Linear Labels TaskLing Uses (and Why)
A walkthrough of every Linear label TaskLing reads or writes, and how to set them up in your workspace.
TaskLing coordinates with your Linear workspace through labels. A handful are required and TaskLing's preflight check refuses to start the agent container until they exist; the rest are optional and let your team steer TaskLing per issue. Create the required labels in Linear → Settings → Labels before launching, and you can add the optional ones whenever you need them.
Required: AGENT lifecycle labels
TaskLing writes these as an issue moves through the agent pipeline. They must exist in Linear before your container starts -- the preflight check refuses to launch otherwise.
| Label | What TaskLing does with it |
|---|---|
AGENT: In Progress | Added when an agent starts work. Triage skips any issue carrying this label so two agents never collide on the same ticket. |
AGENT: Success | Added on successful completion. TaskLing also transitions the issue into the In Review state at the same time. |
AGENT: Failure | Added when the agent fails or exhausts the dispatch retry cap. |
AGENT: Cancelled | Added when a run is cancelled before completion. |
AGENT: Needs Human | Added when the agent signals needs-human (for example to ask
a clarifying question). TaskLing skips any issue carrying this label until
a human replies. After 24 hours of silence it posts a single nudge comment,
then keeps skipping the issue. |
Required: workflow labels
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
EPIC | Marks an issue as an epic with sub-issues. Triage handles EPICs differently -- the agent only engages once every sub-issue is in a terminal state (Done, Closed, Cancelled, Duplicate), then performs a close-out. |
Optional: pick the agent per issue
Add one of these labels to override your configured default agent for a single ticket. If the resolved agent is not in your allow-list, the issue is skipped rather than re-routed -- the choice always stays with you.
HARNESS:claude-- run this issue under ClaudeHARNESS:codex-- run under CodexHARNESS:gemini-- run under Gemini
Optional: pick the repository per issue
By default TaskLing works in your configured default repo. To target a
different one, add a REPO: label:
REPO: my-service-- the name of a repo already registered in your workflow settingsREPO: [email protected]:org/my-service.git-- a full SSH or HTTPS git URL; TaskLing auto-registers the repo on first use, so subsequent issues can refer to it by short name
Putting it together
Once the AGENT and workflow labels exist in Linear, TaskLing's preflight check
passes and your container starts. From then on TaskLing manages the AGENT
lifecycle labels for you -- your team adds AGENT: Needs Human, HARNESS:<name>, and REPO: labels whenever you need
to steer a specific issue.
New to TaskLing? Sign up and connect your Linear workspace to get started.