Integrations

Linear

beta

Connect Linear as a permission-scoped source, install @HiveBase as a Linear agent, or brief Linear's own agent over MCP.

Last updated 2026-09-13

Linear is HiveBase's task-tool beachhead and a source-first integration. HiveBase keeps Linear data owned by Linear, observes verified changes into a permission-scoped cache, and lets you explicitly create or link a HiveBase task from an individual cached issue. When @HiveBase is installed as a Linear agent, assigning or mentioning it starts work under the assigning member's authority.

Connecting verifies authorized teams and prepares the private source cache. It does not bulk-import projects, start Brain seeding, or silently turn Linear events into HiveBase tasks. Connect ≠ watch ≠ Brain ≠ writeback ≠ @HiveBase.

What happens when you connect

HiveBase completes the Linear OAuth flow and verifies the returned account and workspace.
It verifies the teams that authorization can access. The resulting source cache remains connector-private, including private or unknown-privacy teams; no HiveBase team mapping is created. Connecting Linear does not install @HiveBase — that is a separate admin install (see Install @HiveBase as a Linear agent). Linear's own agent can still read HiveBase over MCP (see Brief Linear's own agent (MCP)).
Verified Linear webhooks can update HiveBase's private source cache.
When you choose Browse cached Linear issues, HiveBase shows only issues it has already observed and that you are still allowed to see.
You can choose Create HiveBase Task for an issue, link that issue to an existing task, or — once @HiveBase is live — assign the issue to @HiveBase.

Brain sharing requires a separate decision

OAuth leaves company Brain sharing off. An owner or admin must explicitly enable “Share eligible Linear context with everyone” in settings. Even then, private Linear teams and artifacts with unknown team privacy are excluded. The source picker still reads HiveBase's existing connector-private cache only. A provider-team grant and provider write authority are separate decisions.

What stays in Linear

Data or action	Current behavior
Issues, projects, cycles, comments, and relationships	Remain Linear-owned source data. HiveBase retains a permission-scoped cache of verified objects.
Changes after a task is created	Appear as source context or drift; they do not silently overwrite the HiveBase task.
Creating, updating, assigning, or commenting on Linear issues	Not live yet for human-identity writeback. Fail-closed until each action is live-certified.
@HiveBase assign / @mention / delegate	Gated until the agent installation is live-certified. Receipts post in the Linear agent session, never as a human.
Scheduled Brain enrichment	Off by default and available only after an explicit workspace setting is persisted.

Connect Linear

Open Integrations

In HiveBase, go to Settings → Integrations.

Connect Linear

Find Linear and select Connect. Complete Linear's authorization screen for the account and workspace you intend to use. Each teammate who will assign @HiveBase must link their own Linear account.

Browse cached issues when ready

Back in HiveBase, select Browse cached Linear issues. This is an intentional action; it does not fetch a workspace from Linear.

Create or link one task

Choose an eligible cached issue and create a HiveBase task, or link it to work that already exists in HiveBase.

Install @HiveBase as a Linear agent

@HiveBase is a Linear agent, not a Linear seat. An admin installs it once for the workspace; each teammate still links their own Linear identity.

Limited preview

@HiveBase is rolling out workspace by workspace. Install in Linear only appears on the Linear card for workspaces in the preview; if you do not see it, the agent is not open to your workspace yet. Everything else on this page — connecting Linear, cached issues, and the MCP briefing below — is available today.

Admin installs in Linear

In HiveBase, go to Settings → Integrations → Linear and choose Install in Linear. Linear asks the admin to pick teams. Approve the app under Linear Third-Party App Approvals if your workspace requires it.

Each teammate links Linear

Member links on the Linear card show how many teammates have connected. Anyone who will assign or @mention @HiveBase must Connect Linear from HiveBase. Unmapped members get a connect link in the Linear session; external/guest Linear users get a generic reply and are not invited.

Assign, @mention, or delegate

On a Linear issue, assign @HiveBase, @mention it, or delegate. Two session types: verify (mention on an issue that already carries a PR — HiveBase posts a SHA-bound verdict) and dispatch (start a coding mission).

Runs on the assigning member's Desktop

Dispatch runs on that member's HiveBase Desktop and subscriptions. There is no cloud runner on this path. If Desktop is not open, Linear and the HiveBase Task page both say to open HiveBase on your Mac — the work is not silently queued in the cloud.

@HiveBase never acts as a human

Receipts (thought, plan, elicitation, action, response, error) post as the agent in the Linear agent session. HiveBase does not post comments or status changes under a teammate's Linear identity for this work.

A Linear-started mission counts as one mission from your HiveBase plan. Reads over MCP are free. @HiveBase is not a Linear seat.

The settings card says Live only after the agent session is live-certified. Until then it reads Installed · Not live yet.

Brief Linear's own agent (MCP)

Separately from installing @HiveBase, Linear's own agent can call HiveBase directly as an MCP tool provider. This is a context-briefing capability, not delegation: HiveBase does not gain authority over Linear, and Linear Agent does not gain authority to run HiveBase workflows.

Add HiveBase as an MCP server in Linear

In Linear, go to Settings → Agents → MCP Servers and add:

https://mcp.hivebase.ai

Linear's MCP setting is workspace-wide. Whoever adds the URL becomes the identity Linear Agent reads HiveBase as — not the whole company.

Ask Linear Agent to use it

Once added, Linear Agent can call HiveBase's tools mid-conversation. Try:

“Brief yourself on this issue before you start.”
“What has HiveBase already decided about this?”
“Record what you just decided so the next agent inherits it.”

context.brief, context.remember, and decision.record accept an optional work_item reference, so Linear Agent can scope a brief or a decision to the exact issue it is working rather than the whole company.

Copy the same URL from HiveBase Settings → AI clients. See Connect over MCP for the underlying tool contract.

Disconnecting and your data

Disconnecting stops future access and revokes the affected connection. Cached objects remain quarantined evidence and lose shared reachability; HiveBase does not use a disconnected credential to refresh them. Reconnect never silently reactivates prior Brain or team-sharing authority. Uninstalling @HiveBase is a separate admin action from disconnecting a member's Linear link.

FAQ

Does connecting Linear import my projects?

No. HiveBase does not bulk-import Linear projects or browse a workspace on connection. You can intentionally work from individual cached issues that HiveBase has already observed and that you can access.

When can Linear content be shared with my company Brain?

Only after an owner or admin explicitly enables the company-sharing setting. Eligible public-team documents, projects, initiatives, and issue context may then be read for Brain enrichment. Private Linear teams are excluded, and an unknown team affiliation fails closed.

Will a Linear update overwrite my HiveBase task?

No. After explicit promotion or linking, later Linear changes remain source context and drift evidence. They do not silently update the HiveBase task.

Can HiveBase write back to Linear today?

Human-identity comments, status, labels, and assignment stay fail-closed until each action is live-certified. Certified update_title is live. Agent work reports through the Linear agent session, not as a human comment.

What is the difference between @HiveBase and the MCP server?

@HiveBase is the assignable Linear agent. Installing it lets you assign or @mention HiveBase on an issue; HiveBase runs the work under the assigning member's authority and posts receipts in the agent session.

The MCP server (https://mcp.hivebase.ai) lets Linear's own agent read HiveBase context. It does not dispatch HiveBase missions. The MCP setting is workspace-wide, so the account that adds the URL is the identity Linear Agent reads as.