Email to Linear: The Complete Integration Guide

You can get emails into Linear from any email client by forwarding them to a unique Quicktion address. Each forwarded email becomes a Linear issue with the subject as the title, the body as a markdown description, and attachments uploaded automatically. Gmail users also get a one-click add-on for saving emails without leaving the inbox.

Linear has no built-in email integration. There is no way to send an email directly into Linear as an issue without a third-party tool. This guide covers every method available, with step-by-step setup instructions.

Three Ways to Get Emails Into Linear

1. Email forwarding — works with any email client, manual or automatic
2. Gmail add-on — one-click saving from Gmail's sidebar
3. Auto-forwarding rules — hands-off automation from Gmail or Outlook

Each method uses Quicktion to bridge the gap between email and Linear. The setup takes two to five minutes depending on which approach you choose.

Method 1: Email Forwarding (Any Email Client)

Email forwarding is the most flexible method. It works with Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, Yahoo, Fastmail, or any other email client. You forward an email to a unique address, and it shows up in Linear as a new issue.

How to Set It Up

1. Sign up at quicktion.io and connect your Linear workspace
2. Create a destination linked to your Linear team
3. Configure default values — project, status, priority, assignee, and labels
4. Quicktion generates a unique forwarding address like bugs-a3x9@in.quicktion.io

That is the entire setup. Forward any email to that address and it becomes a Linear issue within seconds.

When to Use It

Email forwarding is the right choice when you use an email client other than Gmail, or when you want the simplest possible setup. No browser extensions, no add-ons, no special permissions. If your email client can send or forward a message, it works.

It is also the foundation for automatic forwarding, covered below.

For a detailed walkthrough, see our forward emails to Linear guide.

Method 2: Gmail Add-on

The Gmail add-on adds a Quicktion panel to Gmail's right sidebar. Open any email, click the Quicktion icon, and save it to Linear with one click. You can review and edit the issue fields before saving — adjust priority, assign it to someone, add labels.

How to Set It Up

1. Install Quicktion from the Google Workspace Marketplace
2. Open Gmail and click the Quicktion icon in the right sidebar
3. Sign in and connect your Linear workspace
4. Create a destination linked to your Linear team

From that point on, saving an email is one click. Open the email, click the Quicktion icon, and hit save.

When to Use It

The add-on is best for selective saving. You read an email, decide it belongs in Linear, and save it on the spot. You get to preview the issue and adjust fields before it is created — useful when you want to set the right priority or assign it to a specific person.

The trade-off is that it only works in Gmail. If you use Outlook or another client, use email forwarding instead.

For a full walkthrough of the add-on's Linear save flow, see our Gmail to Linear integration guide.

Method 3: Auto-Forwarding From Gmail or Outlook

Auto-forwarding turns email forwarding into a fully automatic workflow. You define rules in your email client that match certain emails, and those emails are forwarded to your Quicktion address without any manual action.

Gmail Auto-Forwarding Setup

1. In your Quicktion dashboard, copy your destination's forwarding address
2. In Gmail, go to Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP and add the Quicktion address as a forwarding address
3. Confirm the verification email
4. Go to the Gmail search bar, click the dropdown arrow, and define your filter criteria — sender, subject keywords, or domain
5. Click Create filter, check Forward it to, and select your Quicktion address
6. Optionally check Also apply filter to matching conversations to process existing emails

Every email matching your filter is now forwarded to Linear automatically.

Outlook Auto-Forwarding Setup

1. In Outlook, go to Settings > Mail > Rules
2. Click Add new rule
3. Define your conditions — sender, subject contains, or other criteria
4. Set the action to Forward to and enter your Quicktion forwarding address
5. Save the rule

Outlook processes the rule on every incoming email that matches, forwarding it to Quicktion, which creates the Linear issue.

When to Use It

Auto-forwarding is the right choice for high-volume, predictable workflows. Support emails from a shared inbox. Error alerts from a monitoring service. Client requests from a known domain. Any workflow where you can define "all emails matching X should become Linear issues."

What Gets Saved to Linear

Every email saved through Quicktion — whether forwarded manually, auto-forwarded, or saved via the Gmail add-on — creates a Linear issue with the same set of fields:

• Issue title — the email subject line
• Issue description — the full email body, converted to clean markdown with formatting preserved
• Sender — name and email address, included at the top of the description
• Date — when the email was received
• Attachments — uploaded and linked in the issue description

On top of that, your destination configuration applies default values to every issue:

• Team — which Linear team receives the issue
• Project — optional, routes issues into a specific project
• Status — e.g., "Triage" or "Backlog"
• Priority — e.g., "Medium" or "Urgent"
• Assignee — optional, auto-assigns to a team member
• Labels — e.g., "email", "support", "bug-report"

These defaults mean every issue arrives pre-tagged and ready for triage. No manual cleanup required.

Use Cases

Customer Support Emails

Support teams that receive bug reports, feature requests, or complaints via email can route them directly into Linear. Set up a forwarding address for your support inbox and configure defaults like status: Triage and label: support. Every customer email becomes a triaged issue.

For a deeper dive into this workflow, see how to manage customer support emails in Linear.

Turning Emails Into Tasks

Actionable emails — meeting follow-ups, requests from stakeholders, vendor deliverables — often get lost in the inbox. Forward them to Linear and they become trackable issues with an owner, a status, and a deadline.

For workflows around converting emails into actionable Linear issues, see our guide to turning emails into Linear tasks.

Newsletter and Reference Archiving

Dev teams subscribe to security advisories, changelog updates, and industry newsletters. Auto-forward them to a Linear project dedicated to reading and review. Each newsletter becomes an issue you can assign, discuss, and close when read.

Combining Methods

Most teams that use Quicktion with Linear end up using two methods together:

• Auto-forwarding handles the predictable, recurring emails — support requests, alerts, notifications
• Gmail add-on (or manual forwarding) handles one-off emails that require judgment before saving

This gives you full coverage. Automated workflows catch everything that matches your rules. Manual saving catches everything else.

Getting Started

Sign up at quicktion.io, connect your Linear workspace, and create your first destination. The free plan includes 25 emails per month — enough to test the workflow before committing to a paid plan.

For step-by-step instructions, start with our complete guide to saving emails to Linear.