Linear for software qa testers on Mac: triage, templates and shortcuts with Lazur

How bug work moves through Linear

Linear sorts incoming work into a few places. Issues from integrations land in Triage. So do issues from people outside your team, and issues you create directly in the Triage view. Everything else lives in your team's normal views. Knowing where a bug sits tells you what to do next.

Each issue belongs to one team. That rule matters for QA. If a bug touches two products, file it once under the team that owns the fix. Then name the other team in the description, so nobody files a copy.

Triage: the intake queue to work every day

Open your Triage with G then T. To open another team's Triage, press O then T. Each issue in the queue needs one decision. You accept it, decline it, mark it as a duplicate, or snooze it.

• 1 Accept. The issue moves to the team's default status.
• 2 Decline. The issue moves to a Canceled status.
• 3 or MM Mark as duplicate. The issue merges into an existing one, and the new one is canceled.
• H Snooze. The issue leaves the queue until a return time or new activity.

Work the queue from top to bottom, once at the start of your day. Snooze only when you wait on a developer or a reporter. Snoozed issues return on their own, so they do not get lost. Decline only when the bug is not real or is out of scope. Write the reason in a comment first.

The most common mistake is to accept everything. Then the default status fills with reports nobody has checked. Ask one question per issue before you accept it. Can I reproduce this on the build we ship? If not, ask for the build and the steps first.

A quick triage pass also protects your team's time. Duplicates waste a developer's morning when two people chase the same crash. Mark them early, while the history is still fresh.

Issue templates for consistent bug reports

Templates are the fastest way to get the same bug report every time. Linear has two types. Standard templates set issue properties and description text. Form templates add structured fields, such as text, long text, dropdown, checkboxes, date, and instructions. Any form field can be required.

Form templates have a limit. They are only available as default templates for non-team members. Check Settings > Team > Templates to see which type your team can use. If your testers are team members, a standard template with a clear steps section may be the simpler choice.

Team templates can use team labels and statuses. Workspace templates cannot. Put your bug label and your status in a team template. Sub-issues can only use templates that do not contain sub-issues, so keep bug templates flat.

Create a bug from a template in one keypress

Press ⌥ C to create an issue from a template. Press C to open the normal create modal. To share a template link, open Settings > Team > Templates and copy its URL. Pin that link in your team's test guide, so every tester starts from the same form.

Put three fields in every bug template: build number, macOS version, and account type. Those three answers settle most replies that start with it works on my machine. Add a steps section and an expected result section. Leave the actual result blank for the tester to fill in.

Mac keyboard shortcuts for QA testers

Linear's docs list many shortcuts as Cmd or Ctrl. On a Mac, press ⌘ wherever the docs say Cmd. These are the ones that matter for bug work.

• ⌘ K opens the command menu, so you can jump to an issue or view without the mouse.
• ⌘ N chooses what to create based on the view you are in, documents included.
• C opens the create issue modal.
• ⌥ C creates an issue from a template.
• G then T opens your Triage. O then T opens another team's Triage.
• ⌘ click switches to a page tab that is already open.

On macOS, the desktop slash menu has an Insert screenshot item. Open the slash menu in a description and choose it. The repro screenshot then stays with the bug, where the developer will look for it.

Shortcuts only help if they stay in your muscle memory. Pick five, use them for a week, then add five more. Start with ⌥ C and G then T, because you use those on every bug.

Plan limits that change how you file bugs

Your plan decides how many teams and issues you get. Free is $0 with 2 teams and 250 issues. Basic is $10 per user per month billed yearly, with 5 teams and unlimited issues. Business is $16 per user per month billed yearly, with unlimited teams.

Guest accounts depend on the plan too. Free and Basic do not include guests. Business and Enterprise do. The pricing page gives no numeric guest limit, so ask Linear before you invite an outside tester as a guest.

The 250 issue cap on Free can run out fast on an active QA team. When it does, talk to your workspace admin before you delete anything. Deleting throws away the repro evidence a developer may still need.

Where Lazur helps while you test in Linear

Lazur is a voice assistant for the Mac that lives in the notch. Hold ⌥ ⌘ to ask about anything on screen, and Lazur answers out loud. Ask where a control is, and Lazur draws a circle and a label around it. Ask how to do something, and it guides you one click at a time, waiting for each click.

Lazur does not click buttons, edit issues, or operate Linear for you. It is not a plugin or add-in for any app. Lazur has no partnership with Linear. You still press the keys. Lazur tells you which key to press, then waits for you.

A worked example: a login bug from a customer email

Say a customer emails support about a login loop in the Mac app. The email lands in Triage, because it came from outside your team. Here is the order that works for that bug.

1. Check for a duplicate first. If an open issue covers it, press 3 or type MM, then pick the original.
2. If it is new, press 1 to accept it. It moves to the team's default status.
3. Create the real bug from your template with ⌥ C. Paste the reporter's steps into the steps section.
4. Hold fn and dictate the expected result, so you do not type it twice.
5. If a template field is hard to find, hold ⌥ ⌘ and ask Lazur where it is.

I found no sourced figure for how long triage or reproduction takes in Linear. Measure your own queue for one week before you set a target. Time the first pass and count the duplicates. Those two numbers tell you more than a benchmark would.

Dictate bug reports with fn and snippets

Hold fn to dictate clean, formatted text at the cursor in any app. That includes Linear's description box. Steps to reproduce are easy to say out loud. Typing them one at a time is slow. Say the steps in order, then fix the odd word by hand.

Use snippets for lines you repeat. Your build number, your macOS version, and your test account are good candidates. Save each one once, then insert it without retyping it. Clipboard slots help when you need a stack trace while you switch between tabs.

Add product names to the personal dictionary. Linear, Safari, Chrome, and your app's own feature names are good examples. Then they come out spelled the way your team writes them.

Mistakes QA testers make in Linear on Mac

• Accepting before checking. The bug sits in the default status, and nobody reproduces it.
• Assuming a template keeps your Triage status. Linear's Triage doc warns that a default template can override it.
• Declining a real bug. Declined issues move to Canceled. Use duplicate for repeats, and decline only what is not real or out of scope.
• Working in Safari without the Tab focus setting. Linear's docs say Safari may need it. Turn it on under Safari > Settings > Advanced, in the setting called Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage.
• Making a sub-issue from a template that has sub-issues. Sub-issues cannot use those templates.
• Saving without the right team. Every issue belongs to one team, so pick it before you save.

Look back at snoozed issues before you close your day. A snoozed bug returns at its set time or after new activity. A quick check stops a real bug from sitting hidden all week.

Email intake and attachment limits

Linear can create issues from email. Every issue needs one team, a title, and a status. Email attachments are capped at 25 MB, and email bodies at 250,000 characters. A very long log pasted into the body can hit that limit.

Attach the log file instead, and keep it under 25 MB. If a file is too big, trim the screen recording to the moment that fails. Short clips are easier for a developer to watch, and they fit under the cap.

Next steps for your Mac and your queue

Start with one Triage pass and one template. Learn the three shortcuts you use most, which are G then T, 3, and ⌥ C. Add Lazur for the questions you keep asking yourself. Change one habit per week, so each change sticks.

If you also test in an editor, read the VS Code guide for QA testers on Mac. It covers the other half of a bug report, from the code side. Lazur runs on macOS, on Apple silicon and Intel. Windows is planned, not available.

Start with the download page. The Pro trial needs no credit card, and it starts when you first open the app. Compare plans on the pricing page.

Two things I could not verify. Third-party reviewers describe pain points in Linear, but I did not open those pages, so I left them out. I also found no sourced number for bug triage time. Treat both as open questions for your own team.