Replace Linear?
KINDA · weekend projectThe 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.
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.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter) or copy it raw
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
What does the Linear verdict mean?
The core job looks buildable, with meaningful gaps: real-time multiplayer and the sub-100ms sync engine, native mobile and desktop apps. Read the full tradeoff list before committing. This research record is not a hosted IVCIFY tool.
What price does this directory record show for Linear?
The directory records $10/month for Basic, checked 2026-07-30. Verify the source before making a purchase decision. This reference stays outside retail Stack Math unless current matched evidence supports the comparison.
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?
The listed prior art includes Plane (Open-source project and issue tracker with cycles, modules, and boards; the closest self-hosted Linear analogue.), Huly (Open-source all-in-one platform whose tracker module is an explicit Linear alternative.). Inspect those projects before starting from a blank prompt.