Project management · checked 2026-10-14

Can I vibecode Linear?

KINDA· weekend project

A personal issue tracker is a small app: issues with a team key and number, statuses, priorities, labels, projects, cycles and a command palette. An agent can build a usable one-person version on SQLite in an evening, and Linear's own Free plan already covers a lone developer's first 250 issues. The weekend goes on what makes Linear feel like Linear: a client that applies changes instantly and syncs deltas in the background, a shortcut for every action, and pull-request links that move issues along. Team assignment, chat and support-desk integrations and the hosted AI agents are out of reach.

$10/moprice per seat

$120you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeAn evening for the tracker; a weekend to get the keyboard feel right

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Node.js 22better-sqlite3 compiles a native module, so build tools must be installed.
A Linear CSV exportSettings > Administration > Import Export; the link arrives by email and expires after 12 hours.

Before you buildLinear Free allows 250 issues and 2 teams with unlimited members. A solo developer under that may never need to pay.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a personal issue tracker to replace Linear. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript: a Fastify API and a React front end built with Vite. `npm start` serves
  http://localhost:4700.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 in ./data/tracker.db. Tables: teams (a key like ENG), issues (team key plus a
  per-team counter, so ENG-12), projects, cycles, labels, comments. An issue has a title, markdown
  description, status, priority 0-4, estimate, due date and an optional parent.
- Statuses are ordered per team (Backlog, Todo, In Progress, In Review, Done, Canceled); moving an
  issue stamps its started, completed or canceled date.
- Keyboard first: Cmd/Ctrl+K command palette, C creates an issue, J/K moves down and up a list, S sets
  status, P priority, L labels, Esc closes panels. Every action also has a button.
- Views: a list grouped by status, a drag-and-drop board, and a project page with done-over-total
  progress. Saved filters by status, label, priority and project.
- Cycles: a team sets a length in weeks; the current cycle lists its issues with a burn-up count, and
  a button rolls unfinished issues into the next one.
- The UI updates optimistically from a local store (Zustand) and writes to the API in the background;
  failed writes are shown and retried, never dropped silently.
- Export: CSV with Linear-style columns (ID, Team, Title, Description, Status, Priority, Project,
  Labels, Cycle Number, Created, Completed) and a JSON dump of the database.
- Single user. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first.
- Out of scope: other users, notifications, Git and Slack integrations, mobile apps, AI features.
- README: setup, where the data lives and how to back up ./data.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Linear.

Add a Linear importer to the issue tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- `import-linear <file.csv>` reads Linear's CSV export: ID, Team, Title, Description, Status,
  Priority, Project, Labels, Cycle Number, Created, Completed and Parent issue.
- Create missing teams, projects, labels and cycles; keep the original issue identifiers (ENG-12) and
  set each team's counter past its highest number.
- Map Linear priorities to ours; list any status names that don't exist yet and ask before creating them.
- Dry run by default, --apply to write, and a summary of what was skipped.
- Update the README.

Add GitHub linking to the issue tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- GITHUB_TOKEN (fine-grained, read-only for pull requests) and a list of owner/repo names in .env.
- Poll the GitHub API every 2 minutes; do not open any public port.
- Match issue keys like ENG-12 in branch names and pull request titles; show linked pull requests on
  the issue with their state.
- Open pull request: set In Review. Merged: set Done. Closed without merging: leave the status and
  note it in a comment.
- Update the README with the token scopes needed.

Add a command-line client to the issue tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- `tracker add "title" -t ENG -p 2 -l bug` creates an issue through the local API and prints its key.
- `tracker list -t ENG --status todo` prints a compact table; `tracker done ENG-12` completes one.
- Read the API address from TRACKER_URL, defaulting to http://localhost:4700.
- Exit non-zero with a clear message when the server isn't running.
- Update the README with a shell alias example.

Add a weekly digest to the issue tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- Every Monday at 08:00 local time send one email through SMTP settings in .env.
- Sections: completed last week, still open from the current cycle, overdue, due this week.
- Plain HTML with issue keys linking to http://localhost:4700 or a PUBLIC_URL from .env.
- A --preview flag prints the email to the terminal instead of sending it.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Real-time work with a team: assignees, comments, mentions and notifications
Git and chat integrations that update issues from pull requests and messages
Triage, Insights and the AI agents that come with the Business plan
Roadmaps and initiatives that span several teams
The desktop and mobile apps

Why people still pay

A tracker only works when everyone uses it, and Linear's speed and shortcuts are the reason engineering teams do. Its integrations then tie issues to pull requests and support tickets, which makes leaving a bigger move than a $10 seat suggests.

Moatcollaboration integrations execution polish

Do the math

Linear or your own copy?

Seats

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Linear, 1 yr$120

Your own copy, 1 yr$46running + build session

You keep$74pays for itself in 2 months

Estimate · Runs on your own machine; a $5 VPS only matters if you want it reachable from your phone. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Linear

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Linear

1As a workspace admin, open Settings > Administration > Import Export and click Export data. A download link arrives by email and expires after 12 hours; on Enterprise only owners can export.
2The CSV carries issue fields such as ID, team, title, description, status, estimate, priority, project, labels, cycle, dates and parent issue. Attachment files are not included, and teams have no CSV export.
3Members can export a view of up to 250 issues at a time and admins up to 2,000; projects and initiatives export up to 200 at a time.
4For anything the CSV leaves out, use Linear's API; Airbyte and Google Sheets can also sync data.

2 · Cancel Linear

1Workspace admins open Settings > Administration > Billing and change the plan there.
2Changes take effect at the end of the current billing period.
3Cancelling deletes nothing. Above 250 issues you can no longer create new ones, and every member becomes an admin, because all users are admins on free plans.
4There are no refunds for a mid-term cancellation; credits from a yearly plan go to future invoices, not back to your card.

Suspend people before you cancel: you are billed for every unsuspended member.
On monthly billing, members removed mid-month aren't credited.
Check your team count first: Free allows 2 teams, and the docs don't say what happens to extra ones.
Download attachments from issues separately, because the export link expires quickly and the file leaves them out.

Checked 2026-10-14 against Linear's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

PlaneOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 work tracker with issues, cycles and modules, billed by its authors as an open-source Jira and Linear alternative; self-hosts with Docker Compose.★ 61k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗HulyOpen sourceEPL-2.0 all-in-one platform that pitches itself against Linear, Jira, Slack, Notion and Motion; can be hosted with Docker.★ 28k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗OpenProjectOpen sourceGPL-3.0 work-package tracker with Gantt charts, boards and time tracking; more formal and heavier than Linear.★ 16k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗

All 4 free alternatives to Linear ›

The numbers

Linear pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Free	$0/workspace	$0/workspace	Unlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues in total, 10 MB file uploads, the agent platform and Linear Agent.
Basic	—	$10/user	Up to 5 teams, unlimited issues and file uploads, admin roles.
Business	—	$16/user	Unlimited teams, private teams and guests, Triage Intelligence, Loops, Code Intelligence, Insights, Asks, Zendesk and Intercom integrations.
Enterprise	custom	—	SAML and SCIM, invoice and PO billing, granular admin controls, migration and onboarding help, priority support.

Free tier: 2 teams, 250 issues in total and 10 MB per upload. Past 250 issues you can't create new ones.
Billing: Yearly prices are the ones published. You pay for every unsuspended member; on yearly plans added members are charged pro rata and removals become credits on later invoices.
Hidden costs: Coding sessions and Loops are marked as needing AI credits, and the pricing page doesn't say how many each plan includes. Cancelling mid-term brings no refund.
Source: linear.app

Also on the list

Jira$7.91/mo · Project managementKINDA

Asana$13.49/mo · Project managementKINDA

Trello$6/mo · Project managementYES

Questions

Linear, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

Free has unlimited members but only 2 teams, 250 issues and 10 MB uploads.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: Real-time work with a team: assignees, comments, mentions and notifications, Git and chat integrations that update issues from pull requests and messages.

About $10 a month on the Basic plan per seat, $120 a year (checked 2026-10-14).

Real-time work with a team: assignees, comments, mentions and notifications; Git and chat integrations that update issues from pull requests and messages; Triage, Insights and the AI agents that come with the Business plan; Roadmaps and initiatives that span several teams; The desktop and mobile apps. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.