This article explains which data types ProBackup can restore for Linear and any known limitations.
You can restore issues, comments, attachments, projects, milestones, documents and labels. Users and teams cannot be restored.
Restoring never deletes anything in Linear. A restore creates new items next to the ones that are already there. The only exceptions are overwriting an issue (Option 2 below) and restoring a project, which moves its existing issues into the restored project.
Issues
When you restore an issue, you have two options:
Option 1: Restore as new records
Creates a copy of the selected issues in their original team. Use this for issues that were deleted. Each copy gets a new issue ID (for example ENG-245 instead of ENG-112).
The copy includes:
Title, description, priority, estimate, due date and the original creation date
Status. ProBackup picks the status with the same name. If that status no longer exists, it picks a status of the same type (Backlog, Todo, In Progress, Done or Canceled), or the team's default status.
Labels, matched by name. A label that no longer exists is created again in the team.
Assignee, project and milestone. If Linear refuses one of them because it no longer exists, the issue is restored without all three. If the project was restored earlier, the issue goes into the restored project; it keeps its milestone only if that milestone was restored too.
All comments, attachments and documents of the issue
Parent issue and relations (blocks, blocked by, duplicate of, related to). These are linked to the other issue if it still exists in Linear or is restored at the same time.
Option 2: Overwrite existing records
Updates issues that still exist in Linear with the backed-up values. Use this to undo changes, for example after a wrong bulk edit. When you select "Overwrite existing records", a field picker appears. Select which fields you want to overwrite:
Title
Description
Status
Priority
Estimate
Due date
Assignee
Labels
Status is matched by name, then by type, like above; if nothing matches, the status is left as it is. Labels replace the issue's current labels with the backed-up labels that still exist; labels that no longer exist are left out, not created again. Other fields, such as project, milestone, cycle and parent issue, cannot be overwritten.
Known limitations:
Cycle and the issue history (activity log) are not restored.
Restoring a parent issue does not restore its sub-issues. Select the sub-issues as well, and restore them together with the parent.
Comments
When you restore a comment, a duplicate is created on its original issue, with its original date. If that issue was deleted, restore the issue first or together with the comment; the comment is then added to the restored issue.
Replies are added under their original comment if it still exists or is restored at the same time. Otherwise they are added as a normal comment.
Restored comments show the name of the person who connected the backup, not the original author, because Linear does not let ProBackup post as another user. The original author stays visible in your backup.
Reactions and the resolved status are not restored.
Attachments
When you restore an attachment, it is added to its original issue, or to the restored copy of that issue.
Uploaded files are uploaded to Linear again from your backup.
Links are added again with their title.
If ProBackup knew about the attachment but never stored the file itself (for example, it was deleted in Linear before the download), ProBackup adds a link to the original file in Linear instead. That link only works as long as Linear still keeps the file.
Projects
When you restore a project, a duplicate is created on its original teams. It includes the name, summary, overview, priority, lead, icon, color, and start and target dates.
The project's milestones and documents are restored with it. The project's issues follow too: issues that still exist are moved into the restored project, and deleted issues are re-created in it with their comments and attachments.
Known limitations:
The project status is not restored. Linear gives the new project its default status.
Only issues of the team the project is listed under in ProBackup are moved into the restored project. Issues of the project's other teams stay where they are.
If one of the project's teams or its lead no longer exists, the project is restored on the team it is listed under in ProBackup, without a lead.
For a project shared by more than 20 teams, ProBackup keeps the first 20 teams.
Project updates are not backed up, so they cannot be restored.
Milestones
When you restore a milestone, a duplicate is created in its original project with its name, description, target date and position. If the project was deleted, restore the project first or together with the milestone; restoring a project restores its milestones too.
Documents
When you restore a document, a duplicate is created in its original place: the issue, project or team it belonged to. It includes the title, content, icon and color.
The owner and the parent document are kept if they still exist (or the parent document is restored at the same time). If Linear refuses one of them, the document is restored without both. If the parent document is gone, the document is created as a top-level document.
If the issue or project it belonged to was deleted and is not restored at the same time, the document is created on the team instead.
Labels
When you restore a label, it is created again in its team, or for the whole workspace if it was a workspace label, with its name, color and description. You can also restore a label group.
A label is put back in its group if that group still exists or is restored at the same time. Otherwise it is created as a top-level label. Restoring a group does not restore the labels in it; select those too.
If a label with the same name already exists in the same team or workspace, nothing is created.
What cannot be restored
Users and teams. These are backed up for reference only.
Cycles, workflow settings, initiatives, project updates and other data that is not backed up. See What data is backed up for Linear?.