If you're evaluating Atono and want to bring in your existing work from Linear, you can import issues using a CSV export. This lets you test Atono with real data and compare how workflows, team setup, and backlog items translate across platforms.

Only Workspace Administrators and Workspace Owners can access the Linear import option.

1. Export your data from Linear

Start by downloading a CSV file of your workspace's issues from Linear.

In Linear, go to Settings → Administration → Import/Export.
At the bottom of the page, click Export data.
- You can optionally choose to include private teams in the export.
Download the CSV file to your computer.

This export includes your issues, teams, projects, and users. While no extra formatting is required, preparing the file beforehand can lead to better results (see step 2).

2. Prepare your file for better results (optional)

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Preprocessing tips
Before uploading your file, you can make adjustments to improve how your data maps into Atono—especially if you're importing into an existing workspace.
These tips help avoid surprises during import, like duplicate teams, mismatched workflow steps, or misclassified items.
Match team names
Rename Linear team names in the CSV to match existing Atono teams (case-insensitive). This prevents accidental duplication and assigns issues to the correct backlog.

If a Linear team name matches an existing team in Atono, issues will be added to that team.

If no match is found, Atono will create a new public team (as long as you haven’t hit the 50-team limit).

Matching is case-insensitive, but even small differences like extra words or punctuation will create a new team.
Example: If your Atono team is named Platform, and the CSV file has Platform Team, Atono will treat them as different and create a new team unless you rename it to Platform.
🔒Private teams
Teams imported from Linear are created as public by default—even if they were private in Linear. To keep teams private:

Create private teams in Atono ahead of time and make sure the names match exactly.

Or update newly created teams to be private after import.

Example: If you want a team from Linear called Security to remain private, create a private Security team in Atono first. Then make sure the CSV uses the name Security exactly.
Match project names
Linear projects map to Atono product themes by name (case insensitive). To align issues with existing product themes, update the Project column to match existing names in Atono.
Example: If your Linear project is called Website Refresh, but Atono uses Website Redesign, the issues won't be grouped unless you update the project name in the CSV to match.
Clarify item type
Atono uses the issue's labels to determine if it should be a Story or Bug. To avoid confusion or bulk reclassification:

Add Story, Improvement, or Bug labels to each issue.

Avoid combining Bug with Story or Improvement.

Example: An issue labeled Bug and Improvement will be considered ambiguous–if it's meant to be a bug, remove the Improvement label (issues with Improvement or Story labels are imported as stories).
Align status with your workflow
Update the Status column to match the names of your Atono workflow steps for the associated teams. This increases the chance that each issue will be placed in the correct step during import.
Example: If the status of an issue is In QA in your CSV, but the associated team's workflow step is named QA testing, Atono won't match them automatically. Change the CSV to match the Atono step name exactly.
Check user seat availability
Imported users (identified in the Creator or Assignee fields) are matched to Atono users by email address. If a user doesn't exist in your workspace, an inactive user with a Not invited status will be created. You'll need an available user seat to invite them.
Example: If an issue lists [email protected] as the assignee, and Maya isn't in Atono yet, she'll be added as a Not invited inactive user. You'll need a free seat to invite her to your workspace.

3. Upload your file to Atono

Once your file is ready, head into Atono to begin the import.

In Atono, click your workspace's name in the header.
From the menu, select Settings.
Under Import to Atono, click Linear.
Drag and drop your file into the upload area, or click browse files to select it from your computer.

Atono will validate your file before you're given the option to import the data. If anything's off, you'll see a message explaining what needs to be fixed so you can try again.

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Reasons you'll see an error

The file isn't a CSV.

Any required columns are missing (ID, Team, Title, Description, Status, Estimate, Priority, Project, Creator, Assignee, Labels, Created, Completed, Canceled, Archived).

A required field is blank in one or more rows (ID, Title, Creator, or Created must not be empty).

A field is incorrectly formatted (for example, invalid dates or emails, or unsupported characters).

The file contains more than 10,000 unarchived issues.

A user in the file is already a member of another Atono workspace.

4. Review import settings

After the file passes validation, Atono shows you how the data will be imported.

Users

Linear users identified in the Creator or Assignee field are matched to Atono users by their email address.

If a user doesn't already exist in Atono:

A inactive user with a Not invited status will be created.
If you have available user seats in Atono, you can choose to send invitations during the import.
If you wait to invite them, they'll remain inactive until you send an invitation and they accept.

Invited users will be prompted to enter their full name when they join the Atono workspace. This becomes part of their user profile in Atono.

If you don't have enough user seats, you'll need to free up user seats by deactivating other users or added more seats by upgrading your plan before you can invite additional users.

Teams

Teams are matched by name (case-insensitive). If a match is found, issues will be assigned to the existing team. If not:

A new public team will be created (as long as you're under the 50-team limit).
The person performing the import will be added as the team admin.
No team members are added automatically.

If a team can't be imported—for example, because the workspace has reached the 50-team limit—those issues will still be imported but left unassigned. Atono detects this during validation and shows a warning before you continue.

Stories will appear in Story refinement, at the bottom of the 'To do' step.
Bugs will appear in Bug triage, at the bottom of the 'Reported bugs' step.

If a team name in your CSV matches an existing team (case-insensitive and exact), issues will be assigned to that team. Atono won’t create a duplicate.

Projects → Product themes

Projects in Linear are matched to Product themes in Atono by their name (case-insensitive).

If there's no match, Atono creates a new product theme using the name from the CSV and adds it to the stories.

5. Import and map issues

Each Linear issue becomes a backlog item in Atono. The import process maps fields and attributes from your CSV to Atono's data model.

Item type

Atono determines whether each issue is a Story or Bug based on its labels:

If an issue has a Story or Improvement label and no Bug label, it's imported as Story.
If an issue has a Bug, but not Story label, it's imported as a Bug.
If it has both or neither, Atono will prompt you to choose how to import those issues. Your choice will apply to all issues that are unable to be classified in the file.

Team

Issues are assigned to the team listed in the CSV's Team column, assuming that team was matched or created.

If no team is matched or created:

Stories are added to the bottom of the 'To do' step in Story refinement.
Bugs are added to the bottom of the 'Reported bugs' step in Bug triage.

Creator / Reporter

A Linear issue's creator becomes the creator of a story or the reporter of a bug in Atono.

Assignee

A Linear issue's assignee is set to the bug or story's assignee in Atono.

Workflow step

Atono uses the assigned team’s workflow to determine which workflow step each issue is placed in. If no team is associated with the issue, it's added to Story refinement (for stories) or Bug triage (for bugs).

Workflow step assignment is based on the issue's status and timestamps from Linear:

If the issue has an Archived date, it will not be imported.
If it has a Completed date, it will be placed in the first step categorized as 'Done'.
If it has a Canceled date, it will be placed in a step categorized as 'Won’t Do'.
If none of those apply, Atono will try to match the issue’s Status field to a workflow step with the same name (case-insensitive).
- If a matching step is found, the issue will be placed in that step.
- If no match is found, the issue will be placed in the first step categorized as 'Done' as a fallback.

Timestamps

Each imported item keeps its original Created and Updated dates from the Linear. These correspond to the Created and Last updated fields in Atono.

History

Atono adds an entry to the Activities section of each item noting:

The item was imported from Linear.
The original Linear issue ID (visible in the External ID column on the Everything page).
The issue's original labels, priority, and estimate from Linear.

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Size estimates aren't mapped
Linear issue estimates are imported as numbers but aren't mapped to Atono's story sizing system. Linear exports don't include size scales, so values like '3' can't be meaningfully compared across teams.

6. Handle duplicates

If the same issues appear in multiple imports (based on the ID field), Atono will prompt you to choose to:

Skip previously imported: Atono checks the ID column in your CSV against the External ID field in Atono. If a match is found, that issue has already been imported, and no new item will be created.
Include all: Atono imports everything in the file, even if some items were already imported. Duplicate issues will be added with new item IDs.

7. Next steps

Once your Linear issues are imported, you can start exploring and organizing your data in Atono:

Review imported users and teams. Go to Manage users and Manage teams to check who was added and which teams were created or matched.
- The person who ran the import is automatically set as the team admin for any newly created teams. If someone else should manage the team—especially private teams—you can reassign reassign the team admin in the team settings.
Add users to teams. If imported issues aren't visible to the right teammates, make sure those users are added to the relevant teams.
Invite inactive users or add seats. Some users may have been added as inactive due to seat limits. You can invite them from the Manage users page after upgrading your plan or freeing up seats.
Check product themes. Linear projects become Atono product themes. Go to Manage product themes to review, rename, or regroup them if needed.
Browse imported stories and bugs. Use to the Everything page to explore all your imported stories and bugs. You can filter, sort, or search by fields like team, status, or item type—or use the External ID field to reference the original Linear issue ID.

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External IDs
The External ID is populated automatically during import and stores the original Linear issue ID. Use it to trace imported items back to their source or cross-reference them outside of Atono.
You can add it as a column on the Everything page or filter by it to find specific imported items.