Trello’s Kanban boards are great for simple task tracking, but growing engineering and product teams often outgrow them. Linear is purpose-built for software development workflows — it’s faster, has better issue tracking, and integrates directly with GitHub, GitLab, and Slack.
If you’re ready to make the switch, here’s how to migrate from Trello to Linear without losing your work.
Why Teams Switch from Trello to Linear
Before diving into the migration, it’s worth understanding what you’re gaining (and what you’re giving up):
What Linear does better:
- Cycle/sprint planning with built-in velocity tracking
- GitHub PR and commit linking
- Sub-issues and parent-child relationships
- Much faster performance (keyboard-first design)
- Better status tracking beyond simple lists
What you’ll miss from Trello:
- Power-Ups ecosystem for non-engineering workflows
- Visual simplicity for non-technical teams
- Card attachments and comments are simpler in Trello
Linear is the right move for engineering teams. It may be overkill for marketing or ops teams that use Trello for simple task management.
Before You Start: Audit Your Trello Setup
Spend 30 minutes understanding your current Trello structure:
- List your boards — which ones are active vs. archived?
- Note your list names — these will become statuses in Linear
- Check your labels — these will become labels or priorities in Linear
- Review card members — make sure these people have Linear accounts
- Export your Trello data — in Trello, go to Board Settings → Export as JSON
Download the JSON export. You won’t import it directly into Linear (Linear doesn’t have a Trello importer), but it’s a useful reference.
Step 1: Set Up Your Linear Workspace
If you haven’t already:
- Go to linear.app and create a workspace
- Invite your team members (Linear is free for small teams)
- Set up your team under Settings → Teams
Step 2: Create Your Team in Linear
Linear organizes work into Teams (similar to Trello boards for a project or department). Create a team for each major Trello board you want to migrate.
Go to Settings → Teams → New Team and name it to match your Trello board.
Step 3: Configure Statuses to Match Your Trello Lists
In Trello, your lists are your workflow stages (e.g., Backlog → In Progress → Review → Done). In Linear, these are statuses.
- In your Linear team, go to Settings → Workflow
- Edit or add statuses to match your Trello lists
- Common mapping:
| Trello List | Linear Status |
|---|---|
| Backlog | Backlog |
| To Do | Todo |
| In Progress | In Progress |
| Review | In Review |
| Done | Done |
| Archived | Cancelled |
Step 4: Manually Recreate Active Issues
For active work (cards currently in progress or recently moved), manually recreate them in Linear. This sounds tedious, but it’s usually faster than you expect — and it’s an opportunity to clean up stale cards.
For each active Trello card:
- Create a Linear issue with the same title
- Set the correct status
- Add the assignee
- Copy any relevant description or checklist items
- Set priority (High/Medium/Low)
Pro tip: Focus only on cards that are in progress or due within the next 2 weeks. Everything else can be added over time or left in Trello for reference.
Step 5: Set Up GitHub/GitLab Integration
This is where Linear really shines. Connect your code repository:
- Go to Settings → Integrations → GitHub (or GitLab)
- Authorize Linear to access your repositories
- Once connected, you can link PRs to issues by adding the issue ID in your commit message (e.g.,
fix: login bug [LIN-123])
Linear will automatically update the issue status when a PR is opened, merged, or closed.
Step 6: Connect Slack
Linear’s Slack integration sends notifications when issues are updated, assigned, or completed.
- Go to Settings → Integrations → Slack
- Choose which Linear team to connect
- Select the Slack channel for notifications
Step 7: Train Your Team
Linear has a steeper learning curve than Trello, especially for non-engineers. Run a 30-minute onboarding session covering:
- How to create and update issues
- How to use the keyboard shortcuts (press
?in Linear to see them) - How cycles (sprints) work if you plan to use them
- How to link issues to GitHub PRs
The learning curve is real but short. Most teams are comfortable with Linear within a week.
Step 8: Archive Trello (Don’t Delete It)
Don’t delete your Trello boards immediately. Keep them accessible for 30-60 days in case someone needs to reference old work. You can archive the boards so they’re not in your main view but still accessible.
Linear Pricing vs Trello Pricing
| Plan | Trello | Linear |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Up to 10 boards, unlimited cards | Unlimited issues, 1 team |
| Paid | $5-10/user/month | $8-16/user/month |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
Linear is slightly more expensive, but the productivity gains for engineering teams typically justify the cost.
Common Migration Mistakes to Avoid
- Don’t try to migrate everything — start fresh with active work only
- Don’t keep both tools running long-term — it creates confusion about where “real” work lives
- Don’t skip the GitHub integration — it’s the biggest differentiator
- Don’t force non-engineering teams to use Linear — it may not be the right tool for them
The Bottom Line
Switching from Trello to Linear takes a few hours of setup and about a week for the team to get comfortable. The payoff is significant for engineering teams: faster issue tracking, GitHub integration, and sprint planning that actually helps you ship faster.
If your team is primarily engineers working on software products, Linear is the right upgrade.
Explore alternatives → Linear Review 2026 | Best Jira Alternatives 2026