linear-triage

name	linear-triage
description	Triage, prioritize, and groom Linear issues. Use when the user says "triage linear", "review inbox", "prioritize issues", "groom backlog", or "clean up issues".
argument-hint	[team-key]
user-invocable	true
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Grep
model	sonnet

/linear-triage — Triage and groom Linear issues

Review unassigned, unprioritized, or stale issues using schpet/linear-cli. Combines inbox triage with backlog grooming in a single workflow.

Steps

1. Verify the Linear CLI is available:

   linear --version 2>/dev/null || echo "LINEAR_CLI_MISSING"
   

2. Fetch issues that need attention. If $ARGUMENTS is provided, filter by team:

   linear issue list --team "$ARGUMENTS" -A
   

   Without arguments, fetch all unstarted issues across teams:

   linear issue list -A
   

   Note: -A lists all unstarted issues (not just yours).

3. Categorize issues into triage buckets:

   Inbox (needs prioritization):

   • No priority set
   • No assignee
   • Sitting in Triage state

   Stale (needs attention):

   • In Backlog/Triage for >30 days with no activity
   • Assigned but no status change in >14 days

   Potential duplicates:

   • Issues with similar titles or descriptions
   • Issues addressing the same area/module

4. For each issue needing triage, fetch details:

   linear issue view ENG-123 --json
   

5. Analyze and propose for each issue:

   • Priority: based on title, description, and labels
   • Assignment: suggest a team member if patterns are clear
   • Labels: suggest missing labels based on content analysis
   • Closure: recommend closing stale/superseded issues

6. Present the triage summary for user review:

   ## Linear Triage Report
   
   ### Needs Prioritization ([count] issues):
   
   | Issue | Title | Suggested Priority | Suggested Labels | Rationale |
   |-------|-------|--------------------|------------------|-----------|
   | ENG-123 | <title> | High (2) | bug | <why> |
   | ENG-124 | <title> | Low (4) | tech-debt | <why> |
   
   ### Stale Issues ([count] issues):
   - ENG-200: <title> — in Backlog since [date], no activity
   - ENG-201: <title> — assigned to [person], no update in 21 days
   
   ### Potential Duplicates:
   - ENG-300 ↔ ENG-301: both address [topic]
   
   ### Recommended Closures:
   - ENG-400: [reason — superseded by ENG-401, no longer relevant, etc.]
   
   ### Suggested Groupings:
   - "Auth improvements": ENG-500, ENG-501, ENG-502
   
   ### Actions:
   1. ENG-123: Set priority high, assign to [person]
   2. ENG-124: Set priority low, label as tech-debt
   3. ENG-400: Close as superseded
   
   Apply these suggestions? (all / select / none)
   

7. If the user approves (all or selected), apply changes:

   linear issue update ENG-123 --priority 2 --label "bug"
   linear issue update ENG-124 --priority 4 --label "tech-debt"
   

8. Report final results:

   Triage Complete:
   - Prioritized: [count]
   - Labeled: [count]
   - Closed: [count]
   - Skipped: [count]
   

Arguments

• No arguments: triage all unstarted issues across teams
• $ARGUMENTS: filter by team key (e.g., ENG)

Notes

• Always present suggestions before applying — never auto-prioritize without user review
• Priority suggestions are based on keywords and labels, not assumptions
• If an issue is ambiguous, flag it for manual review rather than guessing
• Group related issues together when presenting (e.g., multiple bugs in same area)
• Linear priority numbers: 0=None, 1=Urgent, 2=High, 3=Medium, 4=Low
• For deeper strategic analysis (velocity trends, capacity planning), use the linear-pm agent