Linear Keyboard Shortcuts
Linear was built from the ground up with the explicit design goal of being usable entirely from the keyboard, which sets it apart from most project-management tools where keyboard shortcuts feel bolted onto a mouse-first interface. Nearly every action available through a menu also has a direct keyboard path, and Linear's command menu (its version of a command palette) is treated as a primary interface rather than a fallback for forgotten shortcuts. This makes Linear's shortcut set unusually consistent and worth learning in full if you use it daily, since the app rewards keyboard fluency more directly than almost anything else in the project-management category. Cycles, Linear's term for time-boxed sprints, integrate directly with its prioritization and status fields so a team's sprint planning and daily issue triage happen within the same consistently keyboard-navigable interface rather than a separate bolted-on sprint-planning tool. Because Linear was built by a team that explicitly studied and drew inspiration from developer-tool interaction patterns (command palettes, vim-style navigation) rather than typical project-management software conventions, its overall design feels closer to a code editor's interaction model than to a traditional Gantt-chart-and-forms project tool, which is a deliberate positioning choice aimed specifically at engineering teams. Labels and project assignment round out the metadata Linear lets you attach to an issue directly from a list view without opening its full detail panel, which matters because triaging a large backlog quickly depends on being able to tag, prioritize, and categorize issues in rapid succession rather than clicking into each one individually just to set a single field.
Issue Management
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create new issue | C | C | Opens a new issue creation form instantly from anywhere in the app, pre-populated with the current team or project context where applicable. |
| Open command menu | Ctrl+K | Cmd+K | Opens Linear's command menu, which doubles as both a search tool and an action launcher — typing a partial issue title finds it, while typing an action name like 'assign' or 'change status' executes that action directly on the relevant context. |
| Assign focused/open issue | A | A | Opens the assignee picker for whichever issue currently has focus or is open, narrowing by typing a teammate's name. |
| Change issue status | S | S | Opens the status picker (Todo, In Progress, Done, etc.) for the focused issue, letting you move it through the workflow without dragging it between board columns. |
| Set issue priority | P | P | Opens the priority selector for the focused issue, one of the fields Linear surfaces prominently given its emphasis on triaging and prioritizing work quickly. |
| Archive focused issue | Backspace or # | Backspace or # | Archives the focused issue, removing it from active views while preserving it for later reference rather than permanently deleting it. |
| Duplicate focused issue | Ctrl+D | Cmd+D | Creates a copy of the focused issue including its properties, useful for quickly building several similarly structured issues without recreating each one from scratch. |
| Add label to focused issue | L | L | Opens the label picker for the focused issue, letting you tag it by category (bug, feature, design) directly from a list view without opening the issue's full detail panel. |
| Assign issue to a project | Shift+P | Shift+P | Opens the project picker to associate the focused issue with a specific project, distinct from a Cycle since projects in Linear represent longer-running bodies of work that can span multiple cycles. |
Navigation
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go to Inbox | G then I | G then I | Jumps to your personal notification inbox, following the same G-prefix sequential navigation pattern used across several modern web apps. |
| Go to My Issues | G then M | G then M | Jumps to a filtered view showing only issues currently assigned to you, regardless of which team or project they belong to. |
| Move focus to next issue | J | J | Advances the focus indicator to the next issue down the current list, so single-letter follow-up shortcuts like A, S, and P can act on it without a mouse click first. |
| Open focused issue detail view | Enter or O | Enter or O | Opens the full detail panel for whichever issue currently has keyboard focus, showing description, comments, and full activity history. |
| Open current Cycle view | G then C | G then C | Jumps to the current time-boxed Cycle (Linear's term for a sprint), integrating sprint planning and issue triage into the same consistently keyboard-navigable interface as everyday issue management. |
| Close issue detail panel | Esc | Esc | Closes the currently open issue detail panel, returning focus to whatever list or board view was open before, standard convention for dismissing an overlay panel. |
| Go to Projects overview | G then P | G then P | Jumps to the Projects list view, showing longer-running initiatives distinct from the time-boxed Cycles view, useful for a higher-level look at what's in flight across a team beyond just the current sprint. |
| Toggle sidebar | Ctrl+\\ | Cmd+\\ | Shows or hides the left navigation sidebar, useful for reclaiming horizontal space on a smaller screen while reading through a long issue description or comment thread. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Linear's command menu described as more than just a search box?
Unlike a typical Ctrl+K that only searches, Linear's command menu also executes actions directly — typing 'priority' while an issue context is active shows priority options you can select right there, without needing a separate dedicated shortcut for every single field. This dual search-and-act design is central to how Linear minimizes the number of distinct shortcuts you actually need to memorize.
Do single-letter shortcuts like A and S work on a list of issues or only inside an open issue?
Both — these shortcuts act on whichever issue currently has focus, which can be a row in a list (set by using J/K to navigate) or the issue currently open in the detail panel. The shortcut behaves identically either way, applying to whatever issue context is currently active.
Is archiving the same as deleting in Linear?
No — archiving (Backspace or #) removes an issue from active views like your team's board or backlog while keeping it retrievable through a filtered archived-issues view. Permanent deletion is a separate, more deliberate action typically requiring confirmation, specifically to avoid accidental data loss from a quick keyboard action.
What are Cycles in Linear, and how do they relate to sprints in other tools?
Cycles are Linear's name for time-boxed sprints. Issues get assigned to a Cycle the same way they get a priority or status, and moving through Cycle planning, daily triage, and issue updates all happen without ever leaving the same keyboard-driven interface — there's no separate sprint-board app bolted on the side the way some competitors handle it.
Why does Linear feel more like a code editor than a typical project-management tool?
Linear was explicitly built drawing inspiration from developer-tool interaction patterns like command palettes and fast keyboard navigation rather than typical project-management software conventions, giving it an interaction model closer to a code editor than to a traditional Gantt-chart-and-forms project tool, a deliberate positioning aimed specifically at engineering teams.
Can I quickly create a similar issue without starting from a blank form each time?
Yes, duplicating a focused issue copies its properties into a new issue, which is faster than recreating a similarly structured issue from a blank form when you need several issues that share most of the same fields and context.
Does Linear integrate with GitHub or GitLab for linking commits to issues?
Yes, Linear supports integrations with GitHub and GitLab that automatically link commits, branches, and pull requests to relevant issues, keeping code changes and issue tracking connected without manual cross-referencing.
What's the difference between a Project and a Cycle in Linear?
A Cycle is a fixed time-boxed sprint that resets on a schedule, while a Project represents a longer-running body of work with its own scope and target date that can span several Cycles — an issue can belong to a Project for tracking overall initiative progress while also being scheduled into whichever Cycle it's actively being worked in during a given sprint.