Public Linear Board for Open Source Projects
Open source projects live and die by community engagement. Contributors need to see what's being worked on, what's available to pick up, and where the project is heading. A public Linear board makes that visible without moving your workflow out of Linear.
Why Open Source Projects Need a Public Linear Board
Most open source projects use GitHub Issues because it's free and integrated. But if your team uses Linear internally, maintaining a second issue tracker creates friction. A public Linear board bridges the gap—your team works in Linear, and the community sees a curated public view.
Contributors get the transparency they expect. Maintainers keep the workflow they prefer.
What to Show on the Board
For open source projects, a public Linear board typically includes:
- Good first issues — Entry points for new contributors
- Feature requests — Community-driven ideas with voting
- Bug reports — Known issues and their status
- Roadmap items — Planned work for upcoming releases
- Help wanted — Issues where maintainers need community input
Label your Linear issues to control which ones appear. Keep internal discussions, release logistics, and infrastructure work private.
Enabling Community Contributions
A public Linear board does more than show status. It helps contributors find the right work:
- Voting highlights demand — Contributors see which features the community wants most
- Status shows availability — "Backlog" items are available to work on; "In Progress" items are taken
- Submissions invite participation — Users can report bugs and request features without needing Linear access
When a contributor picks up an issue, your team updates the status in Linear and it reflects on the board immediately.
Replacing or Supplementing GitHub Issues
You don't have to abandon GitHub Issues entirely. Some projects use a public Linear board for roadmap and feature planning while keeping GitHub Issues for code-level bug reports and pull request discussions. Others move everything to the public Linear board and use GitHub only for pull requests.
Choose based on where your community already engages.
Building a Contributor Community
A public Linear board signals that your open source project is organized, active, and welcoming. When potential contributors see clear priorities, labeled issues, and responsive maintainers, they're more likely to get involved.