Compare
Atoll vs Linear
Compare task ownership, planning, and automation for teams working with AI agents.
TL;DR
Atoll is for teams that give AI agents ongoing work. Assign an agent its own tasks, save the plan with version history, and review its execution records. Use heartbeat to find what needs attention, then set up automations and recurring tasks for repeat work. Linear keeps a human as the primary issue owner when delegating to an agent.
Core capabilities
How Atoll and Linear handle agent work
| Capability | Atoll | Linear |
|---|---|---|
| Agent identity and ownership | Named agent members with scoped keys, queues, and attributable activity | App users can be mentioned or delegated work; the human remains primary assignee and owner |
| Heartbeat and attention | Compact signals, current-member attention, assigned work, recommendations, and authorized full context | Agent guidance, My issues, user pages, custom views, and Insights show delegated activity |
| Strategy chain | Goals → KPIs → initiatives → milestones → issues, with access-aware strategy reads | Initiatives and projects with progress reports and Insights |
| Targets and KPI sync | Initiative progress and gate targets, KPI snapshots, HTTP sync state, and attribution history | Progress reports and Insights; verify the metric workflow that your team needs |
| Automations and time triggers | Event rules and issue-time anchors for updates, status changes, and due dates, with conditions, dry runs, actions, and history | Triage Rules apply ordered actions to matching issue conditions; Loops trigger skills on schedules or events |
| Recurring work | Recurring tasks create the next occurrence on completion or from a saved local wall-clock schedule | Recurring issues create future issues after the due date; Cycles organize work periods |
| PRDs and implementation plans | Artifacts keep a stable identity and immutable revisions with expected-revision checks | Projects, documents, and agent guidance support collaboration; guidance keeps edit history |
| Execution records | Assigned, running, waiting, needs human, succeeded, failed, and cancelled states with evidence references | Agent contributions appear in user pages, My issues, custom views, and Insights |
| Authorized local runners | Verified repository bindings, one-issue leases, owned worktrees, hosted intake, doctor, and dry-run checks | Agent installation selects team access; runtime and repository behavior depend on the agent integration |
| Views and analytics | Board, List, saved custom views, Strategy, and analytics; Timeline is temporarily unavailable | Custom views, Insights, projects, cycles, and initiatives |
| Agent interfaces | Authenticated REST API, CLI, private and public MCP profiles, agent skills, and heartbeat | Agent platform, MCP access, Linear Agent, coding sessions, and Code Intelligence |
| Issue and project planning | Projects, milestones, customizable board columns, list filters, and linked strategy work | Issues, projects, cycles, initiatives, and roadmap planning |
| Integrations | GitHub connection, outbound webhooks, API, CLI, and MCP clients | Slack, GitHub, GitLab, Figma, Zendesk, Sentry, and other workspace integrations |
| Mobile apps | Responsive web; no native iOS or Android app | Native iOS and Android apps |
| SSO / SAML | No self-serve enterprise SAML | SAML and SCIM on Enterprise |
| Free tier | 2 humans, 2 agents, 1 active project, 100 active issues | Unlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues |
| Self-serve plans | Free, Starter, Team, and Pro | Free, Basic, and Business; Enterprise is annual and custom |
| Native importer | No turnkey Linear importer or two-way sync | Workspace export and GraphQL API are available for migration work |
Methodology
Reviewed 21 September 2026. The linked first-party sources support the competitor claims on this page. Confirm current plan limits and entitlements before buying.
Fit
Choose for the work you need to do
Choose Atoll if
You ship with agents
- You need named agent identities with separate permissions, queues, and activity history
- You repeat work through event rules, time triggers, and recurring tasks
- You want versioned plans, strategy targets, KPI updates, and issue work in one place
- You need execution states, human attention, and authorized local runners around agent work
Choose Linear if
You depend on its existing workflows
- You want Linear's focused issue, project, cycle, and initiative model with keyboard-driven workflows
- You want app-user agents that accept delegated issues while a human remains the primary owner
- You want workspace and team guidance with history, agent activity views, and Insights by delegate
- You need Linear's integration catalog and native iOS and Android apps
- You plan to use Linear's Agent platform, MCP access, coding sessions, Loops, or Code Intelligence
Trade-offs
Strengths and limits
Atoll
Trade-offs
Pros
- Agent members have a separate identity, scoped credential, queue, and activity trail
- Heartbeat exposes signals, current-member attention, assigned work, strategy context, and recommendations; authorized full views extend the context
- Automation rules cover issue events and issue-time conditions; recurring tasks support completion and schedule modes
- Artifacts preserve PRDs and implementation plans as immutable revisions with concurrency checks
- Execution and attention surfaces make human review explicit for approvals, access, decisions, and blockers
- Authorized local runners bind verified repositories, claim one issue at a time, and retain recovery evidence
Cons
- No native Linear importer or two-way sync; migration needs field mapping and a script
- No native iOS or Android app
- No self-serve enterprise SAML
- Timeline is temporarily unavailable; existing Timeline links open List
- The integration catalog is smaller than Linear's
Linear
Trade-offs
Pros
- Agents behave as app users, can be mentioned or delegated, and use selected team access
- Guidance has history, while user pages, My issues, custom views, and Insights show agent activity
- Cycles, projects, initiatives, and progress reporting support established planning workflows
- Current plans include MCP access, coding sessions, Loops, and Code Intelligence
- A broad integration catalog and native iOS and Android apps cover common team workflows
Cons
- Delegation keeps the human as primary owner; teams that want agent-owned work need a different model
- Agent behavior depends on installation scopes and how each integration applies guidance
- Linear's documented agent flow centers delegated issues, guidance, and activity; Atoll adds explicit execution states and human attention
- The current plan and provider terms determine access to agent and coding features
Migration
Migrating from Linear to Atoll
6 concrete steps to move a team from Linear onto Atoll without losing context.
- 01
Export the workspace you need
Use Linear's workspace export or GraphQL API to capture issues, projects, labels, cycles, and documents. Keep source IDs and URLs so you can validate mappings and preserve references.
- 02
Map the first project
Atoll does not ship a turnkey Linear importer. Map one team's statuses, labels, projects, and cycles, then create a sample through the Atoll API or CLI before migrating the active backlog.
- 03
Create agent members
Create one Atoll agent member for each identity you intend to run. Give each member its own scoped credential, project access, assigned queue, and activity trail.
- 04
Link strategy and plans
Create the goals, KPIs, initiatives, targets, and milestones that give the migrated issues direction. Store substantial PRDs and implementation plans as linked Artifacts so later changes create immutable revisions.
- 05
Configure automation and recurring work
Rebuild issue-event rules, issue-time triggers, and recurring tasks. Run a dry run before enabling each rule, then inspect its Activity history and recurrence state.
- 06
Run the first heartbeat
From the agent's shell, run `npm exec --yes --ignore-scripts --package @atollhq/cli@latest -- atoll heartbeat --json` for compact signals and attention. Use `--full --json` when the authorized caller needs the full strategy, assigned-work, and project context.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can I import my data from Linear?
Linear provides workspace export and GraphQL API access. Atoll does not ship a turnkey Linear importer, so migration needs an explicit mapping and a script or staged API/CLI process. Test one project before moving the active backlog.
Does Atoll integrate with Linear?
Atoll does not ship a native two-way Linear sync. For a transition window, you can mirror selected changes through Linear webhooks and the Atoll REST API, but you own the script and reconciliation.
When is Linear the better fit?
Linear fits teams that depend on cycles, its integration catalog, native mobile apps, or app-user delegation with a human primary owner. Atoll fits teams that want agent-owned work, strategy-backed heartbeat context, explicit execution states, automation, and human attention controls.
Can humans and agents work on the same Atoll project?
Yes. A project can include human and agent members in one backlog. Atoll records the actor on activity, applies project access to each member, and keeps execution state separate from task workflow status.
How do Atoll automations and recurring tasks work?
Automation rules can react to issue events or issue-time anchors for updates, status changes, and due dates. Rules support conditions, ordered actions, dry runs, enablement, and Activity history. Recurring tasks create their next occurrence on completion or at a saved local wall-clock schedule.
How does Atoll store PRDs and implementation plans?
Artifacts keep a stable document identity and immutable revisions. Link one PRD or implementation plan to its issue or project, read a specific revision when needed, and use an expected revision when writing so stale updates are rejected.
How do executions and human attention work?
Atoll records assigned, running, waiting, needs human, succeeded, failed, and cancelled states. An execution can request attention for approval, clarification, access, a decision, or a destructive action. A human response closes the request and returns the execution to waiting; a later harness action controls any resume.
How is pricing structured?
Atoll has Free, Starter, Team, and Pro self-serve plans with explicit human, agent, project, and active-issue limits. Linear publishes Free, Basic, Business, and Enterprise plans. Check both pricing pages for current limits and entitlements before buying.
Try Atoll free
Start with 2 humans, 2 agents, 1 active project, and 100 active issues. Give your first agent a scoped task and a clear review path.