User Permissions in LinearB

LinearB uses role-based permissions to control what users can view, configure, and manage. Assigning the right role helps people access the information they need while protecting company settings, integrations, and sensitive reports.

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Summary

• LinearB supports four user roles: Admin, Editor, Viewer, and Basic.
• Admins manage organization-wide settings, integrations, users, teams, and reports.
• Editors manage dashboards, reports, and settings for teams within their assigned scope.
• Viewers have read-only access to dashboards and reports within their assigned scope.
• Basic users cannot access LinearB data or features; they can only respond to a Developer Survey when explicitly invited.
• A user’s role, team scope, team membership, and access to role-based modules are configured separately.

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Users and contributors

Before assigning permissions, it is helpful to understand the difference between a user and a contributor in LinearB.

• User: A person with a LinearB account. Their assigned role determines whether they can access LinearB data and what they can view or change.
• Contributor: An identity connected to Git whose activity is collected and included in LinearB metrics.

A contributor does not automatically receive permission to sign in and view LinearB data. If a developer needs access to dashboards, reports, or other application features, they must also have a LinearB user account with an appropriate data-access role.

A single person may have multiple Git or project management identities. Merging those identities into one LinearB user helps preserve accurate attribution, team membership, permissions, and historical metrics.

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Understanding roles, scope, and membership

Access in LinearB is determined by several related settings:

• User role: Defines the actions the user is allowed to perform and whether they can access LinearB data.
• Team scope: Defines which teams or groups the user is allowed to access.
• Team membership: Defines the engineering teams to which the person belongs for reporting and activity attribution.
• Role-based modules: Controls access to optional experiences where supported by the user’s role.

Team scope and team membership are not the same. For example, an engineering manager might belong to one team but have permission to view several teams.

Team membership also does not override role permissions. A Basic user may be assigned to a team for reporting or identity purposes, but they still cannot access LinearB data or dashboards.

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LinearB user roles

Admin

Best suited for:

• Program managers, platform owners, engineering operations leaders, and administrators responsible for configuring LinearB across the organization.

Capabilities:

• Manage company-level settings.
• Connect and manage Git, project management, Slack, and Microsoft Teams integrations.
• Add, edit, delete, restore, and merge users.
• Assign user roles, team scopes, team membership, and role-based modules.
• Create and manage teams and groups.
• Create, edit, and delete public and private reports.
• Create and manage dashboards and Project Delivery Trackers.
• View and configure organization-level reports, including Resource Allocation and Investment Strategy where available.

Considerations:

• Admin access should be limited to people who require organization-wide configuration permissions.
• Maintain at least one active Admin account for ongoing administration.
• An Admin may need to be changed to another role before the account can be deleted.

Editor

Best suited for:

• Engineering managers, team leads, and other users responsible for configuring dashboards and reports for specific teams.

Capabilities:

• View and edit dashboards for teams within their assigned scope.
• View and edit settings for existing teams within their assigned scope.
• Create, edit, and delete private reports.
• View team metrics, Pulse, and other team-level insights.
• Create and manage Project Delivery Trackers where available.
• View selected organization-level reports where permitted.

Limitations:

• Cannot manage company settings or organization-wide integrations.
• Cannot invite users or change user permissions.
• Cannot create new teams, although they may edit existing teams within their assigned scope.
• Cannot create or manage public reports.
• Access is limited to the teams and groups included in their team scope.

Viewer

Best suited for:

• Executives, product leaders, stakeholders, and managers who need visibility into engineering performance without configuration access.

Capabilities:

• Read-only access to dashboards, metrics, and reports within their assigned scope.
• View Pulse and team-level insights for permitted teams.
• View Project Delivery Trackers where available.
• View selected organization-level reports where permitted.

Limitations:

• Cannot change company or team settings.
• Cannot manage integrations, users, or permissions.
• Cannot create, edit, or delete dashboards and reports.
• Access is limited to the teams and groups included in their team scope.

Basic

Important: Basic users cannot access LinearB dashboards, metrics, reports, Developer Coaching, or team data. If a Basic user attempts to open the LinearB application and sees a message stating that they "Cannot access LinearB", this is expected behavior, not a bug.

Best suited for:

• People who may be invited to respond to a Developer Survey but do not need access to LinearB data or features.

Capabilities:

• Respond to a Developer Survey when explicitly invited.

Limitations:

• No access to LinearB dashboards, metrics, reports, Pulse, Developer Coaching, team data, or organization data.
• No access to company settings, integrations, user administration, team configuration, Resource Allocation, Investment Strategy, or Project Delivery Trackers.
• Being assigned to a team does not grant a Basic user access to LinearB data.
• Outside an active survey invitation, a Basic user has no application functionality.

When to choose Basic instead of Viewer:

• Choose Basic when a person only needs to respond to an invited Developer Survey and should not have access to LinearB data.
• Choose Viewer when a user needs read-only visibility into dashboards, metrics, and reports for one or more teams.

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Permissions matrix

The following matrix summarizes the standard access provided by each role.

Feature or setting	Admin	Editor Assigned scope	Viewer Assigned scope	Basic
Company settings	View / Edit	No access	No access	No access
Git, PM, Slack, and Microsoft Teams integrations	View / Edit	No access	No access	No access
User management Add, invite, edit, merge, delete, and restore	Full access	No access	No access	No access
Create teams and groups	Yes	No	No	No
Edit existing teams and contributors	View / Edit	View / Edit Assigned scope	No access	No access
Dashboards	View / Edit	View / Edit Assigned scope	View Assigned scope	No access
Pulse	View	View Assigned scope	View Assigned scope	No access
Teams	View / Manage	View / Edit existing teams Assigned scope	View Assigned scope	No access
Metrics and reports	Public and private reports View / Create / Edit / Delete	Private reports View / Create / Edit / Delete Assigned scope	View Assigned scope	No access
Project Delivery Trackers	View / Create / Edit / Delete	View / Create / Edit / Delete Assigned scope	View Assigned scope	No access
Resource Allocation	View / Edit	View Where available	No access	No access
Investment Strategy	View / Edit	View Where available	View Where available	No access
Developer Coaching	Based on organization and module settings	Based on scope, organization, and module settings	Based on scope, organization, and module settings	No access
Developer Surveys	As configured	As configured	As configured	Respond when invited

Feature availability may depend on your LinearB plan, enabled modules, organization settings, and the user’s assigned team scope. The matrix describes the general access model.

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How to add a user and assign permissions

1. From the LinearB navigation menu, go to Settings.
2. Open Users & Teams.
3. Ensure the Users view is selected.
4. Click Add User.
5. Enter the user’s full name and email address.
6. Select the appropriate role:
   • Admin
   • Editor
   • Viewer
   • Basic
7. If applicable, configure the user’s team scope.
8. If applicable, assign the user’s team membership.
9. Click Save & Close.

The user should now appear in the Users list. Depending on your organization’s authentication configuration, the user may receive an invitation or may need to sign in through your identity provider.

Remember: Assigning a Basic user to a team does not give them access to LinearB data. Basic users can only respond to a Developer Survey when explicitly invited.

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How to change a user’s permissions

1. Go to Settings → Users & Teams → Users.
2. Locate the user you want to update.
3. Open the three-dot menu at the end of the user’s row.
4. Select Edit Profile.
5. Update the user’s role, team scope, team membership, or other available permissions.
6. Save your changes.

Permission changes apply after they are saved. The user may be signed out or may need to sign in again before the new permissions are reflected throughout the application.

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Managing users through the API

Organizations that maintain users in an external system can use the LinearB Users API to automate provisioning and user management.

The Users API supports:

• Searching and listing users.
• Creating one or more users.
• Updating user details, roles, team scopes, and team membership.
• Managing alternate emails and external identity mappings.
• Deleting users.

The API accepts the following role values:

• admin
• editor
• viewer
• basic

Important user permission fields include:

• permission.role — The user’s LinearB role.
• permission.team_scopes — The teams or groups the user is allowed to access.
• view_dev_coaching — Controls whether an eligible user can access Developer Coaching content.
• team_membership — The teams to which the user belongs.

Basic-role limitation: Basic users do not have access to Developer Coaching or other LinearB data, regardless of their team assignment.

For endpoint details, schemas, and request examples, see the LinearB Users API documentation or the interactive API reference.

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SSO and SCIM considerations

If your organization uses Single Sign-On or SCIM, user creation and access may be controlled by your identity provider.

• SSO controls how users authenticate to LinearB.
• SCIM can automatically create, update, and deactivate users.
• SCIM provisioning can include a user’s role and team scope.
• If the Add User action is unavailable, contact your organization’s SSO or identity administrator.
• When access is managed through an identity provider, update or deactivate the user in that system to keep access synchronized.

Successful authentication does not override role permissions. A Basic user may be able to authenticate successfully but will not be able to access LinearB data.

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Best practices

• Grant Admin access only to users who require organization-wide control.
• Use Editor for managers who need to configure dashboards and reports for specific teams.
• Use Viewer for stakeholders who need read-only team visibility.
• Use Basic only for people who may be invited to respond to a Developer Survey and should not have access to LinearB data.
• Review both team scope and team membership when adding or updating a user.
• Keep at least one active Admin account available.
• Review user permissions regularly, particularly after role or team changes.
• Merge duplicate identities to keep permissions, activity, and historical metrics associated with the correct person.
• Remove or deactivate accounts promptly when users no longer require access.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Basic and Viewer?

A Viewer has read-only access to dashboards, metrics, and reports for teams within their assigned scope. A Basic user has no access to LinearB data or application features and can only respond to a Developer Survey when explicitly invited.

Why does a Basic user see “Cannot access LinearB” after signing in?

This is expected behavior, not a bug. The Basic role does not provide access to LinearB dashboards, metrics, reports, Developer Coaching, or team data. Basic users can only respond to a Developer Survey when they receive an invitation.

If the person needs read-only access to LinearB data, an Admin should change their role to Viewer and assign the appropriate team scope.

Can a Basic user access Developer Coaching?

No. Basic users do not have access to Developer Coaching. Assign the user an appropriate data-access role if they require access to that feature.

Does assigning a Basic user to a team give them access?

No. Team membership does not override the permissions of the Basic role. The user will remain unable to access LinearB data and can only respond to a Developer Survey when explicitly invited.

What is the difference between team scope and team membership?

Team scope controls which teams or groups an eligible user is permitted to access. Team membership identifies the teams to which the person belongs for reporting and activity attribution. A user’s scope can include teams beyond their own membership.

Does adding a contributor automatically give them access to LinearB?

No. A contributor is an identity whose Git activity is tracked by LinearB. To view LinearB data, the person must also have a user account with an appropriate data-access role.

Can an Editor create a new team?

No. Editors can update existing teams within their assigned scope, but an Admin must create new teams and groups.

Who can invite users or change their roles?

Admins can add users and manage their roles, team scopes, team membership, and other available permissions. If your organization uses SSO or SCIM, some user-management actions may instead be controlled by your identity provider.

How quickly do permission changes take effect?

Changes begin applying after they are saved. The affected user may be signed out or may need to sign in again before the updated permissions appear throughout the application.

Can users be managed programmatically?

Yes. The LinearB Users API supports creating, searching, updating, and deleting users, including setting their role, team scope, team membership, alternate emails, and other available permissions.

Does every LinearB user count toward billing?

User access and contributor activity are distinct concepts. Billing relevance can depend on factors such as team assignment, connected Git activity, enabled products, and your LinearB plan. Consult your current subscription details or contact your LinearB representative for plan-specific guidance.

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Related documentation

• Managing Users in the Users & Teams – Users Tab
• Developer Coaching
• Users API
• Interactive LinearB API Reference