Linear Workflows
A workflow in Linear defines the stages an issue travels through from creation to completion. Every team has its own workflow made up of ordered states. Customizing your workflow makes the issue board match how your team actually works — not a generic process that was designed for someone else.
What Is a Workflow State
A workflow state is one stage in the life of an issue. When you move an issue from "Todo" to "In Progress," you're changing its state. Each state signals to the whole team where that piece of work currently stands.
WORKFLOW STATES (Default)
New Issue Created
│
[Backlog] ──── Captured but not yet scheduled
│
[Todo] ──────── Scheduled, ready to be picked up
│
[In Progress] ───── Someone is working on it right now
│
[In Review] ───── Work done, waiting for review or approval
│
[Done] ──────── Accepted and complete
│
[Cancelled] ───── No longer needed, closed without completing
State Categories
Linear organizes every state into one of four fixed categories. You cannot change which category a state belongs to. The category determines how Linear counts and reports issues in analytics and cycle completion metrics.
| Category | What It Represents | Default States in This Category |
|---|---|---|
| Unstarted | Work that hasn't begun yet | Backlog, Todo |
| Started | Work actively in progress | In Progress, In Review |
| Completed | Work finished and accepted | Done |
| Cancelled | Work that was stopped without finishing | Cancelled |
Customize Workflow States
Open Settings > Teams > [Team Name] > Workflow. This screen shows all current states for your team. You can add new states, rename existing ones, change their colors, and reorder them.
Example Customized Workflows by Team Type
| Team Type | Custom Workflow States |
|---|---|
| Engineering (Startup) | Backlog → Todo → In Progress → In Review → Done |
| Engineering (Enterprise) | Triage → Backlog → Todo → In Dev → Code Review → QA → Staging → Done |
| Design Team | Backlog → Discovery → Wireframing → Design → Feedback → Done |
| Marketing Team | Ideas → Planned → Writing → Editing → Approved → Published |
Engineering Workflow Diagram (Enterprise)
[Triage]
│ New issues land here first
│
▼
[Backlog]
│ Reviewed and accepted, waiting for sprint
│
▼
[Todo]
│ Assigned to a developer, ready to start
│
▼
[In Dev]
│ Developer is writing code
│
▼
[Code Review]
│ Pull request open, awaiting peer review
│
▼
[QA]
│ QA engineer is testing the change
│
▼
[Staging]
│ Deployed to staging environment, final check
│
▼
[Done]
Merged to main and released
Add a New Workflow State
- Go to Settings > Teams > [Team] > Workflow
- Click Add State at the bottom of the state list
- Enter a state name (e.g., "Staging")
- Choose a state category: Unstarted, Started, Completed, or Cancelled
- Pick a color to identify this state visually
- Drag the state to the correct position in the workflow order
Triage State
Some teams use a Triage state at the beginning of their workflow. All newly created issues land in Triage first. A team lead or product manager reviews triage daily and either moves issues to Backlog, assigns them, or cancels them.
Triage prevents the main backlog from filling up with low-quality or duplicate issues. It works like a security checkpoint — nothing gets into the active backlog without being reviewed first.
Without Triage With Triage
────────────── ───────────
Any person creates issue Any person creates issue
│ │
▼ ▼
Goes directly into backlog [Triage Queue]
(Backlog becomes cluttered) │
Team lead reviews
│
┌─────────────┴──────────────┐
│ │
Accepted Rejected
│ │
[Backlog] [Cancelled]
Default State for New Issues
Set one state as the default starting point for every new issue in your team. Go to workflow settings and click the star icon next to the state you want as default. Most teams set "Backlog" or "Triage" as default.