LinearB Admin Configuration Checklist

Welcome to LinearB! Now that your initial setup is complete, this checklist will help you refine your configuration for accurate metrics, actionable insights, and smooth team adoption.

1. User and Access Management

Add Users and Contributors

• Users can log into the LinearB platform and view dashboards.
• Contributors have their Git activity tracked and appear in metrics.

Assign the correct roles: Admin, Editor, or Viewer

Managing Users in LinearB

User Role Permissions Matrix

Troubleshooting User Access

• User sees incorrect data: They may have accidentally created a separate free account. Contact Support to migrate them.
• "Account is already registered" error: The user may belong to another org. Support can merge or transfer them.
• Duplicate contributor accounts: Merge multiple Git identities into one.
  Merge Contributor Accounts

2. Git Integration

Confirm Git is Connected

• Use Git admin credentials to enable OAuth and ensure real-time sync.
  Enable Real-Time Git Connection

Add Repositories

• LinearB does not connect all repos automatically.
• Visit Connected Repositories and select the relevant ones.
  Add Repos to LinearB

If your team uses mono-repos, you may need to enable sub-path filtering. Contact Support for assistance.

Branch Filtering

• Common branches like main and master are excluded by default.
• Adjust filtering in Advanced Git Settings.
  How to Exclude Branches

3. Project Management Integration

Connect Jira or Shortcut

• Use admin credentials to ensure full board access.
  Configure PM Boards

Only Jira Software Management (company-managed) boards are supported. Jira Work Management and Jira Service Management boards are not compatible.

For reliable issue linking, include issue IDs in branch names or PR titles. Example: feature/LB-123-fix-login.

Field Mapping and Filtering

• Filter issues by component, label, or sprint using regex.
• Story points default to 1.0 if unset
• Map custom fields for investment categories.

Incident Management Setup

• Use connected PM boards to track MTTR and CFR.

• Don’t use Jira or Shortcut? Use the Incident API.

Understanding LinearB Issue Data

“This doesn’t look the same as Jira”— LinearB does not iframe Jira. It tracks status transitions and workflow activity, not just board placement.

• Issues are shown only if they change status during the iteration.
• Deleted or archived issues may still appear due to previously logged events.

Troubleshooting Issue Statuses

• My issue shows as "Uncompleted" even though it’s Done: Statuses must be mapped to the Jira “Done” category. Contact Support.
• My issue is still showing after deletion: LinearB tracks activity via status changes, not issue existence.

Most changes apply to new data only. Previous iterations are not retroactively updated.

4. Team Configuration

Team Setup

• Create teams under Company Settings > Teams & Contributors
• Link each team to the correct PM board(s).
  Connect PM Boards to Teams

Filtering by Iteration (Regex)

• Use regex to include only sprints relevant to your team when sharing Jira boards.

5. WorkerB Configuration

Slack / Teams Integration

• Link WorkerB to Slack or Teams in settings.
• Assign a dedicated channel for each LinearB team.

Slack Settings

MS Teams Settings

Customize Alerts

• Adjust notification settings per team.
  Customize WorkerB Notifications

6. Cycle Time and Release Settings

Cycle Time Configuration

• Default: Starts with first commit, ends with deployment.
• Optional: Start with issue “In Progress” status (Jira-based).

Cycle Time Calculation 

Jira-Based Coding Time

Release Detection Methods

Choose how LinearB tracks releases:

• Git tag (default)
• Merges to release branches
• Regex-based tag namesLinearB’s Release AP

Configure Release Detection

7. Project Delivery Trackers

• Use PDTs to track key features or epics across teams.
  Set Up Project Delivery Trackers

8. Admin Best Practices

• Revisit Jira filters and mappings quarterly.
• Review duplicate contributor suggestions monthly.
• Validate sprint setup and delivery metrics before retrospectives.
• Encourage teams to use issue keys in branch names.

9. Configure Automations (gitStream Setup)

After completing core LinearB setup, configure gitStream automations to enhance engineering efficiency, quality, and standardization.

Connect gitStream

• Install gitStream in your company GitHub repository.
• Create a GitHub Actions configuration file to trigger gitStream automation.
• Refer to Connect gitStream Using a GitLab Integration for integration guidance.

Implement gitStream Rules

• Configure initial gitStream rules based on your organization’s workflows.
• Apply an estimated review time label rule to PRs.
• For more information, consult the gitStream Documentation.

Deploy gitStream Toolkits

• Conduct an Engineering Productivity Session to align teams on automation goals.
• Deploy the first gitStream toolkit.
• Toolkits are available to optimize AI, efficiency, quality, and standardization.

(Toolkits may require a LinearB solutions engineering session for deployment.)

10. Validate Data Integrity

Before proceeding to training, leadership reporting, or benchmarking efforts, validate that your data is accurately configured and flowing across all relevant systems. This ensures your dashboards reflect reality and that insights generated by LinearB are actionable and trusted.

Data Validation Checklist

• Confirm Global Metric Calculations: Verify that your organization’s global metrics are correctly calculated under Settings > Metrics. Ensure DORA and efficiency benchmarks reflect company goals.
• Validate DORA Metrics Visibility: Confirm that DORA metrics are set up correctly and visible in the Metrics > Delivery Metrics dashboard. Check that values like lead time and deployment frequency populate as expected.
• Confirm Release Metrics: Ensure release tracking is operating as configured. Validate that the deployment frequency and release tagging mechanisms are populating correctly.
• Validate Branching Strategy: Review the inclusion and exclusion of branches to match your Git strategy. See: How to Exclude Branches
• Confirm WorkerB Data Accuracy: Make sure WorkerB is correctly sending alerts and notifications from Slack or MS Teams. Test:
  • Personal alerts
  • Team alerts
  • PR review reminders
    Validate the integration under Slack/MS Teams settings.
• Confirm gitStream Rules Functionality: Ensure your gitStream automation is functioning as expected. Validate:
  • Rule triggers (e.g., estimated review time labels, PR routing)
  • GitHub/GitLab integration
    See: Configuring gitStream Integration
• Confirm Correct Metrics Display for gitStream: Validate that gitStream-triggered activity (like routed PRs or estimated review time) is accurately represented in:
  • Cycle time
  • Pickup time
  • Review depth metrics
• Final Validation for Training and Reporting: Review all team dashboards and ensure:
  • Data matches expectations
  • Metrics align with your workflow
  • Automation outputs are visible
    Once confident, proceed with team enablement or leadership reporting.

Note:

If data appears incorrect or incomplete, check:

• Contributor mappings
• PM board scopes
• Branch exclusions
• Integration connectivity (Slack, Git, Jira, gitStream)

Troubleshooting Summary

Related Articles

• Understanding Pulse View
• WorkerB Inline Approval
• How to Exclude Branches