Linear — decoded design system

linear.app · dark · modern · custom · deep decode — measured live

Linear's design system, decoded live by Mozaika: measured color roles, type scale, buttons with real hover/focus states, motion and the brand's own tokens.

Open in Mozaika →

This is a static, crawlable rendering for search & AI engines. The interactive version — filters, live decode console, copy & export — is at https://mozaika.design/decode/linear.app.

Decoded design system

Linear's decoded design system: background #08090A, text #F7F8F8, accent #E5E5E6, link #8A8F98, primary #D0D6E0; type scale h1 64px / h2 48px / body 15px; 4px spacing base; 2px base radius. The single interactive/action color is #E5E5E6 — used only on interactive or must-notice elements (buttons, links, key highlights), never on large fills.

Color roles

Using these colors

• Action color #E5E5E6 — the single interactive color; only on things you click or must notice, never large fills.
• accent, button_bg are all #E5E5E6 — one role, not several (the action color).
• accent #E5E5E6 — THE accent / action color — interactive & must-notice only (buttons, links, focus, one key highlight); never large fills or backgrounds. Scarcity is what makes it read as designed.
• primary #D0D6E0 — a neutral UI color (chips, tags, icon fills, chrome), not the action color (action = #E5E5E6).
• link #8A8F98 — reads as a neutral UI color, not a link accent — verify against the reference (action = #E5E5E6).
• secondary #E4F222 — optional secondary accent — LOW decode confidence; use rarely (a status color or a single decorative moment) or omit it entirely. Prefer one accent unless the reference clearly shows two.

Typography

• Heading: SF Pro Display
• Body: Inter
• Mono: Berkeley Mono
• h1: 64px
• h2: 48px
• body: 15px

Spacing

• base unit: 4px
• scale: 2px, 3px, 4px, 6px, 8px, 12px, 15px, 16px, 20px, 24px

Radii

• base: 2px
• button: 9999px

Shadow

rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 8px 2px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.01) 0px 5px 2px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.04) 0px 3px 2px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.07) 0px 1px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.08) 0px 0px 1px 0px

Shadows (elevation)

• subtle: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03) 0px 1.2px 0px 0px
• card: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4) 0px 2px 4px 0px
• overlay: rgba(8, 9, 10, 0.6) 0px 4px 32px 0px

Motion

Micro-interactions run at 160ms (dominant) with cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94).

• durations: 160ms · 400ms · 100ms
• easings: cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94) · ease-out
• animated properties: transform, filter, background, opacity

Native design tokens

…and 110 more measured on the page.

Button states (measured)

• primary hover: background #FFFFFF
• primary focus: outline 1px solid rgb(94, 105, 209)

Layout (measured)

• container max-width: 1436px
• nav: 73px fixed, backdrop blur(20px)
• common grid: 2 columns

Motion choreography (measured)

Load order: span.w9ZFkq_animatedTextGradi → circle.grid-dot-0-0-upDown×25 → circle.grid-dot-0-0-pong×25 → circle.grid-dot-0-0-agent×50 → div.qM9FAa_cursor → circle.grid-dot-0-0-empty-once×25

Scroll reveal: 2 elements rest at opacity 0, animate in over 800ms.

Overlay recipe (measured)

dropdown panel: #171718 · radius 8px · enter 160ms cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94)

Input (measured)

height 68px · radius 6px · focus ring 1px solid rgb(94, 105, 209)

Responsive (measured)

• breakpoints: 640px · 768px · 928px · 1024px · 1280px · 1440px
• mobile (390px): hero 38px · nav inline

Install it

Drop this measured system into any shadcn/Tailwind project in one command:

npx shadcn add mozaika.design/r/decode/linear.app

registry item · or query it over MCP: get_design_system("Linear")

Export: DESIGN.md

# Linear — Design System

> dark, modern, medium, custom — deep decode (measured live)

## Colors

| Role | Value |
|------|-------|
| bg | `#08090A` |
| surface | `#161718` |
| border | `#2B2C2D` |
| text | `#F7F8F8` |
| text_muted | `#9C9D9D` |
| primary | `#D0D6E0` |
| accent | `#E5E5E6` |
| link | `#8A8F98` |
| secondary | `#E4F222` |
| button_bg | `#E5E5E6` |
| button_text | `#08090A` |

**Using these colors**

- **Action color** `#E5E5E6` — the single interactive color; it appears only on things you click or must notice (buttons, key highlights), never on large fills or backgrounds.
- `accent`, `button_bg` are all `#E5E5E6` — one role, not several (your action color).
- **accent** `#E5E5E6` — THE accent / action color — interactive & must-notice only (buttons, links, focus, one key highlight); never large fills or backgrounds. Scarcity is what makes it read as designed.
- **primary** `#D0D6E0` — a neutral UI color (chips, tags, icon fills, chrome), not the action color (action = #E5E5E6).
- **link** `#8A8F98` — reads as a neutral UI color, not a link accent — verify against the reference (action = #E5E5E6).
- **secondary** `#E4F222` — optional secondary accent — LOW decode confidence; use rarely (a status color or a single decorative moment) or omit it entirely. Prefer one accent unless the reference clearly shows two.
- **Page coverage** (full-page screenshot pixels): `#08090A` 95.2% · `#525355` 4.8%

## Typography

- Heading: **SF Pro Display** _(free fallback: Inter)_
- Body: **Inter**
- Mono: **Berkeley Mono** _(measured)_

| Role | Size / weight · line-height · tracking |
|------|------------------------------------------|
| hero | 64px / 510 · lh 64px · tracking -1.41px |
| h2 | 48px / 510 · lh 48px · tracking -1.06px |
| h3 | 24px / 400 · lh 32px · tracking -0.29px |
| body | 15px / 400 · lh 24px · tracking -0.17px |
| small | 14px / 400 · lh 21px · tracking -0.18px |

- Weight ladder: 300 · 400 · 510 · 590 — use these exact measured weights, not the 400/600 defaults.

> **Fonts —** SF Pro Display is proprietary — closest free match: Inter (Google). Load Inter; keep SF Pro Display first so licensed users still get it. Inter — free, on Google.

## Spacing
- base unit: 4px (inferred from the measured scale)
- measured scale: 2px, 3px, 4px, 6px, 8px, 12px, 15px, 16px, 20px, 24px — snap all gaps/padding to these
- section rhythm: 128px top/bottom padding per section (measured)

## Radius
- base: 2px
- button: 9999px
- card: 6px
- pill: 9999px
- sharp: 2px

## Buttons

| Button | Fill / text | Border | Radius | Padding | Font | Shadow |
|--------|-------------|--------|--------|---------|------|--------|
| primary | `#E5E5E6` / `#08090A` | 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 230) | 9999px | 0px 12px 0px 12px | 510 13px | rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 8px 2px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.01) 0px 5px 2px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.04) 0px 3px 2px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.07) 0px 1px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.08) 0px 0px 1px 0px |
| secondary | `rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)` / `#8A8F98` | none | 9999px | 0px 12px 0px 12px | 400 13px | none |

**States (measured, not guessed)**

- primary hover: background `#FFFFFF`
- primary focus: outline `1px solid rgb(94, 105, 209)`
- secondary hover: background `rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.08)` · color `#F7F8F8`
- transition: `border 0.16s cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94)`

## Shadows (elevation)
- subtle: `rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03) 0px 1.2px 0px 0px`
- card: `rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4) 0px 2px 4px 0px`
- button: `rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 8px 2px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.01) 0px 5px 2px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.04) 0px 3px 2px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.07) 0px 1px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.08) 0px 0px 1px 0px`
- overlay: `rgba(8, 9, 10, 0.6) 0px 4px 32px 0px`

## Motion
- durations: 160ms (dominant) · 400ms · 100ms
- easings: `cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94)` (dominant) · `ease-out`
- animated properties: transform, filter, background, opacity

Micro-interactions use the dominant duration + easing; nothing on the page animates slower than the longest duration above — don't invent springier motion.

## Their own tokens (verbatim from :root)

| Token | Value |
|-------|-------|
| `--color-text-secondary` | `#d0d6e0` |
| `--color-text-tertiary` | `#8a8f98` |
| `--color-line-tertiary` | `#18191a` |
| `--color-white` | `#fff` |
| `--color-accent` | `#7170ff` |
| `--color-border-translucent` | `#ffffff0d` |
| `--color-line-secondary` | `#202122` |
| `--color-bg-level-3` | `#191a1b` |
| `--editor-text-color` | `#e4e5e9` |
| `--color-line-primary` | `#37393a` |
| `--transparent` | `#fff0` |
| `--color-fg-primary` | `#f7f8f8` |

_…and 108 more measured on the page._

Prefer these names when extending their system — it's the brand's actual vocabulary.

## Layout (measured)
- container max 1436px · common grid: 2-col
- nav: 73px fixed · backdrop blur(20px) · border-bottom 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.08)

| Section (y) | Height | Cols | Gap | Pad y | Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2481 | 1239 | 2 | — | 128/128 | — |
| 3730 | 1231 | 2 | — | 128/128 | — |

## Motion choreography (measured)
Load order: `span.w9ZFkq_animatedTextGradi` @0ms → `circle.grid-dot-0-0-upDown`×25 @1ms → `circle.grid-dot-0-0-pong`×25 @1ms → `circle.grid-dot-0-0-agent`×50 @1ms → `div.qM9FAa_cursor` @1ms → `circle.grid-dot-0-0-empty-once`×25 @1ms
- scroll reveal: 2 elements rest at opacity 0, animate in over 800ms (0 revealed during the drive).
- overlay dropdown (auto-opened): panel #171718 · r 8px · border 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.08)
  - enter: opacity from 0 · 160ms cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94) | transform from scale(0.9) · 160ms cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94)
  - exit: opacity from 0.99107 · 159ms cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94) | transform from scale(0.999107) · 159ms cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94)

Rebuild the timeline, not just the durations — order, delays and staggers above are the choreography.

## Components (measured)
- input: h 68px · r 6px · border 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.08) · bg rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.02) · placeholder #62666D
  - focus ring: `1px solid rgb(94, 105, 209)` — this exact construction, don't invent your own
- link: #F7F8F8 · no underline
- disabled: bg rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.03) · text #F7F8F8

## Responsive (measured)
- breakpoints: 640px · 768px · 928px · 1024px · 1280px · 1440px
- mobile (390px): hero 38px · body 16px · nav: inline

## How to apply
Paste the Tailwind `@theme` (or CSS variables) as your base, then build each
section to its spec — verify every color, radius, and font against these tokens.
Hover/focus states, shadows and motion timings above are measured from the live page — match them exactly, don't re-guess them.

An automated reading of Linear's publicly-visible CSS (colors, fonts, spacing, motion) — not affiliated with linear.app. No screenshots stored. Removal requests: hello@mozaika.design.