How to stop missing Linear issues assigned to you
Updated
Short answer: Work from Linear's Inbox, with its Priority tab for what needs you, and turn on desktop or Slack notifications in Settings → Account → Notifications so assignments and mentions reach you right away. Check My Issues → Assigned once a day, put a due date on anything with a deadline, and use Remind me on an issue you can't act on yet.
Linear subscribes you to every issue you create, are assigned or are mentioned in, and every update on those lands in your Inbox. On a busy team that's a lot of comments and status changes, and a new assignment looks just like the rest.
1. Let the Inbox sort for you
The Inbox's Priority tab holds what needs your attention, and the rest waits under Other. Linear decides what counts as priority by default; you can change it under Inbox settings → Priority filter. Snooze what you can't deal with yet, and it comes back at the time you pick. On an issue that only makes noise, Shift+S switches your subscription off.
Inbox shortcuts worth learning
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| G then I | Open your Inbox |
| J and K | Move between notifications |
| U | Mark read or unread |
| H | Snooze a notification, or set a reminder on an issue |
| Shift+S | Subscribe to or unsubscribe from an issue |
| G then M | Open My Issues |
2. Get told in real time
In Settings → Account → Notifications, turn on the channels you'll notice: the desktop app, the mobile app, email or Slack, then choose which kinds of update each one sends. Email can come right away or as a digest, and a digest skips anything you've already read. Linear doesn't offer new browser notifications, so use the desktop app. For Slack, an admin connects it to the workspace once; then you sign in from the same settings page and updates arrive as messages from Linear.
3. Look at My Issues once a day
My Issues → Assigned lists everything that's yours, urgent work first, then issues with SLAs, blockers and the current cycle. A minute there each morning catches the assignment that came in while the Inbox was busy.
4. Put dates on what has one
- Shift+D sets a due date, and Linear can notify you as it gets close and once it's past.
- Remind me (H on an issue, or the … menu) sends you an Inbox notification at the time you choose, and takes plain dates like “next Monday 9am”.
- On Business and Enterprise plans, an issue with an SLA notifies its subscribers a day before it's breached.
5. Remember Linear isn't your only inbox
An assignment in Linear competes with the email you owe and the Slack question from this morning. Checking three apps three times a day is how things slip; one list of what needs you, wherever it came from, is how they don't.
Questions people ask
Why am I not getting Linear notifications?
Check Settings → Account → Notifications: the channel needs to be on, and the kinds of update you want switched on for it. Linear doesn't support new browser notifications, so use its desktop app, and Slack needs an admin to connect it first.
How do I see every issue assigned to me in Linear?
Open My Issues (G then M) and choose Assigned. It lists your issues with the most urgent first.
Can Linear remind me about an issue later?
Yes. Press H on an issue, or use the … menu, and choose when. The reminder arrives in your Inbox at that time.
Sources
What this guide says about other products and research comes from these sources, checked on the date above.