Vibecode Linear
track this build5 steps, step by step0%The object model is small: issues, states, labels, cycles, projects. A keyboard-first single-player tracker with a board, cycles, and one-way GitHub sync is a weekend build. What does not survive the copy is the sync engine, real-time multiplayer, and the integration surface (GitHub two-way, Slack, Figma, Sentry) that make Linear the place a team actually agrees on what is being built.
You are building a lean indie version of Linear. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Linear indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Linear workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Local SQLite issue tracker with prefixed IDs, statuses, priorities, labels, a drag board, rolling two-week cycles, a command palette, and a script that pulls GitHub issues in. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - real-time multiplayer and the sub-100ms sync engine - native mobile and desktop apps - two-way integrations with GitHub, Slack, Figma, and Sentry - Triage, Insights, and Linear Asks - the interaction polish that makes people actually file the issue If those capabilities are essential, use Plane instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build me a personal issue tracker to replace Linear. Requirements: - A local web app: Node + Express + better-sqlite3, server-rendered, dark, bound to localhost. One SQLite file I back up. - Issues have an auto ID with a team prefix (ENG-142), a Markdown body, a status (backlog, todo, in progress, in review, done, canceled), a priority (urgent to none), labels, and a point estimate. - Keyboard-first: c creates, s status, p priority, l labels, / searches titles, bodies, and comments with SQLite FTS5, cmd+k opens a command palette for all of it. - Three views: My Issues, a board with drag between columns, and the current cycle, a two-week window with a remaining-estimate burndown. On its last day, unfinished issues roll forward, done ones archive. - node scripts/sync-github.js (octokit, token and repo list in .env) pulls open GitHub issues in, keyed on issue number so re-runs update instead of duplicate. - Pressing b copies a branch name (me/eng-142-short-title) to the clipboard. - Comments and a per-issue activity log. No accounts, no telemetry, nothing leaves the machine except the GitHub calls. - Out of scope: multiplayer, mobile apps, and writing back to GitHub. Skip auth and deploy config, this runs on my machine. - README: how to run it, where the SQLite file lives, and the GitHub token scope. ## Required capabilities - local or hosted database - GitHub personal access token for issue sync - a box the team can reach if more than one person uses it ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a lean indie version of Linear. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Linear indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Linear workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Local SQLite issue tracker with prefixed IDs, statuses, priorities, labels, a drag board, rolling two-week cycles, a command palette, and a script that pulls GitHub issues in. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - real-time multiplayer and the sub-100ms sync engine - native mobile and desktop apps - two-way integrations with GitHub, Slack, Figma, and Sentry - Triage, Insights, and Linear Asks - the interaction polish that makes people actually file the issue If those capabilities are essential, use Plane instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build me a personal issue tracker to replace Linear. Requirements: - A local web app: Node + Express + better-sqlite3, server-rendered, dark, bound to localhost. One SQLite file I back up. - Issues have an auto ID with a team prefix (ENG-142), a Markdown body, a status (backlog, todo, in progress, in review, done, canceled), a priority (urgent to none), labels, and a point estimate. - Keyboard-first: c creates, s status, p priority, l labels, / searches titles, bodies, and comments with SQLite FTS5, cmd+k opens a command palette for all of it. - Three views: My Issues, a board with drag between columns, and the current cycle, a two-week window with a remaining-estimate burndown. On its last day, unfinished issues roll forward, done ones archive. - node scripts/sync-github.js (octokit, token and repo list in .env) pulls open GitHub issues in, keyed on issue number so re-runs update instead of duplicate. - Pressing b copies a branch name (me/eng-142-short-title) to the clipboard. - Comments and a per-issue activity log. No accounts, no telemetry, nothing leaves the machine except the GitHub calls. - Out of scope: multiplayer, mobile apps, and writing back to GitHub. Skip auth and deploy config, this runs on my machine. - README: how to run it, where the SQLite file lives, and the GitHub token scope. ## Required capabilities - local or hosted database - GitHub personal access token for issue sync - a box the team can reach if more than one person uses it ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a production product version of Linear. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== PRODUCT.md ===== # Linear product brief ## Problem The object model is small: issues, states, labels, cycles, projects. A keyboard-first single-player tracker with a board, cycles, and one-way GitHub sync is a weekend build. What does not survive the copy is the sync engine, real-time multiplayer, and the integration surface (GitHub two-way, Slack, Figma, Sentry) that make Linear the place a team actually agrees on what is being built. ## Product outcome Local SQLite issue tracker with prefixed IDs, statuses, priorities, labels, a drag board, rolling two-week cycles, a command palette, and a script that pulls GitHub issues in. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - local or hosted database - GitHub personal access token for issue sync - a box the team can reach if more than one person uses it ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - real-time multiplayer and the sub-100ms sync engine - native mobile and desktop apps - two-way integrations with GitHub, Slack, Figma, and Sentry - Triage, Insights, and Linear Asks - the interaction polish that makes people actually file the issue ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees. ===== ARCHITECTURE.md ===== # Architecture ## Starting brief Build me a personal issue tracker to replace Linear. Requirements: - A local web app: Node + Express + better-sqlite3, server-rendered, dark, bound to localhost. One SQLite file I back up. - Issues have an auto ID with a team prefix (ENG-142), a Markdown body, a status (backlog, todo, in progress, in review, done, canceled), a priority (urgent to none), labels, and a point estimate. - Keyboard-first: c creates, s status, p priority, l labels, / searches titles, bodies, and comments with SQLite FTS5, cmd+k opens a command palette for all of it. - Three views: My Issues, a board with drag between columns, and the current cycle, a two-week window with a remaining-estimate burndown. On its last day, unfinished issues roll forward, done ones archive. - node scripts/sync-github.js (octokit, token and repo list in .env) pulls open GitHub issues in, keyed on issue number so re-runs update instead of duplicate. - Pressing b copies a branch name (me/eng-142-short-title) to the clipboard. - Comments and a per-issue activity log. No accounts, no telemetry, nothing leaves the machine except the GitHub calls. - Out of scope: multiplayer, mobile apps, and writing back to GitHub. Skip auth and deploy config, this runs on my machine. - README: how to run it, where the SQLite file lives, and the GitHub token scope. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone. ===== MILESTONES.md ===== # Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations. ===== OPERATIONS.md ===== # Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Linear capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
# Linear indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Linear workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Local SQLite issue tracker with prefixed IDs, statuses, priorities, labels, a drag board, rolling two-week cycles, a command palette, and a script that pulls GitHub issues in. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - real-time multiplayer and the sub-100ms sync engine - native mobile and desktop apps - two-way integrations with GitHub, Slack, Figma, and Sentry - Triage, Insights, and Linear Asks - the interaction polish that makes people actually file the issue If those capabilities are essential, use Plane instead of pretending the gap is solved.
# Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs".
# Build plan ## Original build brief Build me a personal issue tracker to replace Linear. Requirements: - A local web app: Node + Express + better-sqlite3, server-rendered, dark, bound to localhost. One SQLite file I back up. - Issues have an auto ID with a team prefix (ENG-142), a Markdown body, a status (backlog, todo, in progress, in review, done, canceled), a priority (urgent to none), labels, and a point estimate. - Keyboard-first: c creates, s status, p priority, l labels, / searches titles, bodies, and comments with SQLite FTS5, cmd+k opens a command palette for all of it. - Three views: My Issues, a board with drag between columns, and the current cycle, a two-week window with a remaining-estimate burndown. On its last day, unfinished issues roll forward, done ones archive. - node scripts/sync-github.js (octokit, token and repo list in .env) pulls open GitHub issues in, keyed on issue number so re-runs update instead of duplicate. - Pressing b copies a branch name (me/eng-142-short-title) to the clipboard. - Comments and a per-issue activity log. No accounts, no telemetry, nothing leaves the machine except the GitHub calls. - Out of scope: multiplayer, mobile apps, and writing back to GitHub. Skip auth and deploy config, this runs on my machine. - README: how to run it, where the SQLite file lives, and the GitHub token scope. ## Required capabilities - local or hosted database - GitHub personal access token for issue sync - a box the team can reach if more than one person uses it ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden.
# Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
# Linear product brief ## Problem The object model is small: issues, states, labels, cycles, projects. A keyboard-first single-player tracker with a board, cycles, and one-way GitHub sync is a weekend build. What does not survive the copy is the sync engine, real-time multiplayer, and the integration surface (GitHub two-way, Slack, Figma, Sentry) that make Linear the place a team actually agrees on what is being built. ## Product outcome Local SQLite issue tracker with prefixed IDs, statuses, priorities, labels, a drag board, rolling two-week cycles, a command palette, and a script that pulls GitHub issues in. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - local or hosted database - GitHub personal access token for issue sync - a box the team can reach if more than one person uses it ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - real-time multiplayer and the sub-100ms sync engine - native mobile and desktop apps - two-way integrations with GitHub, Slack, Figma, and Sentry - Triage, Insights, and Linear Asks - the interaction polish that makes people actually file the issue ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees.
# Architecture ## Starting brief Build me a personal issue tracker to replace Linear. Requirements: - A local web app: Node + Express + better-sqlite3, server-rendered, dark, bound to localhost. One SQLite file I back up. - Issues have an auto ID with a team prefix (ENG-142), a Markdown body, a status (backlog, todo, in progress, in review, done, canceled), a priority (urgent to none), labels, and a point estimate. - Keyboard-first: c creates, s status, p priority, l labels, / searches titles, bodies, and comments with SQLite FTS5, cmd+k opens a command palette for all of it. - Three views: My Issues, a board with drag between columns, and the current cycle, a two-week window with a remaining-estimate burndown. On its last day, unfinished issues roll forward, done ones archive. - node scripts/sync-github.js (octokit, token and repo list in .env) pulls open GitHub issues in, keyed on issue number so re-runs update instead of duplicate. - Pressing b copies a branch name (me/eng-142-short-title) to the clipboard. - Comments and a per-issue activity log. No accounts, no telemetry, nothing leaves the machine except the GitHub calls. - Out of scope: multiplayer, mobile apps, and writing back to GitHub. Skip auth and deploy config, this runs on my machine. - README: how to run it, where the SQLite file lives, and the GitHub token scope. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it.
# Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone.
# Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations.
# Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Linear capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
$ choose a build depth, inspect the files, then open the complete pack in your agent
An issue tracker is only worth anything when everyone uses it, and people only use one that never makes them wait. Linear sells speed and shared context, not features: the whole team sees the same board update instantly, GitHub PRs close issues on merge, and the roadmap stays honest because filing is faster than complaining. A solo copy tracks your own work fine and settles no arguments.
xreal-time multiplayer and the sub-100ms sync engine
xnative mobile and desktop apps
xtwo-way integrations with GitHub, Slack, Figma, and Sentry
xTriage, Insights, and Linear Asks
xthe interaction polish that makes people actually file the issue
Don't feel like building it? These folks already made it free.
all 4 free alternatives to Linear →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Linear pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/workspace | $0/workspace | Unlimited members; 2 teams; 250 issues total; 10 MB file uploads; 15 release pipelines. |
| basic | — | $10/user | Up to 5 teams; unlimited issues and file uploads. |
| business | — | $16/user | Unlimited teams and issues; advanced controls and analytics. |
| enterprise | custom | — | Custom limits, controls, support and contract terms. |
free tierunlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues total, 10 MB uploads, and 15 release pipelines
billingmonthly and annual for self-serve paid plans; Enterprise is annual/custom
hidden costsEvery unsuspended workspace member is billable; annual plans receive monthly seat true-ups and removals create invoice credits rather than cash refunds. Linear's AI agents use separately prepaid credits: ad-hoc purchases start at $10 and auto-reload starts at $50.
verified 2026-08-14 · source ↗
Vibecode Linear
Kinda. The core of Linear is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: real-time multiplayer and the sub-100ms sync engine, native mobile and desktop apps. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Linear cost?
Linear costs about $10/month (Basic, checked 2026-07-30), which is $120 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Linear?
Honestly: real-time multiplayer and the sub-100ms sync engine; native mobile and desktop apps; two-way integrations with GitHub, Slack, Figma, and Sentry; Triage, Insights, and Linear Asks; the interaction polish that makes people actually file the issue. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Linear?
Yes: Plane (Linear with more knobs and a server you now own.) Huly (Issues, docs and chat in one stack; the hosted service is closing, so this means self-hosting.) OpenProject (Linear's sober older cousin, complete with Gantt charts.) All 4 curated free alternatives are at vibecodeit.com/linear/alternatives. The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.