Linear Cycles are time-boxed stretches of work for a team — close cousins of sprints, without tying the cadence to a release train. Enable them once, pick a duration between 1 and 8 weeks, and Linear creates upcoming cycles on a repeating schedule.
I re-read Linear’s Use cycles and Cycle graph docs on October 13, 2026. Cycles appear on Free through Enterprise in Linear’s feature matrix (pricing); you are not paying a higher tier just to turn them on. Basic is $10 and Business $16 per user/month billed yearly as of that check — details in our Linear pricing guide.
The short setup
- Open Team Settings → Cycles.
- Toggle Enable cycles.
- Set Each cycle lasts (1–8 weeks).
- Choose the starting day of the week (starts at 12:01 AM in the team timezone from Team Settings → General).
- Optionally enable a cooldown after each cycle for planning and debt — issues cannot be assigned to a cooldown.
- Choose how many upcoming cycles to pre-create (max 15).
- Decide automations: rollover unfinished issues; auto-add Started/Completed issues that lack a cycle.
How Cycles differ from “sprint theater”
| Linear Cycles | Typical heavyweight sprint ritual |
|---|---|
| Repeating interval; not release-tied | Often coupled to release trains and SAFe-style PI events |
| Cooldown is a first-class gap | “Sprint planning day” bolted on ad hoc |
| Open issues roll forward automatically | Manual carry-over debates in a ceremony |
| Capacity from last three completed cycles | Velocity arguments from a spreadsheet |
Linear’s own Method writing pushes focus over estimation theater. Use estimates if they help the capacity dial; skip them if your team ships better on issue count. The graph supports either (team estimate settings decide).
Reading the cycle graph
Open a cycle and use Cmd/Ctrl + I for the sidebar graph (also visible for the current cycle on the Cycles view):
- Gray line — total scope.
- Blue dotted line — ideal pace (flattens on weekends).
- Solid blue — completed work.
- Yellow — started, stacked on completed.
- Blue bars — completed work over time.
Cycle Success (per Linear): completed issues count fully; started issues count as 25% done. Historical graph snapshots freeze at cycle end — the issue list can diverge later if people reopen or move issues. That is expected, not a bug.
Upcoming cycles show a capacity dial from the previous three cycles’ velocity (or a rough headcount estimate if you have no history).
Automations that keep the books honest
Rollover: unfinished issues in a closing cycle move forward. Issues moved to backlog, triage, canceled, or completed during cooldown are not carried forward. There is no setting to leave unfinished work sitting forever in a closed cycle.
Auto-add active issues: optionally dump Started or Completed issues without a cycle into the current (or previous, during cooldown) cycle so side work still shows up in stats.
Start cycle today: from the next cycle’s overflow menu — completes the current cycle immediately and moves open issues into the one you started. Linear warns you; you cannot revert the start-date change.
Calendars: subscribe from a cycle’s overflow menu (Google Calendar, feed URL, or .ics).
Sub-teams inherit the parent cycle schedule; past cycles stay put, future ones align.
Mid-cycle adoption
Already in week two of an informal sprint? Linear’s FAQ matches what I tell teams: enable Cycles with today as the start so the current cycle mirrors remaining work, then edit the next cycle’s start to lock the long-term cadence.
When Cycles are the wrong tool
- Leadership wants release-linked trains with cross-team PI planning — use Linear Projects/Initiatives for the narrative and keep Cycles local, or pick a tool that markets SAFe explicitly.
- The team refuses estimates and refuses to close issues — the graph becomes fiction. Fix workflow hygiene first (Linear Asks helps for intake noise).
- You need AI agent workflows on Business — see Linear Agents (AI credits apply to some pieces).
Common questions
Are Linear Cycles only on paid plans?
Cycles are part of Linear’s core issue workflow and show up across plans on the pricing comparison. You do not upgrade solely to enable Cycles.
Can I change dates on a past cycle?
No. Past cycle dates are fixed. You can end the current cycle early (end of day) or use Start cycle today on the next one.
Do unfinished issues stay in the closed cycle?
No. Open issues roll forward. Completed work can still be attributed back to the previous cycle in some cases before the next one starts — see Linear’s graph docs.
How long should a cycle be?
Most product engineering teams I work with pick 1 or 2 weeks. Longer cycles (4–8) fit teams with heavy review latency or hardware dependencies; they also hide slip until it is expensive.
Verified against linear.app/docs/use-cycles, cycle-graph, and linear.app/pricing on October 13, 2026.
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