How to Connect Linear to Cursor with MCP

Cursor connects to Linear through Linear's own official remote MCP server at https://mcp.linear.app/mcp — add it as a url entry in .cursor/mcp.json under mcpServers, sign in with the OAuth prompt Cursor opens in your browser, and the seven tools MCPizy has catalogued for it (issue search, creation, comments, projects, teams and cycles) show up in Cursor's Composer without installing anything locally or generating an API key by hand.

Where the config actually goes

Cursor reads MCP servers from .cursor/mcp.json for a single project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project on the machine, both under a top-level mcpServers key. For a hosted server like Linear's, the entry needs nothing but a name and a url — no command, no args, no npm package to run: { "mcpServers": { "linear": { "url": "https://mcp.linear.app/mcp" } } }.

That's the whole file. Save it, and Cursor picks it up the next time you open Settings, or immediately if the editor is already watching the file.

Turning it on and authenticating

Adding the entry doesn't connect it by itself. Open Cursor Settings, find MCP in the sidebar, locate the linear entry, and use its toggle to enable it — a server can sit in mcp.json disabled, which is useful when you want the config checked into a repo but not everyone running it by default.

Enabling it for the first time triggers Linear's OAuth flow in your browser: you sign in with your existing Linear account, approve the requested scopes, and Cursor stores the resulting session. No API key ever gets typed into a config file, which is the real advantage of a server built on the authenticated-remote-MCP pattern instead of a locally-run script expecting a personal token as an environment variable.

Why this is a newer, better path than the old API-key route

Linear's MCP server didn't start this way. It launched in May 2025 over SSE, and the common pattern before that — still what a lot of older guides describe — was a locally-run bridge package started with npx, authenticated with a personal API key pasted into an env block. That still works as a fallback, but Linear has since moved its primary endpoint to Streamable HTTP at the url above, replacing the older SSE address, and built the whole thing on OAuth 2.1 from the start rather than a static key.

For a Cursor user, the practical difference is what you paste into mcp.json: a five-line url entry instead of a command, an args array, and a personal token you're now responsible for rotating and revoking. If your Cursor project's mcp.json still has an npx-based Linear entry with an API key in it, replacing it with the url entry above is a straight downgrade in what a stolen laptop or a leaked repo can expose — there's no long-lived key sitting in a file anymore.

What you can actually ask Cursor to do once it's connected

MCPizy's directory listing for Linear catalogues seven tools — what the live server advertises at any moment is its own to change, and Linear documents its capabilities by object category rather than by tool count: list_issues and get_issue for reading your backlog, save_issue for creating or updating one, list_projects and list_teams for the surrounding structure, save_comment for posting updates, and list_cycles for sprint context.

In practice that covers the loop most engineers actually run inside Cursor — ask Composer to look up an open bug by keyword, have it draft a fix, then have it file or update the Linear issue and drop a comment linking the change, all without alt-tabbing to a browser tab. It won't do anything Linear's API itself doesn't expose — no bulk operations, no workflow automation beyond these seven tools — so treat it as a fast path for the everyday create-issue-and-comment loop, not a replacement for Linear's own UI when you need something more elaborate.

Where this fits next to Cursor's other MCP servers

Cursor's own top-10 list for the editor includes Linear alongside GitHub, Supabase and Postgres as one of the more commonly wired-in servers, and the config shape is identical across all of them — only the command/args pair or the url changes per server.

If you're setting up Cursor for a new project, MCPizy's directory carries the same install values for the rest of that stack, so you're not hand-assembling each one from a different source.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Linear API key to use this?

No — the official remote server authenticates over OAuth when you enable it in Cursor. An API key is only relevant if you're deliberately using an older, locally-run bridge package instead of the hosted endpoint.

Does this work in Claude Code and Windsurf too, or is it Cursor-specific?

The url entry itself is portable — the same value works under mcpServers in Claude Code's config and Windsurf's config, since all three clients use that same key name. VS Code is the one exception: it nests the identical entry under servers instead.

Why does Cursor show the server as disabled after I add it?

Adding an entry to mcp.json doesn't always enable it by default — check the toggle next to the server's name under Settings → MCP and switch it on if it's off.

What can I ask it to do versus what I still need Linear's own app for?

The seven catalogued tools cover reading, creating and updating issues and comments, and browsing projects, teams and cycles — all of that works from Cursor. Parts of Linear's product that no tool exposes, like custom views, roadmaps or admin settings, still need the Linear app. Between the two sits whatever Linear has shipped since this listing was catalogued: ask Cursor to list the server's tools if you need the current, authoritative set.

Is the SSE endpoint from Linear's original 2025 launch still usable?

Linear has moved its primary endpoint to the Streamable HTTP address above; treat any config still pointing at the old SSE url as due for an update rather than as the current recommended setup.