Manage Issue Subscriptions in Linear
Subscribe to issues whose changes affect your work and unsubscribe when your involvement ends. Subscription controls the updates you follow; it does not grant issue access or assign responsibility.
Step-by-step guide
Check access and scope
You need permission to view the issue. Creating, being assigned or being mentioned can subscribe you automatically.
Check subscriber state
Open the issue and review the owner and current subscriber state.
Follow the issue
Subscribe when you need progress updates without becoming assignee.
- Worked example: A PM can follow a token-validation issue while the engineer remains accountable. A comment saying Please confirm when the endpoint contract is stable is more useful than a silent subscription.
Explain the awaited outcome
Tell the owner which outcome you are waiting for in a clear comment.
Review delivery preferences
Review notification delivery preferences for the subscribed work.
Unsubscribe after handoff
Unsubscribe after the handoff is complete and keep a direct link if useful. From an opened issue in Inbox, Shift S changes subscription; check the issue state rather than merely dismissing its notification.
Verify the result
A later update appears in your Inbox and the issue assignee remains unchanged.
Common mistakes
Avoid the main failure mode
Assuming every subscriber is an approver creates unclear responsibility. Name an explicit decision owner in the issue when approval is required.
Check the handoff edge case
Assuming a subscriber owns the next step leaves work unattended. Keep the accountable assignee explicit.
Sources and verification
Based on product documentation checked on 2026-10-24. This is a documentation-based guide, not a hands-on benchmark. Features and availability can change.