Track Linear cycle progress, added scope and days left each morning

SKILL.md---
name: linear-cycle-progress
description: "Every weekday: how much of the active Linear cycle is complete, how much scope was added since it started, and how many days are left. Use when the user asks for this, or when it runs on a schedule."
---

# Linear cycle progress

Every weekday: how much of the active Linear cycle is complete, how much scope was added since it started, and how many days are left.

Linear draws the cycle graph well. What it will not do, without a click, is tell you that the cycle grew by a fifth since day one and that most of what is left has not been started.

The agent reads the active cycle through the Linear API, takes completed scope against total scope, compares today's scope with the first day's, and posts the percentage with that context next to it. Product managers get the forecast; the team gets the list of large issues still untouched.

## Two ways to get the data

Use the API or MCP route when you have an MCP server, a CLI or an API token for the app. Otherwise, if you can drive a browser the user is signed in to (Claude in Chrome, a Playwright or Chrome DevTools MCP server), use the browser route. Say which one you used.

## Route A: API or MCP server

### What you need

- A Linear account in the team, and the team's ID or key (such as `ENG`).
- The Linear MCP server or connector, or a personal API key in `LINEAR_API_KEY`, sent as the `Authorization` header to the GraphQL API.

If something is missing, say what and stop; do not invent numbers.

### Steps

1. **Read the active cycle** (Linear): Query `team(id: "<team id>") { activeCycle { number startsAt endsAt progress scopeHistory completedScopeHistory issues(first: 100) { nodes { identifier title estimate state { type } } } } }` through `https://api.linear.app/graphql`, or the Linear MCP server.
2. **Work out completion**: Completed scope is the last value of `completedScopeHistory` over the last value of `scopeHistory` (estimates, or issue counts if the team does not estimate). Linear's own `progress` counts a started issue as a quarter done, so show it alongside.
3. **Measure scope added** (Linear): Scope added is the latest `scopeHistory` value minus the first. To name the issues, read `history` on each open issue and keep entries whose `toCycle` is this cycle with a `createdAt` after `startsAt`.
4. **Count days left and forecast**: Days from today to `endsAt`, and the share of the cycle elapsed. Forecast the spillover from the points completed per day so far, and call the cycle at risk when completion trails the elapsed share by more than 15 points.
5. **Report**: Completion, Linear's progress figure, scope added, days left, the forecast, and the three largest open issues.

## Route B: the browser

### What you need

- Signed in to Linear as a member of the workspace and the team; cycles must be enabled for that team.

If something is missing, say what and stop; do not invent numbers.

### Steps

Start at https://linear.app/. The user is signed in already; never type passwords or codes, and ask if a sign-in page appears.

1. **Open the current cycle**: Linear opens your workspace. In the sidebar expand the team (for example **ENG**), click **Cycles**, then **Current** at the top. The page header shows the cycle number and its start and end dates.
2. **Read the cycle graph**: Press `Cmd/Ctrl + I` to open the cycle details sidebar. The gray line is total scope, the solid blue line is completed, the yellow line is started, and the dotted blue line is the even-pace target. Read today's completed and scope values, and the scope value on the first day.
3. **Work out completion and added scope**: Completion is completed over scope today, in estimate points or issue counts. Scope added is today's scope minus the first day's. Linear's own percentage in the same sidebar counts started issues as a quarter done, so show both.
4. **Count days left and forecast**: Days from today to the end date, and the share of the cycle elapsed. Forecast the spillover from the points completed per day so far; call the cycle at risk when completion trails the elapsed share by more than 15 points.
5. **List the largest open issues**: In the cycle's issue list, use the display options to group by **Status** and sort by **Estimate**, and take the three largest issues still in Todo. To name issues added mid-cycle, open an issue's activity: it shows when it was added to the cycle.

Note: Scope read off the graph is approximate to a point or two; the API's `scopeHistory` is exact. The cycle graph only appears for teams that estimate or have at least a few issues in the cycle.

## The report

- **Completed**: share of the cycle's scope done, with Linear's own progress figure.
- **Scope added** since the cycle started, in points and issues.
- **Days left**, against where an even pace would be.
- **Still open**: the largest issues not yet started.
- A one-line forecast of how much will spill into the next cycle.

## Post it to Briefkin

When `BRIEFKIN_TOKEN` is set, or `~/.config/briefkin/env` exists (the installer from https://briefkin.dev/docs writes it), also send the result to the user's Briefkin board as one card. Keep the `item_key` the same on every run so the card updates in place, use a new `event_id` per run, and put today's real numbers in place of the example ones. If the request fails, say so once and carry on.

```bash
[ -n "${BRIEFKIN_TOKEN:-}" ] || . ~/.config/briefkin/env
curl -sS -X POST "${BRIEFKIN_URL:-https://briefkin.dev}/v1/events" \
  -H "authorization: Bearer $BRIEFKIN_TOKEN" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d @- <<'JSON'
{
  "v": 1,
  "event_id": "linear-cycle-progress/<date of this run, e.g. 2026-10-16>",
  "item_key": "linear-cycle-progress",
  "project": "Acme",
  "source": "Linear cycle progress skill",
  "kind": "metric",
  "title": "Cycle 42 is 55% complete with 3 days left",
  "metric": {
    "label": "Cycle scope completed",
    "value": 55,
    "unit": "%",
    "better": "higher",
    "period_start": "<start of the period, ISO 8601>",
    "period_end": "<end of the period, ISO 8601>"
  },
  "glance": [
    {
      "type": "Grid",
      "props": {
        "columns": 3
      },
      "children": [
        {
          "type": "Stat",
          "props": {
            "label": "Completed",
            "value": "32 of 58",
            "unit": "pts"
          }
        },
        {
          "type": "Stat",
          "props": {
            "label": "Scope added",
            "value": 10,
            "unit": "pts",
            "tone": "warn"
          }
        },
        {
          "type": "Stat",
          "props": {
            "label": "Days left",
            "value": 3
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "Progress",
      "props": {
        "label": "Cycle elapsed",
        "value": 79,
        "text": "Day 11 of 14"
      }
    }
  ],
  "widget": [
    {
      "type": "Table",
      "props": {
        "columns": [
          "Open issue",
          "Estimate",
          "State"
        ],
        "align": [
          "left",
          "right",
          "left"
        ],
        "rows": [
          [
            "ENG-882 Usage-based billing preview",
            8,
            "Todo"
          ],
          [
            "ENG-891 Proration on plan changes",
            5,
            "In Progress"
          ],
          [
            "ENG-903 New invoice email",
            5,
            "Todo"
          ]
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "KeyValue",
      "props": {
        "items": [
          {
            "key": "Linear progress",
            "value": "60%, counting started work at partial credit"
          },
          {
            "key": "Scope at start",
            "value": "48 points"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "Callout",
      "props": {
        "text": "At 2.9 points a day, about 17 of the 26 open points spill into Cycle 43.",
        "tone": "warn"
      }
    }
  ],
  "size": "md"
}
JSON
```

Widgets come from the Briefkin catalog (https://briefkin.dev/v1/catalog). Without a token, just give the user the report.

Set `period_start` and `period_end` to the window the number covers: the tile names it from them ("Last 7 days", "Today", "This month"). For a count right now (open items, a balance), send `"period_label": ""` so no period shows; for another name, send it as `period_label` (at most 24 characters).

## Run it on a schedule

Suggested: Weekdays at 8:45 (`45 8 * * 1-5`). From cron, with the agent signed in on that machine:

```bash
45 8 * * 1-5 claude -p "Run the linear-cycle-progress skill"
# Codex: codex exec, Gemini CLI: gemini -p, Copilot CLI: copilot -p, OpenCode: opencode run
```

Or use the agent's own scheduler (Claude Code routines, Codex automations, Claude or ChatGPT scheduled tasks): https://briefkin.dev/skills/linear-cycle-progress#schedule

Source: https://briefkin.dev/skills/linear-cycle-progress