.

To avoid repeating a team key for issue and project creation, save it locally:

linear-cli config set default_team ENG
linear-cli issue list --limit 5

Continue with the JSON and command reference or the AI-agent guide.