You know the feeling. You’re deep in code, flow state, building something real. Then a client pings: “Can you send me an update on the project?”
So you stop. You pull up a spreadsheet, copy-paste statuses from Linear, reformat, email it. They reply with questions. You answer. Then you go back to coding—but the flow is gone. The worst part? You’ll do it again tomorrow.
For years, I thought this was just the cost of doing business. Every software dev shop I know lives this cycle: maintain internal project management in Linear, then manually translate that into client-facing updates. The result? Duplicate work, sync errors, and a constant tax on developer time.
But here’s the thing that drove me crazy: the bottleneck isn’t a lack of tools—it’s the failure of existing platforms to provide API-driven bridges between internal dev contexts and external client contexts without paywalls. Every paid solution either locks you into their ecosystem or charges per seat for a read-only view.
So I did something about it. For the last nine months, I’ve been building linear.gratis—a free, open-source (MIT) tool that extends Linear’s client-facing functionality. The idea is simple: keep your single source of truth in Linear, and let clients see exactly what they need—interactive, real-time views—without you ever touching a spreadsheet again.
I didn’t set out to replace project management. I set out to kill the copy-paste workflow. You can’t build trust with clients by hiding them behind a wall of status emails. You build trust by letting them see the work as it happens—without drowning them in developer noise. That’s what this tool does: it abstracts the complexity, not the progress.
Right now, the UI is being polished to match Linear’s standard, and the sync engine is getting tighter (the main bottleneck is the Linear API itself, which I’m working around). But the core is already there—and it works.
Here’s the twist: I expected to find a dozen paid tools that did this. Instead, I found that the only real solution was to build it myself—and give it away. That’s not a business model. It’s a principle. If your only way to keep clients in the loop is a $5,000/month SaaS and a full-time admin, your process is broken, not your budget.
If you’re running a dev shop, you know the pain. If you’re tired of the copy-paste tax, try it. It’s free. It’s open source. And it’s only going to get better.
FAQ
Q: Why not just use a paid tool like Asana or Monday.com for client views?
A: Paid tools either lock you into their ecosystem or charge per seat for read-only access. This tool keeps your single source of truth in Linear—where your dev team already works—and exposes exactly what clients need via an API bridge, without duplicate work or extra costs.
Q: Is it secure to share Linear data with clients through this tool?
A: Yes. The tool is open source (MIT), so you can audit the code. It uses Linear's API with your own credentials, and you control exactly which views and data are exposed. No data is stored on third-party servers—it's all client-side or self-hosted.
Q: How does this compare to Linear's native share feature?
A: Linear's native share feature is limited to specific issues or boards and requires a Linear account. This tool provides interactive, customizable dashboards that can be embedded or shared via a public link, with fine-grained control over what each client sees—no Linear account needed for them.