Linear Hello World

Overview

Create your first issue and execute basic queries with the Linear API.

Prerequisites

• Linear SDK installed (@linear/sdk)
• Valid API key configured
• Access to at least one Linear team

Instructions

Step 1: Query Your Teams

import { LinearClient } from "@linear/sdk";

const client = new LinearClient({ apiKey: process.env.LINEAR_API_KEY });

// Get all teams you have access to
const teams = await client.teams();
console.log("Your teams:");
teams.nodes.forEach(team => {
  console.log(`  - ${team.name} (${team.key})`);
});

Step 2: Create Your First Issue

// Get the first team
const team = teams.nodes[0];

// Create an issue
const issueCreate = await client.createIssue({
  teamId: team.id,
  title: "My first Linear issue from the API",
  description: "This issue was created using the Linear SDK!",
});

if (issueCreate.success) {
  const issue = await issueCreate.issue;
  console.log(`Created issue: ${issue?.identifier} - ${issue?.title}`);
  console.log(`URL: ${issue?.url}`);
}

Step 3: Query Issues

// Get recent issues from your team
const issues = await client.issues({
  filter: {
    team: { key: { eq: team.key } },
  },
  first: 10,
});

console.log("Recent issues:");
issues.nodes.forEach(issue => {
  console.log(`  ${issue.identifier}: ${issue.title} [${issue.state?.name}]`);
});

Output

• List of teams you have access to
• Created issue with identifier and URL
• Query results showing recent issues

Error Handling

Examples

Complete Hello World Script

import { LinearClient } from "@linear/sdk";

async function helloLinear() {
  const client = new LinearClient({
    apiKey: process.env.LINEAR_API_KEY
  });

  // 1. Get current user
  const viewer = await client.viewer;
  console.log(`Hello, ${viewer.name}!`);

  // 2. List teams
  const teams = await client.teams();
  const team = teams.nodes[0];
  console.log(`Using team: ${team.name}`);

  // 3. Create issue
  const result = await client.createIssue({
    teamId: team.id,
    title: "Hello from Linear SDK!",
    description: "Testing the Linear API integration.",
    priority: 2, // Medium priority
  });

  if (result.success) {
    const issue = await result.issue;
    console.log(`Created: ${issue?.identifier}`);
  }

  // 4. Query issues
  const issues = await client.issues({ first: 5 });
  console.log(`\nYour latest ${issues.nodes.length} issues:`);
  issues.nodes.forEach(i => console.log(`  - ${i.identifier}: ${i.title}`));
}

helloLinear().catch(console.error);

Using GraphQL Directly

const query = `
  query Me {
    viewer {
      id
      name
      email
    }
  }
`;

const response = await fetch("https://api.linear.app/graphql", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Authorization": process.env.LINEAR_API_KEY,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ query }),
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

Resources

• Linear SDK Getting Started
• GraphQL API Reference
• Issue Object Reference

Next Steps

After creating your first issue, proceed to linear-sdk-patterns for best practices.