Connect Linear to Unblockd
Link a Linear team to an Unblockd project and its issues come in as tasks, with their status kept in step.
Updated · About the Linear integration
On this page
What Unblockd reads
Unblockd reads your Linear teams and the issues in the ones you link to an Unblockd project. You choose which issues to bring in; each becomes a task under a deliverable, with a link back to Linear as its first proof. From then on its status follows Linear.
It’s read-only. Unblockd never creates, edits, or deletes issues in Linear.
An issue that’s blocked in Linear opens a blocker your team sees first. Nothing reaches your sponsor until someone on your team chooses to share it.
The access token is encrypted before it’s stored. How Unblockd handles your data.
Before you start
- In Unblockd, a workspace admin connects Linear, once for the whole workspace. Members see it in Settings but can’t connect or disconnect it. Anyone on the team can then link it to a project.
- In Linear: A member of the Linear workspace whose teams you want to link.
Connect Linear
- Open Connected toolsSign in to Unblockd and open Settings, then Connected tools.
- Press Connect beside LinearFind Linear under Most used, or press Show all 33 tools, or type its name in the search box. Then press Connect on its row.
- Approve access in LinearLinear shows the access Unblockd requests and asks you to authorize it. Unblockd requests read (read your workspace's teams and issues).
- Back in UnblockdYou come back to Connected tools, which says “Linear is connected. Next, link it to a project from the project’s Sources tab.” Its row shows the account and Connected.
Link it to a project
- Open the project’s Sources tabOpen the project from Projects, then its Sources tab.
- Press Link a sourceIt’s under the list of linked sources. If more than one tool is connected, choose Linear under Tool.
- Pick the Linear teamUnder Linear team, pick the one this Unblockd project runs on. Only teams the connection can see are listed, and ones already linked here are left out.
- Choose where items landUnder New items land in, choose a deliverable, or leave Choose each time. It’s the first choice when you bring items in, and where new items go if automatic import is on.
- Press LinkThe Linear team appears in the Sources list, ready to bring items in.
Starting a new project? On New project, open “Bring work in from a tool”, choose Linear and the team, and leave “Bring in open items as tasks” on to start with its open issues. It’s linked as the project is created.
Bring in items
- Press Bring in itemsOn the project’s Sources tab, press Bring in items on the Linear team’s row. Unblockd lists the open issues that aren’t in this project yet.
- Choose the deliverableUnder Add them under, choose the deliverable they belong to. Each item comes in as a task under it.
- Choose the issuesTick the issues you want, search by key or title, or press Choose all. Then press Bring in. Up to 50 come in at a time; run it again for more.
New issues can also come in on their own. An admin turns on Bring in new items from linked sources in Settings, then Automations, and each source can opt out or pick its deliverable from its ⋯ menu, under New items. Up to 25 come in per sync, checked every hour and on every sync.
How sync works
Linear has no blocked state type, so only a state named like one counts as blocked. Each issue becomes the first status that matches:
- A state with Blocked, On hold, or Impeded in its name
- Becomes: Blocked
- A Completed or Canceled state
- Becomes: Done
- A Started state
- Becomes: In progress
- A Backlog, Unstarted, or Triage state
- Becomes: To do
| In Linear | Becomes |
|---|---|
| A state with Blocked, On hold, or Impeded in its name | Blocked |
| A Completed or Canceled state | Done |
| A Started state | In progress |
| A Backlog, Unstarted, or Triage state | To do |
Unblockd checks Linear again when someone opens the project’s Sources tab and the last check is more than 10 minutes old, when you choose Sync now from the source’s ⋯ menu, and once a day. The row shows when it last synced. A large source catches up over a few checks.
- Done in Linear finishes the task in Unblockd, because the link back to Linear already counts as proof. A task that needs a sign-off stays where it is until the sign-off is recorded.
- Blocked in Linear marks the task Blocked and opens a blocker for your team only, and posts to your team’s chat channels if you’ve connected any. Someone on your team confirms it and can turn it into an ask for your sponsor. If the issue moves on in Linear, the task follows; the blocker stays open until your team resolves it.
- A title changed in Linear changes in Unblockd too. A tool never puts a task In review: that needs a reviewer chosen in Unblockd.
- Tasks from a tool stay with your team. Your sponsor sees each deliverable’s progress, not the tasks under it.
Disconnect and revoke access
- Press DisconnectIn Settings, then Connected tools, press Disconnect on Linear’s row.
- ConfirmIf it’s linked to projects, Unblockd first says how many teams it will unlink. Press Disconnect Linear to confirm, or Keep.
- Deleted: the connection, its stored access, and every Linear team linked through it, across all your Unblockd projects.
- Kept: tasks already brought in stay as ordinary tasks with their history and proof links. They stop following Linear. Connect again and relink the same Linear team, and they follow it again.
- Unblockd also asks Linear to revoke its access, unless another Unblockd workspace is connected to the same Linear account. If Linear doesn’t answer, the disconnect still stands; you can remove Unblockd on the Linear side too.
To stop one project following Linear without disconnecting it for everyone, open the linked Linear team’s ⋯ menu on the Sources tab and choose Unlink. Its tasks stay, but stop following Linear.
Troubleshooting
- Needs reconnecting
- What to do: Linear turned down Unblockd’s access, for example because it was revoked or the person who connected it left. The row says “Reconnect to keep it in sync.” An admin presses Reconnect and approves access again; linked teams and their tasks carry on.
- Retrying
- What to do: The row says “Couldn’t reach it on the last try. It will try again.” Linear didn’t answer the last time Unblockd tried. Nothing is lost; the next sync picks up where it stopped.
- Rate limits
- What to do: Unblockd reads one item about every 0.65 seconds, up to 200 per check, to stay inside Linear’s limits. If Linear still says to slow down, Unblockd stops that check and picks up on the next one. Sync now waits 60 seconds between runs on the same source.
- A team is missing
- What to do: Only teams the connected account can see are listed. Check its access in Linear, or reconnect with an account that can see it.
- Only an admin can connect
- What to do: “Only a workspace admin can connect or disconnect tools.” Ask an admin, or have one change your role in Settings, then Members.
- The connection link expired
- What to do: “That connection link expired or was started by someone else. Try again from here.” Start again from Connected tools and finish within 10 minutes.
- A different account
- What to do: “This workspace is linked to a different account for that tool. Disconnect it first.” Each workspace connects one Linear account. Disconnect the old one first.
- Coming soon
- What to do: A tool that shows Coming soon instead of Connect can’t be connected yet.
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Needs reconnecting | Linear turned down Unblockd’s access, for example because it was revoked or the person who connected it left. The row says “Reconnect to keep it in sync.” An admin presses Reconnect and approves access again; linked teams and their tasks carry on. |
| Retrying | The row says “Couldn’t reach it on the last try. It will try again.” Linear didn’t answer the last time Unblockd tried. Nothing is lost; the next sync picks up where it stopped. |
| Rate limits | Unblockd reads one item about every 0.65 seconds, up to 200 per check, to stay inside Linear’s limits. If Linear still says to slow down, Unblockd stops that check and picks up on the next one. Sync now waits 60 seconds between runs on the same source. |
| A team is missing | Only teams the connected account can see are listed. Check its access in Linear, or reconnect with an account that can see it. |
| Only an admin can connect | “Only a workspace admin can connect or disconnect tools.” Ask an admin, or have one change your role in Settings, then Members. |
| The connection link expired | “That connection link expired or was started by someone else. Try again from here.” Start again from Connected tools and finish within 10 minutes. |
| A different account | “This workspace is linked to a different account for that tool. Disconnect it first.” Each workspace connects one Linear account. Disconnect the old one first. |
| Coming soon | A tool that shows Coming soon instead of Connect can’t be connected yet. |
Still stuck? Press Report a problem on Linear’s row in Connected tools, or choose Report a problem with Linear from a linked team’s ⋯ menu. One tap sends the tool and what the row shows about the connection (never a key or token) to the Unblockd team, and someone replies by email. You can send 5 reports every hour, or write to hello@unblockd.ai any time.
Connect Linear now
Open Connected tools in Unblockd and press Connect beside Linear. You’ll need to be a workspace admin.