Why Linear?
- Fast keyboard workflow
- Modern UI, low learning curve
- Native GitHub integration
- Price competitive ($8 vs $8.60)
Pre-migration check
- No regulated industry / audit requirements
- Engineering team under ~100
- Low dependence on Atlassian ecosystem (Confluence/Bitbucket)
If any of these don't hold, staying on Jira is safer.
Migration (2–4 weeks)
Week 1: prep - Sign up for Linear + design team/project structure - List Jira workflows and issue types - Check Linear's official Jira Import tool
Week 2: issue migration - Use Linear's Jira Importer - Auto-migrate issues/sprints/epics - Manually rewrite custom fields/workflows
Week 3: integrations / automation - GitHub integration (Linear is especially strong) - Slack integration - Rewrite automation (SLAs, escalations)
Week 4: full cutover - Jira read-only - Engineering team on Linear only - Cancel Jira subscription (Confluence can stay)
Pitfalls
- Trying to port full history perfectly: impractical. Just last 3–6 months - Dumping Confluence too: wiki can stand alone (or move to Notion) - Copying custom workflows verbatim: Linear favors simplicity — redesign