Linear design specDev Tools

Dark, cinematic product brochure + keyboard-first app: Inter at optical weights (510/590), near-white pill CTAs, indigo #5e6ad2 confined to product UI, dense 32px rows.

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Captured from the live site's computed styles into a prompt-ready DESIGN.md you can paste into Cursor, v0, Lovable, Bolt or Claude Code. Below is a summary of each captured surface.

Marketing site

Source: linear.app homepage (live DOM, computed styles), recaptured 2026-07-08 at desktop 1512px; palette/weights cross-checked against Linear's published CSS custom properties (2026-07-06). Coverage: full homepage (hero → logo wall → feature chapters → closing CTA → footer). App shell: see apps/linear/app/. Responsive: breakpoints from stylesheets only; mobile rendering not verified.

Visual Theme & Atmosphere

A cinematic dark product brochure: near-black canvas, huge left-aligned Inter display at medium (510) weight with tight negative tracking, and real app screenshots floating in bordered frames over metallic silver-gradient floors. Color is almost absent — white/gray type, near-white pill CTAs, one indigo/violet brand hue reserved for product UI inside the screenshots. Sections read like numbered chapters (gray index numerals + arrow links), and a signature two-tone editorial device sets the lead clause in white and the rest in gray within one 48px block. Motion is restrained: fades and staggers, everything fast. Feels: cinematic, engineered, confident, quietly premium.

Color Palette & Roles

Canvas & surfaces

TokenHexRole / usage
bg#08090aPage canvas (deepest sections #010102)
surface-1#0f1011Framed screenshot panels, cards
surface-2#141516Higher panels
panel#1c1c1fFloating cards (Slack thread, Pulse card)
ghost-fillrgba(255,255,255,.05)Dark pill CTA (Contact sales)
border#23252a / rgba(255,255,255,.05)Hairlines, frame borders
navtransparent + backdrop-filter: blur(20px), h73, fixedHeader

Text

TokenHexRole / usage
text-primary#f7f8f8Display, headings, lead clauses
text-secondary#d0d6e0Feature card titles (20/590)
text-tertiary#8a8f98Subheads, body, nav links, footer links, de-emphasized display text
text-quaternary#62666dChapter index numerals, fine print

Brand & CTA

TokenHexRole / usage
cta near-white#e5e5e6Primary pill buttons (text #08090a)
brand indigo#5e6ad2 / violet #7170ffAppears only inside product screenshots and small UI accents — never as marketing chrome
metallic floorsilver gradient (light gray → white → dark)Pedestal under hero/section screenshots

Rule: marketing chrome is strictly grayscale; the only saturated color on the page lives inside embedded product UI (issue-state dots, charts). Rule: two-tone display — lead clause #f7f8f8, remainder #8a8f98, same size/weight.

Typography Rules

RoleSize/LineWeightTracking
Hero display (h1)64 / 64510-1.408px (-2.2%), left-aligned
Closing display (h2)72 / 72510-1.584px, centered
Section chapter (h2)48 / 48510-1.056px (-2.2%)
Feature card title (h3)20 / 26.6590-0.24px
Hero subhead15 / 244000, #8a8f98
Body / editorial16 / 244000
Nav links13–14400–5100, #8a8f98
Footer: headers 13/510 #f7f8f8, links 13/400 #8a8f98

Patterns: display sizes are huge but weight stays 510; tracking tightens ~-2.2% at every display size; body tracking neutral.

Also documented in the full DESIGN.md: Component Stylings, Layout Principles, Depth & Elevation, Motion, Backgrounds, Effects & WebGL, Do's and Don'ts, Responsive Behavior, Agent Prompt Guide.

Product app

Source: Linear's published CSS custom properties + the full embedded product shells on linear.app (live DOM, computed styles), 2026-07-06/07. The logged-in dashboard itself was NOT captured (needs-dashboard) — tokens below are Linear's own app design tokens as shipped in its public stylesheets and rendered in embedded app frames. Responsive: not captured.

Visual Theme & Atmosphere

Dark-first, high-contrast, and engineered: a near-black canvas with a stepped elevation ladder, hairline translucent borders, and dense keyboard-driven rows. Indigo is the only chrome color — brand, active, focus — while status hues live exclusively on issue states and priority icons. Typography is Inter at Linear's custom optical weights (510/590/680, never true bold). Everything is compact: 28px sidebar rows, 32px controls, 4px grid. Motion is instant and snappy — never bouncy or slow. Feels: fast, precise, engineered, quietly premium.

Color Palette & Roles

Backgrounds (elevation ladder)

TokenHexRole / usage
bg-primary / level-0#08090aApp canvas
level-1#0f1011Raised surface
level-2#141516Higher surface, row hover
level-3#191a1bHighest surface
bg-secondary#1c1c1fPanels, menus, inputs
bg-tertiary#232326Hover fills, chips, selected rows
bg-quaternary#28282cActive/pressed fills
overlay-primary#000000d9Modal scrim

Text

TokenHexRole / usage
text-primary#f7f8f8Headings, primary text
text-secondary#d0d6e0Body, sidebar labels, code
text-tertiary#8a8f98Muted UI text
text-quaternary#62666dSection headers, placeholders, disabled

Borders / lines

TokenHexRole / usage
border-primary#23252aDefault hairline
border-secondary#34343aStronger separators
border-tertiary#3e3e44Input/interactive borders
border-translucent#ffffff0dMost-used divider (5% white)
line-primary#37393aTable/list dividers

Brand & accent

TokenHexRole / usage
brand-bg (indigo)#5e6ad2Primary buttons, active states, focus rings
accent (violet)#7170ffLinks, highlights, glow accents

Semantic status (issue states only)

TokenHex
blue#3caefe
green#27a644
red#eb5757
orange#fc7840
yellow#f0bf00
teal#00b8cc

Rule: chrome is grayscale near-black; indigo/violet is the only chrome color. Status hues appear only on issue states, labels, and priority icons.

Typography Rules

RoleSize/LineWeight
tiny10 / 1.5400
mini (rows, meta, labels)13 / 1.5400–510
small14 / 1.5400
regular (body)15 / 1.6400
large17 / 1.6400
title-1 → title-917 / 20 / 24 / 32 / 40 / 48 / 56 / 64 / 72, lh 1.0–1.4590

Also documented in the full DESIGN.md: Component Stylings, Layout Principles, Depth & Elevation, Motion, Backgrounds, Effects & WebGL, Do's and Don'ts, Responsive Behavior, Agent Prompt Guide.