Assign a Linear issue to a coding agent
Assign or mention Hoplite on an issue and a coding agent picks it up in the right repository, posts its progress to the issue as it works and links the pull request that closes it.
What is a Linear coding agent?
A Linear coding agent is a coding agent you can hand an issue to the way you would a teammate. It reads the issue, does the work in your repository and reports back on the issue itself, so Linear stays the place your team follows the work.
In Hoplite, delegating an issue starts an ordinary cloud thread in the Hoplite project bound to that part of Linear, with the issue's context carried into the run. The issue moves to your team's first started state, its agent session links to the thread, and the agent's steps and final answer post back to the issue.
Assign it like a teammate
Assign an issue to Hoplite or mention it in a comment, and the agent starts work in the bound project. With a workspace-wide connection, issues also appear on Hoplite's Issues page, where Spawn thread opens a new thread prefilled with the issue's title, description and identifier.
The right repository, without guessing
In a project with several repositories, a repo:<name> label on the issue chooses one. Otherwise Hoplite follows routes you set for a Linear project or label, can pick from the issue's contents, and falls back to the primary repository. An unknown or ambiguous label stops delegation instead of picking another repository.
Progress where the team is watching
The issue's agent session shows what the agent is doing as it reads files, applies patches and runs commands, then shows its final answer when the run ends. Reply in the session to keep going in the same thread; if the agent is still busy, your reply is queued and runs next.
Pull requests that close the right issue
A pull request is linked to the issue when its description closes it, such as Fixes NTR-214. Partial work is posted as an activity without marking the issue done. Commits credit the teammate who assigned the issue as a co-author, unless they've opted out.
Pasting an issue vs. assigning it to Hoplite
| Question | Pasting the issue into an agent | Assigning it to Hoplite |
|---|---|---|
| Starting the work | Copy the issue into a local agent session | Assign or mention Hoplite on the issue |
| Where it runs | On the laptop of whoever picked it up | A cloud thread with its own sandbox |
| Choosing the repository | Whoever starts the session decides | A repo label, a route or the primary repository |
| Progress on the issue | Someone posts an update by hand | The agent's steps and final answer post to the issue |
| The pull request | Linked by hand | Linked when it closes the issue |
| Commit credit | The person who ran the agent | The teammate who assigned the issue, as co-author |
Linear and Hoplite, answered
- How do I connect Linear to Hoplite?
- Under Settings → Integrations, connect your Linear workspace. Then bind a Linear project or team to a Hoplite project, so mentions and delegated issues from that part of Linear start work in that project.
- Which repository does a delegated issue use?
- In order: the issue's repo:<name> label, a route for the issue's Linear project, a matching label route, Hoplite's pick from the issue when that's turned on, and then the project's primary repository. Routing applies only to projects with more than one repository.
- Does Hoplite send issue content to a model to choose a repository?
- Only in projects with more than one repository and when no label or route decides. The issue's title, description and labels, with repository metadata, go to a model provider. Owners and admins can turn this off with Pick from the issue in the project's Linear settings.
- Will a partial pull request close my issue?
- No. Hoplite links a pull request to the issue's agent session only when the pull request description explicitly closes that issue. Partial work shows up as an activity on the session instead.
- Can I assign a batch of issues at once?
- Yes. New Linear sessions queue, and temporary capacity and rate limits are retried for up to two hours. Each retry keeps the same Hoplite thread, so a large batch starts gradually without reassigning anything. If a delegation still can't be processed, Hoplite reports the error in Linear.
- Will the agent change other issues in Linear?
- Agents use Linear's read and write tools only when you explicitly ask them to. Working on an issue or opening a pull request doesn't by itself authorize the agent to read or change Linear.
- Do workspace instructions and skills apply to delegated issues?
- Yes. Workspace instructions and organization skills apply to every run, including Linear-delegated runs. Personal skills are left out of delegated runs, so put shared workflows in organization skills.
Give the next issue to Hoplite
Connect GitHub and Linear, bind a project and assign an issue. Start on Free.