What Is Linear App? A 2025 Guide for Modern Teams

Linear is a fast, minimal, and opinionated project management tool built for software teams. If you’re wondering what is Linear app, it’s a sleek alternative to bloated platforms like Jira. Designed for speed, clarity, and a great developer experience, it brings together issue tracking, roadmapping, and team workflows in one keyboard-driven interface.

Used by companies like Vercel, Ramp, and Mercury, Linear is especially popular with startups and engineering-focused teams. Its opinionated design means it makes smart choices about how workflows should operate, reducing setup time and helping teams move faster.

🚀 Why Teams Use Linear in 2025

Linear is optimized for:

• Speed: Lightning-fast interface and instant updates
• Focus: Keyboard shortcuts and minimal distractions
• Clarity: Clean UI, powerful filters, and timelines
• Dev-first workflows: Built for GitHub, GitLab, and VS Code integrations

Teams use Linear for:

• Sprint planning and backlog grooming
• Bug tracking and QA workflows
• Roadmapping and feature delivery
• Collaboration between PMs, designers, and engineers

For example, Vercel leverages Linear to align frontend and backend development with minimal friction, while Mercury uses it for tight-knit cycles between product and engineering teams.

🧩 Key Features of Linear

• Issues: Lightweight, fast Linear issue tracking with assignees, labels, and cycles

• Projects: Organize work into cross-functional roadmaps with milestones
• Cycles: Time-boxed sprints that drive momentum

• Views: Filtered views by team, label, project, or priority
• Docs: Lightweight internal documentation and specs
• Linear integrations: Everhour’s time tracker (check out Linear time tracking integration), GitHub, Slack, Figma, Sentry, and more
• Keyboard-first UX: Navigate and update issues without touching your mouse

⏱️ Time Tracking in Linear with Everhour

Linear doesn’t include built-in time tracking, but teams that care about speed and clarity often pair it with Everhour.

❓ Why this combo works:

• ✅ Track time directly from Linear tasks
• 📈 Build detailed time reports for projects
• 💼 Stay on top of budgets and team capacity
• ⚡ No switching tools, no clutter

❓ Ideal for:

Startups, dev teams, and async-first workflows that want fast project management and accurate time tracking, without the complexity of bloated platforms.

Whether you’re planning sprints or logging bug fixes, Linear time tracking with Everhour gives you the numbers behind the work — right where you need them.

🔁 How Linear Differs From Jira or Trello

• Linear is opinionated: it removes unnecessary complexity.
• It avoids traditional drag-and-drop boards in favor of structured workflows.
• Performance is a core feature — updates sync in milliseconds.
• Design is clean, responsive, and distraction-free.

Jira may offer endless configuration, but Linear prioritizes defaults that work and keeps teams moving fast.

🔒 Is Linear Secure?

Yes. Linear offers enterprise-grade security:

• SOC 2 Type II compliance
• Single sign-on (SSO)
• Role-based permissions
• Encrypted data at rest and in transit

You can also host Linear data in the EU for GDPR compliance.

🤖 Linear and AI in 2025

Linear now comes with AI that helps you manage work faster:

• ✍️ Summarize issues in one click
• 📌 Prioritize your backlog automatically
• 📊 Generate sprint reports without lifting a finger

These tools save product and engineering teams hours of manual work. Instead of dragging tasks around or writing summaries, Linear’s AI does it for you — helping you focus on strategy, not setup.

💬 Who Should Use Linear?

Linear shines with teams that value speed and clarity:

• 🧑‍💻 Software teams that want to ship without bloat
• 📋 Product managers who need clean, real-time visibility
• 🧠 Founders & CTOs building lean, async-first orgs
• 🎨 Design–dev duos that need shared roadmaps

It’s built for modern workflows — minimal, fast, and focused.

🔎 Final Thoughts: What Is Linear App

Linear is not for everyone. If you require in-depth compliance workflows, numerous custom fields, or extended planning cycles, tools like Jira or ClickUp may be a better fit.

But if you want a snappy, streamlined tool that respects your time, Linear delivers. It’s quickly becoming the go-to project management platform for engineering-first teams in 2025.

Try Linear with Everhour to see how this lean setup fits your team.

Looking for faster, simpler tools? Explore top Linear alternatives to streamline your workflow.