Quick answer: Add the Bugnet SDK to your game so crashes and in-game player reports are captured with screenshots, logs and device details, then connect Linear under Integrate > Integrations > Linear with a personal API key. Bugnet files each new bug as a Linear issue in the team you choose (or only bugs above a priority, or only the ones you send by hand), maps priority to Linear's, and moves the issue through your workflow when the bug's status changes. Duplicates stack in Bugnet, so Linear gets one issue per bug. It works on every Bugnet plan, including the free one.
Linear is a joy to plan in, which is why so many small game teams use it. But it starts every day empty. Players report bugs in Discord, on Steam and in emails; crashes sit in log files on machines you will never see. Somebody has to turn all of that into issues. This guide shows how to make that happen on its own, without flooding your Linear workspace or blowing through the free plan's issue limit.
How the pipeline works
- Your game captures the bug. The Bugnet SDK files crashes and errors automatically, and players file reports from an in-game widget. Each report carries a screenshot, the last 100 log lines, platform, OS, GPU, RAM, resolution and game version.
- Bugnet groups and filters it. Reports with the same title stack onto one bug with an occurrence count, so a crash hit by 500 players is one bug.
- Linear gets an issue. New bugs at or above the priority you choose are filed in your Linear team with the report's title and text, its details and a link back to the full report in Bugnet.
- Status flows to Linear. When you resolve, reopen or won't-fix the bug in Bugnet, the Linear issue moves to the matching workflow state.
How fields map
| Bugnet | Linear |
|---|---|
| Priority: critical | Urgent |
| Priority: high | High |
| Priority: medium | Medium |
| Priority: low | Low |
| Status: open | The team's first Unstarted state |
| Status: in progress | The team's first Started state |
| Status: resolved or closed | The team's first Completed state |
| Status: won't fix | The team's first Canceled state |
Because Linear workflows are customisable, Bugnet moves the issue by state type rather than by name, so it works whether your team calls it “Done”, “Shipped” or “Merged”.
Setup, step by step
1. Add Bugnet to your game
Create a free Bugnet account and a project, copy its API key, and add the SDK for your engine (one file for most engines; see the SDK docs). Initialise it once at startup and bind the report widget to a key or menu button:
// Unity
BugnetSDK.Instance.Init("YOUR_API_KEY", "https://api.bugnet.io");
// later, from a pause-menu button:
BugnetSDK.Instance.ShowWidget();# Godot 4 (BugnetSDK.gd autoloaded as "Bugnet")
Bugnet.bugnet_init("YOUR_API_KEY", "https://api.bugnet.io")
Bugnet.show_widget()2. Create a Linear API key
In Linear, open Settings > Security & access and create a personal API key. It starts with lin_api_.
3. Connect Linear in Bugnet
In your project, open Integrate > Integrations > Linear, paste the key and choose Load teams. Pick the team new bugs should be filed in, then choose:
- File every new bug as an issue, on or off. Off means nothing is filed until someone presses Send to Linear on a bug.
- Move the issue when the bug's status changes, usually on.
- Priority filter: all priorities, medium and above, high and above, or critical only.
Choose Connect. Bugnet verifies the key, and from then on every delivery is logged under Deliveries, with failed attempts retried automatically.
4. Test it
Trigger a test exception in a development build, or file a report from the widget at a priority that passes your filter. The bug appears in Bugnet with its context, and the issue appears in Linear a moment later with a link back.
A workflow that keeps Linear clean
The teams that get the most from this treat Bugnet as the inbox and Linear as the plan:
- Auto-file only what is urgent. Set the filter to High and above so critical crashes land in Linear immediately, and triage the rest in Bugnet.
- Promote the rest by hand. When a medium bug earns a slot in the cycle, press Send to Linear on its page. Bugnet checks for an existing issue before filing, so retries and double clicks do not file the same bug twice.
- Resolve in Bugnet when the fix ships. Status flows from Bugnet to Linear, so mark the bug resolved there. That also moves the Linear issue, emails the player who reported it (if they left an address), and puts the fix in your next auto-drafted changelog.
This matters on Linear's free plan, which allows 250 non-archived issues. Filtering at the source keeps player noise out of that budget.
Which Bugnet plan do I need?
The Linear integration is available on every plan. The free plan covers one project and up to 100 bug reports, enough to set it up and test it; Studio ($19 a month) covers 5 projects, 10,000 reports and 20 team members; Studio Plus ($79 a month) removes those limits and adds session replay.
Comparing the two tools rather than connecting them? Read Bugnet vs Linear for game studios. Full integration details are in the Linear docs.
Frequently asked questions
Can players file bugs directly into Linear?
Not on their own: Linear has no in-game form, and you would not want players in your workspace. The usual approach is an in-game bug report widget that files into a tool such as Bugnet, which then creates Linear issues for the bugs worth working on.
Will repeat crashes create duplicate Linear issues?
No. Reports with the same title stack onto one Bugnet bug with an occurrence count, and Bugnet checks for an existing Linear issue before filing, so each bug is filed once per connection, retries included.
Does closing the Linear issue resolve the bug in Bugnet?
Status flows from Bugnet to Linear: resolving, reopening or won't-fixing the bug in Bugnet moves the Linear issue. Resolve bugs in Bugnet so the issue, the player notification and the changelog stay in step.
Can I send only some bugs to Linear?
Yes. Set a priority filter (medium and above, high and above, or critical only), or turn off automatic filing and use Send to Linear on individual bugs.
Is the Linear integration free?
Yes. It is included on every Bugnet plan, including the free plan.
Linear is where decisions happen. Let something else do the typing.