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How to use Linear with VS Code

You want Linear inside VS Code so it can triage and update an issue backlog, turn project activity into a status update, keep issue dependencies accurate, and turn a planning brief into tracked work — without you copy-pasting between tabs. Here is the whole setup, once.

Create your Linear gateway

The gateway is the thing VS Code connects to, and it is where you decide which Linear tools an agent may use. You create it once and every client reuses it.

  1. Create an Arcade account

    Sign up and open the dashboard. The free tier is enough to follow this through.

  2. Create an MCP Gateway and select your Linear tools

    In the dashboard, create a gateway and pick the Linear tools you want to expose. The gateway is what your client connects to, and it is where tool access is decided.

  3. Copy your gateway URL

    Every client below needs it.

    https://api.arcade.dev/mcp/<YOUR-GATEWAY-SLUG>

Create a Linear gateway Opens the gateway builder in your Arcade dashboard.

Connect the gateway to VS Code

  1. Add the server

    VS Code 1.107.0 or higher. Command Palette → MCP: Add Server… → choose HTTP, paste your gateway URL, and name it something like mcp-arcade.

  2. Start it and authenticate

    Click Start next to the server in mcp.json or under Extensions → MCP Servers - Installed, then approve the Arcade sign-in and consent screens.

  3. Try it out

    Open the chat pane, switch to Agent mode, and ask it to use one of your Linear tools.

Full VS Code guide in the docs steps verified 2026-08-13

Get started with these Linear prompts

VS Code can now act on your Linear account. Click a prompt to copy it.

Use tool permissions to control whether an agent can create, update, archive, or delete Linear content. Pair it with Contextual Access policies so an agent can review issues and draft updates without being allowed to make destructive changes.

Ready to actually ship your agent?

Free to start. Ready for enterprise when you are.

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