Linear time tracking integration — log hours against Linear issues

Connect Linear to SquadBear, search issues from your timesheet, and log time against them. One-way and read-only — nothing is written back to Linear.

SquadBear connects to Linear so people can attach a real Linear issue to a time entry — found through a search picker, not typed from memory. Nothing is mirrored or synced; an issue becomes a task only when someone logs hours against it.

What the Linear integration does

It lets you log time against Linear issues from your SquadBear timesheet. On My week, the Work items panel's Search tab runs Linear's own full-text issue search as you type, and results carry the ENG-123 badge. Picking one drops it onto the grid as a task and logs your hours. The first log against an issue creates a single task for it; logging against that same issue again reuses that task, so its running total keeps growing rather than starting over.

Because a Linear ENG-123 key changes when an issue moves team, Linear issues must be picked from search results — SquadBear logs against the issue's stable id, not the display key.

How to connect Linear

An admin connects Linear in a single step:

Go to Time Logging → Projects (admin only) and find the Linear integration card.
Click Connect and paste a Linear API key — a personal API key from your Linear API settings. The key is bound to its own workspace, so Linear needs nothing else.
SquadBear verifies the key against Linear before saving and stores it encrypted.

To narrow a project to one Linear team, set that project's issue-tracker scope to the team key (e.g. ENG). See Connect an issue tracker for the full walkthrough.

See issues assigned to you

The Work items panel's Assigned tab lists Linear issues assigned to you, once your Linear account (its user id) is linked to your employee record. Linking is self-serve through a connected agent, or an admin can do it for you.

Log time against Linear with an assistant

With a connected assistant over MCP, search and log against Linear in plain language:

What stays in sync

Only an issue's key and cached title come from Linear, refreshed the next time someone logs against it. No worklog is ever written back, and status and assignee aren't stored beyond the live Assigned-tab query. Disconnecting hides the pickers and Assigned tab; hours already logged stay exactly as they are.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to connect Linear?

A single Linear API key (a personal API key from your Linear API settings). Linear needs nothing else — the key is bound to its own workspace. SquadBear verifies it before saving and stores it encrypted.

Can I type a Linear issue key from memory?

No — Linear issues must be picked from search results. A Linear ENG-123 key changes when an issue moves team, so SquadBear logs against the issue's stable id, which you can't type by hand.

Does anything get written back to Linear?

No. The integration is read-only and one-way. SquadBear reads issue titles and keys for logging; it never writes worklogs, status or assignee back to Linear.

Can I scope a project to one Linear team?

Yes. A project's issue-tracker scope takes a Linear team key (for example ENG), narrowing that project's picker to that team's issues.

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