Linear Members and Roles
Every person in a workspace holds a role. The role decides what that person can see and change. Clear roles protect your data and keep settings safe from accidental edits.
The Three Main Roles
Linear groups people into three access levels. Plan details can change which levels your workspace offers, so check your billing page for the current options.
| Role | What the Role Can Do | Typical Person |
|---|---|---|
| Admin | Manage members, billing, integrations, and workspace settings | Engineering manager or operations lead |
| Member | Create and edit issues, projects, and views within teams they join | Developer, designer, product manager |
| Guest | See only the teams they are invited to, with limited actions | Contractor or outside partner |
A Simple Way to Picture Roles
Imagine a hotel. The manager holds a master key that opens every door. A regular guest holds a key for one room and the shared areas. A visitor receives a pass for the lobby only. Admins, members, and guests follow the same pattern.
ACCESS LADDER Admin ████████████████████ Settings + billing + everything below Member ████████████ Create and edit work in joined teams Guest ██████ Limited view of invited teams only
Invite New Members
- Open Settings > Members.
- Click Invite.
- Enter one or more email addresses.
- Choose a role and select the teams the person should join.
- Send the invitation.
Admins can approve an email domain. Anyone who signs up with that company domain joins the workspace without a manual invite. This saves time during hiring waves.
Team Membership
Workspace membership and team membership work separately. A person can belong to the workspace yet join only two of five teams. Open Settings > Teams, pick a team, and use the members section to add or remove people.
Private teams add another layer. Only team members see a private team and its issues. Use private teams for sensitive work such as hiring plans or security reviews.
Change a Role
Open Settings > Members, find the person, and open the menu beside the name. Choose a new role from the list. The change applies at once, so the person sees the new access on the next page load.
Suspend or Remove a Member
People leave companies and projects. Admins can suspend a member from the same members list. Suspended accounts lose access but keep their history. Issues created by that person stay in place, so reassign any open work to a teammate.
Member leaves
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▼
Admin suspends account
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Admin reassigns open issues
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History stays for the team
Role Practices That Work
- Keep the admin group small. Two or three trusted admins cover most companies.
- Give contractors the guest role and limit them to one team.
- Review the members list every quarter and remove accounts that no longer need access.
- Match private teams to sensitive topics, and keep ordinary engineering work in open teams.
Example Setup for a Ten-Person Startup
The founder and the engineering lead hold admin roles. Six developers and the designer hold member roles. One freelance writer holds a guest role on the Marketing team. This setup keeps control simple and limits exposure.
Plan for Growth
Role design matters more as the company grows. A team of ten can share admin duties informally. A company of a hundred needs written rules about who invites people, who approves access to private teams, and who reviews integrations. Document these rules in a short internal page and link it from your onboarding checklist.