Linearis CLI Reference

Verified against Linearis v2026.4.9 (2026-05-31). ⚠️ READ vs WRITE. Linear READS → the local replica by direct SQL, or linear_read_ticket <ID>. Never shell linearis issues read for a routine read — it 429s the shared fleet quota. WRITES → linearis. Read Gotchas before scripting.

Setup check (first, every session)

node "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/identity-report.mjs" — one line per identity (tenant, human, team, cloud host), and every unresolved line is a stop-and-say (CTL-2300). Paths like that name files inside this skill: Claude Code fills in ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}; on another harness set CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR to this SKILL.md's directory, or stop and report skill_dir_unresolved. A write addressed to the wrong team or the wrong workspace does not error; it lands somewhere plausible, which is why this runs before the first read as well as the first write.

Reading Linear

Single source of the Linear read rule — other skills point here, they don't restate it.

1. Cloud detection, every session — reuse the existing helpers, never write new ones:

   source "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/lib/linear-read-replica.sh"
   replica_fresh; rf=$?                      # 0 = writer heartbeat <5min AND seeded
   source "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/lib/plugin-dirs.sh"
   marker="$(plugin_dirs_repo_config_path)"  # "" if no .catalyst/config.json found
   

   Either failing → no cloud mirror: say so loudly (never silent) and fall back to direct linearis/API reads — the non-fleet path (protects the 2500/hr quota), wrong to recommend on the fleet. Same pattern: steward's references/cloud-detection.md.
2. Cloud mode confirmed → query the replica and TRUST it. Don't re-verify against live Linear.
3. Row missing / not fresh → an ALARM, not a silent reroute. Loud fallback, file a ticket.

The only reads you should shell directly are through the helper — it is the freshness gate, not a convenience wrapper. Never run a bare sqlite3 query against the replica yourself: it skips the $rf/$marker checks above and can return stale data (or an empty DB) with no fallback.

json=$(linear_read_ticket ENG-123) || return 1   # freshness-gate → SQL → loud fallback, ONE call
title=$(printf '%s' "$json" | jq -r '.title // empty')

Raw SQL syntax (only after the helper's gate already ran), schema discovery, apply-drift caveat, deprecated wrapper: references/reading-linear-detail.md.

Core Operations

Reads → direct SQL via the gated helper above; writes always linearis — run linearis usage / linearis <domain> usage for authoritative, current flag syntax. linear_read_ticket covers a single ticket only — a scope-wide list/search still goes through linearis (no bulk-query replica form yet; see Reading Linear).

state() { bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/linear-transition.sh" --print-state --transition "$1" --team "$TEAM"; }  # ⛔ never TYPE a stage name
linearis issues search "auth bug" --team "$TEAM" --status "$(state todo)"
linearis issues update ENG-123 --status "$(state inProgress)" --labels "bug" --label-mode add

⛔ Agent comments → linear-reply.mjs, never issues discuss/reply — those post AS THE HUMAN (personal token; ask-resolution gate reads that as the human deciding, CTL-1567).

direnv exec . node "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/linear-reply.mjs" ENG-123 --as <AGENT> --body-file <path> --top
#   --body-file <path>  for anything longer than a one-line body; --body REFUSES a path (CTL-2204)

issues discussions <id> (read-only) is safe. Full CRUD, comment-thread commands, common mistakes, other domains: references/core-operations.md.

Workflow: Status Transitions

Single source of the Linear stateMap table — linear, create-plan, implement-plan, create-pr, research-codebase point here; none restates it.

⛔ A stage is addressed by SLOT, never by name (CTL-2300). The table below deliberately has no column of stage names: a tenant renames its stages freely — CTC-1597 renamed one mid-flight — and this repo's own board calls inProgress something other than "In Progress" today. Resolve the slot with linear-transition.sh --print-state --transition <slot> --team <KEY>, which walks the one resolution chain (per-project stateMap → global stateMap → registry triageStatus → bootstrap) and REFUSES rather than substituting our word when a tenant declares a stateMap without the slot. The reason this matters more than it looks: --status is server-side and fails empty on a typo (Gotcha 1) — a name the board does not have returns an empty list, not an error.

Names come from .catalyst/config.json's linear.stateMap (null skips a transition); the canonical bootstrap for a repo that declares none is scripts/lib/tenant-contract.default.json. UUID calls + the team-key allowlist cache (linear-team-keys.json): references/status-transitions.md.

Gotchas & Traps

1. issues list hides the done stage (shows the canceled one) — pass --status "$(state done)", or issues read <ID> for one.
2. linearis consumes stdin in a loop — append </dev/null.
3. No --json flag — JSON is the default; pipe to jq.
4. --status is server-side and fails empty on a typo — not an error; also deprecated --query (use issues search).
5. --status/--cycle require --team; --milestone requires --project; names collide across projects/teams.
6. project-milestones fails silently to the help dump — the domain is milestones.
7. status/state are zsh read-only vars (st/s/lstate); auth status is the diagnostic entry point when calls return nothing.

Cookbook, one topic per file: grooming/triage/stale sweeps — references/backlog-grooming.md; milestone create/rename/audit — references/milestones.md; labels + the cross-team same-name trap — references/labels.md; cycle review — references/cycles.md.