# How to create a cycle in Linear on Mac: enable cycles for your team

> Learn how to create a cycle in Linear on Mac. Cycles are turned on per team, then Linear creates them. Steps, limits and fixes are here.

URL: https://www.lazur.app/how-to/create-a-cycle-in-linear
Updated: 2026-11-08

You create a cycle in Linear on Mac by turning on cycles for your team, not by making one by hand. Open Team Settings, choose Cycles, switch on Enable cycles, and Linear creates the upcoming cycles on its own.

## Quick answer

- Cycles are turned on per team. You don't build a single cycle by hand.
- Go to Team Settings > Cycles and switch on Enable cycles. Linear creates the upcoming cycles from there.
- Each cycle lasts 1 to 8 weeks. Up to 15 upcoming cycles can be set up in advance.
- To start a cycle early, use Start cycle today on the next cycle. That step cannot be undone.
- I could not verify a Mac keyboard shortcut for cycles, so none is listed here.

Applies to: Linear on macOS, team cycle settings and the Cycles page. Time: 10 min. Difficulty: Easy.

## What you need

- Linear open on your Mac, with the team you want to plan for
- Permission to change that team's settings. If you can't see Cycles, ask a workspace admin
- About ten minutes to choose a cycle length, a start time and an upcoming cycle count

## How to Turn on cycles for a team in Linear on Mac in Linear on a Mac

1. **Open the team you want to plan.** Open Linear on your Mac and pick the team that will run the cycle. Cycles are set up per team, so each team needs its own setup. Start with the team that needs the schedule first.
2. **Open Team Settings and choose Cycles.** (Team Settings > Cycles) Open Team Settings for that team, then choose Cycles. The official docs give this path as Team Settings > Cycles. If your labels differ slightly, look for the cycles section in team settings. Tip: The docs FAQ uses Settings > Team > Cycles. It leads to the same place, with different wording.
3. **Turn on Enable cycles.** (Team Settings > Cycles > Enable cycles) Switch on the Enable cycles toggle. A setup flow opens with the required settings already filled in. The defaults are a starting point, and you can edit them later.
4. **Set length, upcoming cycles and start day.** Choose how long each cycle lasts, from 1 to 8 weeks. Set how many upcoming cycles Linear should create, up to 15. Pick the day of the week the cycle begins. Tip: Start with a length your team can finish in the window. You can change it later in the same settings.
5. **Check the timezone.** (Team Settings > General) Cycles begin at 12:00 AM in the timezone set under Team Settings > General. Confirm that timezone before you finish setup, because it sets the start time for every cycle.
6. **Confirm on the Cycles page.** (Cycles) Open the Cycles page for the team. The upcoming cycles should appear there. Linear creates them from the settings you just chose, so you do not add them by hand.
7. **Start a cycle early (optional).** (Cycles > Overflow menu (three dots) > Start cycle today) On the Cycles page, open the overflow menu on the next cycle. Choose Start cycle today, then confirm in the pop-up. The docs say this cannot be reverted, so check the dates first. Tip: The docs describe this option on the next cycle. Later cycles keep their scheduled start.

Linear builds cycles for you. Once a team turns them on, Linear makes the upcoming cycles on its own, based on the settings you pick. That is the main thing to know if you came here looking for a button. You are not drawing a cycle on a calendar. You are switching on a schedule for a team, then letting Linear fill it in.

This guide walks through that setup on a Mac. It also covers starting a cycle early, changing future dates, and what happens to issues when a cycle closes. Where the official docs leave a gap, this guide says so.

![Person at a laptop planning team work, the kind of setup for how to create a cycle in Linear on Mac](https://images.lazur.app/content-images/howto/create-a-cycle-in-linear/how-to-create-a-cycle-in-linear-1-9e0a31.jpg)

## Why there is no New Cycle button

Some tutorials online show a New Cycle button in the sidebar. Linear's official cycles documentation describes no manual create flow. This guide could not confirm that button in the Mac app, so the steps below do not rely on it. If your app shows one, it is worth a look. The documented route is the setup path, and that is the one this guide follows.

> **Cycles are per team:** Cycles are turned on for each team. If you run two teams, set up each one separately, and check the cycles page for each team after setup.

## What a cycle is in Linear

A cycle is Linear's name for a fixed stretch of work. Linear announced cycles in 2019 as its name for sprints. Each cycle lasts from 1 to 8 weeks, and you choose the length in the team's settings. Issues go into the cycle, and the team works through them during that window.

Think of a cycle as a short window for the work the team picks up now. It is not a project timeline. Projects hold bigger goals. Cycles hold the work for the next stretch of time.

Cycles can also have a cooldown. A cooldown is an optional break after each cycle. Issues cannot be assigned to a cooldown, so the break stays free of planned work.

## Settings you choose when you turn cycles on

| Setting | What it controls | Limit or note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Each cycle lasts | Length of every cycle | 1 to 8 weeks |
| Upcoming cycles | How many future cycles Linear creates ahead | Up to 15 |
| Start day | Day of the week a cycle begins | Chosen in the cycle settings |
| Start time and timezone | Midnight start in the team timezone | Timezone set under Team Settings > General |
| Cooldown | Optional break after each cycle | Issues cannot be assigned to a cooldown |

_Cycle settings, as described in the Linear Docs: Cycles page._

Length is the first decision. A one week cycle suits a team that wants fast feedback. An eight week cycle suits work that takes longer to finish. The limit is 1 to 8 weeks, so the length you pick must sit inside that range.

Upcoming cycles are the second decision. Linear can pre-create up to 15 future cycles. The Cycles page then shows a run of planned windows without you adding each one by hand. You can change these defaults later in the same settings area.

The start day sets which day of the week a cycle begins. The start time is midnight, 12:00 AM, in the timezone under Team Settings > General. Check that timezone once during setup. A wrong timezone moves every cycle, not just the first one.

## Start a cycle early

Sometimes the next cycle should begin before its scheduled date. The docs cover this with the overflow menu. Open the Cycles page, find the next cycle, open its overflow menu (the three dots), and choose Start cycle today.

A confirmation pop-up appears. Read it, then confirm. The docs say this change cannot be reverted, so there is no undo if you start the cycle on the wrong day. Compare the dates in the pop-up with your team's plan before you confirm.

> **No undo:** Start cycle today cannot be reverted. Confirm that this is the right cycle and the right day before you click.

No Mac keyboard shortcut for starting or creating a cycle was confirmed for this guide. Sources disagree on the key combination, so the steps here use the menu only.

## Change dates on upcoming cycles

Start and end dates of future cycles can be moved from the overflow menu on a future cycle. Past cycle dates are locked. A cycle that already ran keeps its dates, even when they are wrong. Plan any change while the cycle is still in the future.

Linear fixed a bug where saving the same next-cycle start date again moved upcoming cycles by a week. The same fix also removed an hour of overlap around daylight saving time changes, which Linear logged on November 5, 2026. If your dates shifted after an edit, update the app and check the Cycles page.

## What happens to issues when a cycle closes

Issues connect to cycles in two ways. The Auto-add active issues to current cycle toggle adds Started or Completed issues that have no cycle. The Active issues option tells Linear what to do with unfinished work, either Move to Backlog or Keep in Active.

Open issues in a closing cycle generally roll over to the next cycle. The docs say there is no way to keep unfinished issues in a closed cycle. Plan for that. If an issue is still open when the cycle closes, expect it in the next cycle.

Completed cycle data is kept, even when you turn cycles off. That history helps when you plan the next window, because you can see what the team finished last time.

## Turn cycles off or back on

Disabling cycles does three things. It marks the current cycle as completed. It removes the upcoming cycles. It keeps the completed cycle data. You can turn cycles back on later from the same settings.

Think before you switch off. Removing upcoming cycles clears the plan you set up. If you only need a pause between windows, the cooldown setting may fit better, because it is an optional break after each cycle.

## Recent cycle fixes you may notice

Linear changed cycle behavior several times in 2026. On July 23, 2026, the CycleCreate and CycleUpdate actions began to prevent overlapping schedules. Neighboring cycles are now checked against their dates. That means fewer surprise overlaps when you edit.

On August 20, 2026, Linear fixed a bug where it could not find or assign a future cycle by its number, such as Cycle 13. On August 13, 2026, quarter and half-year cycle names began to increment correctly. These are small fixes, but they explain odd behavior.

If a cycle reference by number fails, update the app before you start troubleshooting. Many of the odd results people report match a fix that already shipped.

## Mistakes people make with cycles

- Looking for a create button in the sidebar when the setting lives under Team Settings > Cycles.
- Starting a cycle early without checking the dates in the confirmation pop-up.
- Expecting past cycle dates to change. They are locked, so only future cycles can move.
- Setting the wrong timezone, then wondering why cycles start at strange hours.
- Following the Settings > Team > Cycles path from the FAQ and getting lost. The main docs use Team Settings > Cycles.
- Turning cycles off to reset them. Disabling removes upcoming cycles, so the plan goes with them.

Most of these come from expecting a button the docs do not describe. Start with the setup path. The rest of the cycle behavior follows from it.

## Check that cycles work

Open the Cycles page after setup. You should see the upcoming cycles listed in order. Their dates should match your start day and your team timezone. If the first cycle looks wrong, go back to Team Settings > General and check the timezone before you change anything else.

![Team planning meeting at a desk, similar to setting up cycles for a Linear team on Mac](https://images.lazur.app/content-images/howto/create-a-cycle-in-linear/how-to-create-a-cycle-in-linear-2-f98036.jpg)

Once cycles run, add work to them. [Create an issue in Linear on Mac](https://www.lazur.app/how-to/create-an-issue-in-linear) covers new issues. [Select multiple issues in Linear on Mac](https://www.lazur.app/how-to/select-multiple-issues-in-linear) helps when you sort a batch of work into a window.

## Where to go next

If you want the wider picture of Linear on Mac, [the Linear app guide](https://www.lazur.app/apps/linear) covers voice help inside the desktop app. For jumping to any command quickly, [how to open the command menu in Linear on Mac](https://www.lazur.app/how-to/open-the-command-menu-in-linear) covers the ⌘K shortcut.

Keep the setup short. Turn cycles on, check the length and the timezone, then look at the Cycles page once a week until it feels routine.

![Mac laptop on a desk with notes, ready for how to create a cycle in Linear on Mac](https://images.lazur.app/content-images/howto/create-a-cycle-in-linear/how-to-create-a-cycle-in-linear-3-292a92.jpg)

## If it does not work

- **I can't find a New Cycle button** The official docs describe no manual create flow for cycles. Turn on Enable cycles under Team Settings > Cycles, then check the Cycles page for the upcoming cycles.
- **Start cycle today is missing from the menu** The docs place it in the overflow menu on the next cycle, on the Cycles page. Look for the three dots on the next cycle, not on the current one.
- **I can't change the dates on a past cycle** Past cycle dates are locked. Only future cycles can have their start and end dates moved, from the overflow menu on that future cycle.
- **Referencing a future cycle by number fails** Linear fixed this on August 20, 2026. Update the app, then try again. If it still fails, check the Linear changelog for newer fixes.
- **Cycles start at an odd hour** Cycles begin at 12:00 AM in the team timezone under Team Settings > General. Check that timezone, not the clock on your Mac.
- **Started or completed issues are not in the cycle** Turn on Auto-add active issues to current cycle to add Started or Completed issues that have no cycle. Otherwise, assign the issue to the cycle by hand.

## With Lazur

Lazur is a voice assistant for the Mac that lives in the notch. Hold ⌥ ⌘ and ask; it sees your screen, answers out loud, points at buttons and walks you through apps. Hold fn to dictate. Free for 3 days, then $18/month: https://www.lazur.app/download

- “Where's the Enable cycles toggle?”: Lazur circles the Enable cycles toggle, then waits while you click it. (Walks you through it)

## FAQ

### Can I create one cycle by hand in Linear on Mac?

Not from what the official docs describe. Linear has no documented manual create flow. You turn cycles on for a team under Team Settings > Cycles, and Linear creates the upcoming cycles from your settings. If your app shows a New Cycle button, you can try it, but this guide could not confirm it.

### How long can a cycle last?

Each cycle lasts from 1 to 8 weeks. You set the length in the cycle settings for your team. Pick a length, run a few cycles, then review whether it still fits the work.

### How many future cycles can Linear set up ahead?

Up to 15 upcoming cycles can be created in advance using the Upcoming cycles setting. You can change the defaults later from the same settings area.

### Why does my cycle start at midnight?

Cycles begin at 12:00 AM in the timezone set under Team Settings > General. Your Mac's clock is not the setting that matters here. Check the team timezone instead.

### Can I start a cycle before its scheduled date?

Yes. Open the overflow menu (the three dots) on the next cycle on the Cycles page, then choose Start cycle today. The docs say this cannot be reverted, so confirm the dates first.

### What happens to unfinished issues when a cycle closes?

Open issues in a closing cycle generally roll over to the next cycle. The docs say there is no way to keep unfinished issues in a closed cycle, so plan your last week with that in mind.

### Does turning cycles off delete my data?

No. Disabling cycles marks the current cycle as completed and removes upcoming cycles. Completed cycle data is kept, and you can turn cycles back on later.

### Is there a Mac keyboard shortcut for cycles?

Not one this guide could confirm. The sources I checked disagree on the key combination, so none is listed. Check the app's keyboard shortcut help before you rely on one.

## Sources

1. [Linear Docs: Cycles](https://linear.app/docs/use-cycles.md), Linear, checked 2026-11-09
2. [Linear Docs](https://linear.app/docs), Linear, checked 2026-11-09
3. [Linear Changelog: Cycles (2019)](https://linear.app/changelog/2019-07-04-cycles), Linear, checked 2026-11-09
4. [Linear Changelog: Text attribution and agent-assisted editing](https://linear.app/changelog/2026-07-23-agent-assisted-editing), Linear, checked 2026-11-09
5. [Linear Changelog index](https://linear.app/changelog), Linear, checked 2026-11-09