Reviews
Overview
Linear Diffs let you review code changes directly in Linear—so you can read diffs, follow conversations, and complete reviews without leaving your workflow. When enabled, Linear shows pull request details, changed files, checks, and comments, and keeps them in sync with GitHub.
A new Reviews section appears in the sidebar where you can see see pull requests that need your attention, track pull requests you authored, and return to reviews you've participated in. Opening a PR in Linear shows its details, activity, CI checks, and associated comments, and updates sync bidirectionally between GitHub and Linear automatically.
Navigate to Linear Code quickly with the shortcut G + R, or open a specific review with O + R.
Setup
Organization setup
To display pull request diffs and file changes inside Linear, you’ll need to grant Linear access to your repository code through the GitHub integration.
If your workspace hasn’t connected GitHub yet, a Linear owner or admin can configure the GitHub integration to enable code access for the repositories you selected.
If your workspace has already connected GitHub, a GitHub organization owner can enable code access for the selected repositories by updating the integration in your Github Integration settings.
Your current GitHub integration settings and any existing pull request links and history in Linear are preserved—enabling code access simply adds permissions so Linear can display diffs and file contents for the repositories you select.
Personal account setup
Personal GitHub connections are required for accessing pull requests, repository code, and review information associated with your specific user. If your account isn’t already connected, you can do so here.
Display and grouping
At the top of the Reviews tab, you can switch between two tabs: For me, which shows the pull requests you're involved in or responsible for, and Created, which displays every pull request you've authored. This makes it easy to focus on work that needs your attention while still being able to browse or reference other pull requests when needed.
As with other views in Linear, you can adjust display settings to group or sort by status, author, or repository.
You can also choose whether to display draft or closed pull requests and whether to show additional fields such as repository, failed checks, or preview links if applicable.
Code review
Review a pull request in Linear
Linear displays all pull request activity in one place, including comments, reviews, and discussions. When you open a pull request, you can view the files changed and read through diffs directly in Linear.
Comments appear inline alongside the relevant sections of code and you can start new threads, reply to existing ones, or react with emoji.
You can complete your review directly from Linear. Approving a pull request, requesting changes, or submitting a review comment updates the review state and syncs with GitHub.
Once a pull request is ready and you have permission, you can merge it directly from Linear.
Guides
Guided reviews help you understand large pull requests faster by organizing related changes into structured sections with explanations of their purpose and impact.
Instead of working through files one-by-one to piece together what changed, Guides surface the core parts of an implementation first while grouping supporting or lower-signal changes separately. Each section pairs a high-level explanation of why a part of the change exists alongside the relevant diffs, making it easier to understand the intent behind the implementation before diving into the code itself.
Guided reviews appear in a dedicated Guide tab alongside the diff view, with direct links into the relevant parts of the pull request so you can move naturally between the guide and the underlying code.
If you’d prefer to disable this feature, you can disable the Generate Pull Request guides toggle within your Github integration settings’ Pull Requests section.
Diff view options
Linear supports both Unified and Split diff views when reviewing a pull request.
Unified shows changes in a single column, while Split shows the before and after side-by-side to make comparisons easier. You can switch between Unified and Split from the pull request display options, and you can also toggle the layout with Ctrl or ⌘ + B.
On smaller screens, Split view may be unavailable if there isn't enough horizontal space.
Open GitHub PR URLs in Linear
If you have an existing GitHub pull request URL, you can also open that same pull request in Linear by replacing github.com in your URL with linear.review.
Original Github URL: github.com/owner/repo/pull/123
New Linear URL: linear.review/owner/repo/pull/123
With this pattern, Linear will redirect you to the matching pull request review page in your Linear workspace automatically.
Pull request preview links
If your PR contains one or multiple preview links, this will add a preview link shortcut to the Linear issue. More details on this feature here.
Notifications
With Diffs enabled, Linear can notify you about pull request activity, including new comments and reviews, review requests, mentions, and CI failures.
You can also control how much pull request activity reaches your inbox by choosing a pull request notifications mode: All activity, All activity by people, Reviews and comments, Reviews and comments by people, or None. In the "by people" modes, Linear filters activity GitHub identifies as coming from bot actors to reduce automated noise.
Configure your personal notification preferences in your Code & reviews settings.
Additional settings
Navigate into Code & reviews settings for additional preferences to the Reviews experience within Linear. These settings are personal, so they only affect your own workflow.
Auto-convert draft PRs
When enabling the Auto-convert draft PRs toggle, this setting automatically moves a draft pull request into a ready-for-review status once a review is requested or when the pull request is approved.
Code theme
You can control the appearance of code while manually reviewing the diff or following a guided review. This includes separate themes for light and dark mode, along with display settings that provide control over the font size and line height.
Move issues to start
Save yourself a few steps by toggling on our automations that moves a Linear issue into a started status when you copy the git branch name. To set up this automation, refer to the On git branch copy, move issues to a started status toggle in your Code & reviews settings.
Extend this further by enabling automation within your Preferences that assigns the issues you move to a started status to yourself.