How to Use OpenClaw with Linear — Automate Issue Tracking

Why Connect OpenClaw to Linear?

Linear is where engineering teams track work. OpenClaw is where your agent lives. Connect them and you get something genuinely useful: an agent that can triage bugs, create issues from Slack messages, update statuses, and surface blockers — all without anyone manually touching Linear.

What You'll Need

• OpenClaw running (any platform)
• Linear account with API access
• Linear API key from Settings → API → Personal API Keys

Add Linear to Your TOOLS.md

First, tell your agent how to interact with Linear. In your workspace's TOOLS.md:

### Linear
- API: https://api.linear.app/graphql
- Auth: Bearer token in Authorization header
- Key: LINEAR_API_KEY (in ~/.openclaw/.env)
- Team ID: YOUR_TEAM_ID
- Primary workflow: Bug reports → Issues, Sprint planning queries

Store your key in ~/.openclaw/.env:

LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_xxxxxxxxxxxx

Create a Linear Skill

The cleanest approach is a dedicated skill. Create ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/linear/SKILL.md:

# Linear Skill

## Create Issue
POST to https://api.linear.app/graphql with Authorization: Bearer $LINEAR_API_KEY

Mutation:
```graphql
mutation CreateIssue($title: String!, $teamId: String!, $description: String) {
  issueCreate(input: { title: $title, teamId: $teamId, description: $description }) {
    success
    issue { id identifier url }
  }
}
```

## List Issues
Query: issues(filter: { state: { name: { eq: "In Progress" } } }) { nodes { title identifier priority } }

## Update Issue Status
Mutation: issueUpdate(id: $id, input: { stateId: $stateId })

Automate Issue Creation from Slack

Once the skill is in place, you can say in Slack: "Create a Linear bug: login page crashes on Safari, high priority" — and your agent handles the GraphQL call.

For automated triage, add a cron that scans your monitoring tool and creates Linear issues for new errors:

openclaw cron add --name hex-linear-triage --schedule "0 */2 * * *" --task "Check error logs and create Linear issues for new P0 bugs"

Sprint Status on Demand

Add a workflow trigger: any message containing "sprint status" queries Linear and returns current cycle progress. Update your AGENTS.md:

## Linear Workflow
When asked for sprint status: query Linear API for current cycle, list in-progress and blocked issues.
When a bug is reported: create Linear issue with appropriate team, priority, and label.

Realistic Use Cases

• Automatically create issues from customer support tickets
• Daily standup: agent pulls "in progress" issues and posts to Slack
• Close issues automatically when related PRs merge (combine with GitHub skill)
• Route incoming bug reports from Discord/Slack directly to the right Linear team

Ready to unlock this for your workflow? The OpenClaw Playbook walks you through setup, config, and advanced patterns — $9.99, one-time.