How to go to inbox in Linear on Mac: G then I, sidebar and fixes

The fastest route: G then I from any page

Press G, let go, then press I. That opens your Inbox from any page in Linear. Linear's Inbox documentation calls this the fastest way to reach it. The shortcut has no modifier key, so ⌘, ⌥, ⌃ and ⇧ stay up the whole time. The two keys go one after the other, not together.

Other shortcut sheets agree on the keys. Pie Menu lists Go to inbox as G then I, with no modifier keys. One third-party table, from shortcut.fyi, lists G then N for the Inbox and labels G then I as a different command. That table's own FAQ uses G then I, which matches Linear's docs. Use G then I, and ignore the N version.

Use the sidebar when the shortcut does nothing

The sidebar is the mouse route. Linear's Inbox docs say Find your Inbox in the sidebar, so look for Inbox in the left column and click it. This works on a trackpad with no keys at all. It also helps when the shortcut fails for a reason you cannot see on screen.

Linear's docs do not describe a Mac menu bar item for the Inbox. This guide could not confirm one, so none is listed here. If your version of the app shows an Inbox command under a menu, use it, then check that it opens the same list of notifications.

Move through notifications with the keyboard

Once you are in the Inbox, you can keep your hands on the keyboard. J moves down the list and K moves up. The arrow keys do the same job, so use whichever feels better. U switches the selected notification between read and unread.

⌥ U marks every notification as read in one press. Pause before you use it, because it changes the whole list. H snoozes the selected notification. Snoozed items stay out of view until they are due, and then they return.

Backspace deletes the selected notification. ⇧ Backspace deletes every notification that is already read. Check the list before you press the second one, since it clears more than one item at a time.

Search inside the Inbox and triage fast

Press ⌘ F to start a quick search inside the Inbox. Type what you are looking for, then press Esc to clear the search and return to the full list. Search is quick, so reach for it before you scroll.

A simple triage order keeps the list short. Read new items with J and U. Snooze anything that can wait with H. Delete what you no longer need. Then clear read items in one press with ⇧ Backspace. Repeat this once a day, and the list stays readable.

What the Priority tab changed in September 2026

Linear's changelog dates a Priority inbox tab to Sep 3, 2026. It separates notifications that need attention from the rest. Linear picks the Priority contents by default. You can change them by choosing notification sources or by creating a filter. The regular inbox remains available, so you can still see everything in one list.

Two other changes came before and after it. On Jul 2, 2026, Linear added a filter that narrows Inbox notifications by review status. On Jul 30, 2026, Linear stopped new project and initiative update notifications from showing as separate Inbox entries. A list that looks different may reflect one of these changes.

Why an item is missing from the Inbox

A few causes explain most missing items. Snoozed notifications stay hidden until they are due. Email digests skip anything you have already read in the Inbox, so an email may never arrive for an item you opened. The Inbox also keeps up to 2,000 open notifications at one time. Older ones beyond that count are not kept.

Linear also had a real incident on Mar 24, 2026. Its status page says notifications were incorrectly deleted for affected users. It was identified at 9:11 AM and resolved at 11:45 AM. Linear said the notifications were recovered and the Inbox was working normally. If something vanished that day, check the status page before you dig into your own settings.

Make macOS show Linear alerts

Desktop alerts come from macOS, so Linear needs permission in macOS settings. Linear's notification docs say that if the red Dock badge is missing, you should enable notifications for Linear in macOS settings and turn on the red badge icon option. Do that first, then check Linear's own switches.

Linear sets notifications per channel: Desktop, Mobile, Email and Slack. You find them under Settings > Account > Notifications. If Desktop is off there, the Mac app stays quiet even when macOS allows alerts. Turn Desktop on, then wait for the next real notification to confirm the setting.

Browser push does not work for new subscriptions, according to Linear's docs. For real-time desktop alerts, the docs recommend the desktop app. That is why this guide treats the Mac app as the main route.

Keep the desktop app current

The desktop app downloads and installs updates in the background. On macOS, you can turn auto-update off with a defaults write command. The change needs an app restart before it takes effect. Linear's docs list no version numbers and no minimum macOS version, so this guide cannot tie any step to one release.

Common mistakes that waste time

A frequent slip is typing G into a text field. It becomes a letter in your title or comment, and nothing opens. Click outside the field, then try again.

Second, people hold ⌘ while they press G. The documented shortcut has no modifier, so ⌘ G is not the route. Third, people press ⌥ U when they meant U. ⌥ U marks everything read, so check which key you pressed.

Fourth, people trust a third-party sheet over the vendor. Use Linear's docs as the source of truth. Treat third-party tables as hints, and check them against the app before you rely on them.

What to do after you reach the Inbox

Reaching the Inbox is only the first step. The useful habit is opening a notification and acting on the issue behind it. For a quick way to move around the app, read how to open the command menu in Linear on Mac. For a due date on an item you are triaging, read how to set a due date in Linear on Mac.

If one project floods your Inbox, narrow the view instead of fighting the list. How to filter issues in Linear on Mac shows the filter steps. Then return to the Inbox with G then I and clear what is left.

Sources and version notes

Every step on this page comes from Linear's own docs, with third-party sheets used only for comparison. The official keyboard shortcut page returned a not found error when this guide was checked, so the full shortcut list rests on the Inbox doc. Treat the table as the set of keys the docs describe, not a complete map of the app.