Automatically convert incoming emails into prioritized Linear issues using AI-powered triage. Extract customer information, priority levels, and issue types from raw email content, then instantly create structured tickets in your Linear workspace with Slack notifications for urgent items.
Overview
This template provides a production-ready FastAPI webhook service that:
- Accepts emails via SMTP forwarding or Gmail API integration
- Extracts priority, customer, and issue classification using Claude AI
- Creates Linear issues with rich metadata and proper linking
- Sends Slack alerts for high-priority tickets
- Stores triage decisions for audit and refinement
Why use this?
- Cost savings: Eliminates $20-40/mo Zapier fees + manual triage overhead
- Speed: 30-second email-to-ticket pipeline vs. 5-minute manual routing
- Consistency: AI-driven classification reduces human error in priority assignment
- Extensibility: Built on Pydantic AI for easy customization of triage logic
What It Does
Email Ingestion
- Accepts raw email POST payloads (SMTP webhook format or parsed JSON)
- Extracts sender, subject, body, and attachment metadata
- Supports both plain text and HTML email bodies
AI-Powered Triage
Uses Claude to extract from email content:
- Priority level (urgent/high/normal/low)
- Customer identifier (email domain, name, account ID)
- Issue type (bug/feature-request/support/billing)
- Summary (auto-generated from subject + body context)
- Suggested assignee (based on issue type patterns, optional)
Linear Integration
- Creates issues in your Linear workspace
- Attaches original email as issue comment
- Sets priority and status based on triage output
- Links to customer/team projects (configurable)
- Supports custom fields for email metadata
Slack Notifications
- Posts urgent/high-priority tickets to designated channel
- Includes customer info, issue link, and priority badge
- Optional thread replies for follow-up updates
Audit & History
- Stores all triage decisions in SQLite (or configured DB)
- Enables performance monitoring and model refinement
- Supports manual override and feedback loops
Prerequisites
- Python 3.11+
- Linear API token (create in Settings > API > Personal API Keys)
- Claude API key (from Anthropic Console)
- Slack webhook URL (optional, from Slack Apps)
- Gmail API credentials or SMTP relay service (optional, for email ingestion)
Optional
- Docker + Docker Compose (for containerized deployment)
- PostgreSQL (for production database, defaults to SQLite)
Setup
1. Clone and Install Dependencies
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/email-linear-triage.git cd email-linear-triage python -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate pip install -r requirements.txt
2. Create Environment File
Create .env in the project root:
# API Keys ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_... SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL=https://hooks.slack.com/services/YOUR/WEBHOOK/URL # Optional # Linear Configuration LINEAR_TEAM_ID=acme # Your Linear team slug (e.g., 'acme' from linear.app/acme) LINEAR_PROJECT_ID=INB # Project key for incoming emails (default: 'INB') LINEAR_DEFAULT_STATUS=backlog # Initial status for new issues # Email Configuration SMTP_SECRET_TOKEN=your-secret-token-here # For webhook authentication EMAIL_DOMAIN=yourdomain.com # Database (optional) DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///./triage.db # Or: postgresql://user:pass@localhost/triage # Feature Flags ENABLE_SLACK_NOTIFICATIONS=true ENABLE_AUTO_ASSIGN=false TRIAGE_MODEL=claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 # Claude model to use
3. Initialize Database
python -m alembic upgrade head
Or for SQLite (auto-created):
python -c "from app.db import init_db; init_db()"4. Run the Server
uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --reload
Server runs on http://localhost:8000
5. Configure Email Routing
Option A: SMTP Forwarding (Recommended)
- In your email provider, set up a forward rule:
- From:
tickets@yourdomain.com - To:
{your-server}/webhook/emailwith authentication
- From:
Option B: Gmail API
- Enable Gmail API in Google Cloud Console
- Download credentials JSON to
./credentials.json - App auto-fetches labeled emails periodically
Option C: Manual Testing
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/webhook/email \ -H "X-Webhook-Token: your-secret-token-here" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "from": "customer@example.com", "subject": "Payment processing is broken", "body": "Hi, our recurring invoices havent charged for 2 days. This is urgent!", "timestamp": "2024-01-15T14:30:00Z" }'
6. Set Linear Webhook (Optional, for future integration)
In Linear Settings > Integrations > Webhooks, add:
- URL:
{your-server}/webhook/linear-event - Events: Issue created, issue updated
- Useful for closing issues via email replies
Usage
Basic Email-to-Issue Flow
- Email arrives at
tickets@yourdomain.com(forwarded via SMTP) - Webhook handler receives POST, validates token
- Claude triage classifies email (2-5 seconds)
- Linear issue created with extracted metadata
- Slack notification posted (if urgent/high)
- Response returned with issue URL
Example: Send an Email
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/webhook/email \ -H "X-Webhook-Token: your-secret-token-here" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "from": "sarah@acmecorp.com", "subject": "[BUG] Dashboard crashes on mobile", "body": "When I open the dashboard on iPhone, it instantly crashes. Happens every time. Our team cant work.", "timestamp": "2024-01-15T09:30:00Z" }'
Response (201 Created):
{
"status": "success",
"linear_issue_id": "INB-234",
"linear_issue_url": "https://linear.app/acme/issue/INB-234",
"triage_result": {
"priority": "urgent",
"issue_type": "bug",
"customer_domain": "acmecorp.com",
"summary": "Dashboard mobile app crashes on iOS",
"suggested_assignee": "eng-mobile"
},
"slack_notification_sent": true,
"processing_time_ms": 3200
}API Endpoints
POST /webhook/email
Ingest raw email and create Linear issue
Headers:
X-Webhook-Token: {SMTP_SECRET_TOKEN}
Content-Type: application/json
Request Body:
{
"from": "customer@example.com",
"subject": "Issue title",
"body": "Email body text",
"html_body": "<p>HTML version (optional)</p>",
"timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
"attachments": [
{
"filename": "screenshot.png",
"content_base64": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANS...",
"mime_type": "image/png"
}
]
}Response (201 Created):
{
"status": "success|error",
"linear_issue_id": "INB-123",
"linear_issue_url": "string",
"triage_result": {
"priority": "urgent|high|normal|low",
"issue_type": "bug|feature|support|billing",
"customer_domain": "string",
"customer_name": "string (optional)",
"summary": "string",
"suggested_assignee": "string (optional)"
},
"slack_notification_sent": boolean,
"error": "string (if status='error')"
}POST /api/triage/override/{issue_id}
Manually override AI triage decision
Headers:
X-API-Key: {LINEAR_API_KEY}
Content-Type: application/json
Request Body:
{
"priority": "high",
"issue_type": "bug",
"notes": "Manually corrected from 'low' due to context"
}Response (200 OK):
{
"status": "updated",
"triage_record_id": "uuid",
"changes": {
"priority": {"old": "normal", "new": "high"}
}
}GET /api/triage/history
Retrieve triage history and metrics
Query Parameters:
limit=50(default)offset=0priority_filter=urgent|high|normal|low(optional)date_from=2024-01-01(optional)date_to=2024-01-31(optional)
Response (200 OK):
{
"total_processed": 342,
"results": [
{
"id": "uuid",
"email_from": "customer@example.com",
"linear_issue_id": "INB-234",
"priority": "high",
"issue_type": "bug",
"created_at": "2024-01-15T09:30:00Z",
"processing_time_ms": 3200,
"model_confidence": 0.94
}
],
"statistics": {
"avg_processing_time_ms": 2800,
"priority_distribution": {
"urgent": 15,
"high": 87,
"normal": 198,
"low": 42
},
"issue_type_distribution": {
"bug": 124,
"feature": 56,
"support": 142,
"billing": 20
}
}
}GET /health
Service health check
Response (200 OK):
{
"status": "healthy",
"timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
"dependencies": {
"anthropic": "ok",
"linear": "ok",
"slack": "ok",
"database": "ok"
}
}Configuration
Environment Variables
| Variable | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY |
✓ | — | Claude API key from Anthropic Console |
LINEAR_API_KEY |
✓ | — | Linear API token from Settings > API |
LINEAR_TEAM_ID |
✓ | — | Linear team slug (e.g., 'acme') |
LINEAR_PROJECT_ID |
INB |
Linear project key for new issues | |
LINEAR_DEFAULT_STATUS |
backlog |
Initial issue status (backlog/todo/in_progress) | |
SMTP_SECRET_TOKEN |
✓ | — | Secret token for webhook authentication |
SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL |
— | Slack webhook URL (leave empty to disable) | |
ENABLE_SLACK_NOTIFICATIONS |
true |
Post notifications for urgent/high | |
ENABLE_AUTO_ASSIGN |
false |
Automatically assign based on issue type | |
TRIAGE_MODEL |
claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 |
Claude model (3-opus-20250219 for best accuracy) | |
DATABASE_URL |
sqlite:///./triage.db |
PostgreSQL or SQLite connection string | |
GMAIL_CREDENTIALS_PATH |
./credentials.json |
Path to Gmail API credentials (if using Gmail) | |
EMAIL_DOMAIN |
— | Your email domain (for reply-to headers) | |
LOG_LEVEL |
INFO |
Logging level (DEBUG/INFO/WARNING/ERROR) |
Pydantic AI Configuration
Edit app/config.py to customize:
# Claude model settings TRIAGE_MODEL = "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022" # Change to claude-3-opus-20250219 for higher accuracy # Triage classification thresholds PRIORITY_KEYWORDS = { "urgent": ["critical", "down", "broken", "asap", "emergency"], "high": ["bug", "broken", "failing", "urgent"], "normal": ["feature", "improve"], "low": ["typo", "minor", "nice-to-have"] } # Linear field mappings LINEAR_PRIORITY_MAP = { "urgent": 4, # Urgent in Linear "high": 3, "normal": 2, "low": 1 }
Customization
Change Triage Prompt
Edit app/agents/triage_agent.py:
TRIAGE_SYSTEM_PROMPT = """You are an expert customer support triage system... Analyze the email and extract: 1. Priority (urgent/high/normal/low) - consider customer tone, service impact, frequency 2. Issue type (bug/feature/support/billing) - classify by nature 3. Customer identifier - extract domain or company name 4. Concise summary - max 10 words 5. Suggested team - based on issue type """
Add Custom Issue Fields
In app/models/triage.py, extend TriageResult:
class TriageResult(BaseModel): priority: str issue_type: str customer_domain: str summary: str custom_field_1: str | None = None # Add your field
Then update the Claude prompt to extract it, and Linear creation logic in app/integrations/linear.py:
custom_field_id = "LIN_CUSTOM_1" issue_data["fieldValues"].append({ "fieldId": custom_field_id, "value": triage_result.custom_field_1 })
Route Issues to Different Projects
In app/integrations/linear.py, modify project selection:
def get_target_project(triage_result: TriageResult) -> str: if triage_result.issue_type == "billing": return "BIL" # Billing project elif triage_result.customer_domain == "enterprise.com": return "ENT" # Enterprise project return settings.LINEAR_PROJECT_ID
Customize Slack Messages
In app/integrations/slack.py, edit the Slack payload:
blocks = [ { "type": "section", "text": { "type": "mrkdwn", "text": f"🔴 *URGENT: {triage_result.summary}*\nCustomer: {triage_result.customer_domain}\n<{issue_url}|View in Linear>" } } ]
Use Different Claude Models
For higher accuracy (slower + more expensive):
TRIAGE_MODEL=claude-3-opus-20250219 python -m uvicorn app.main:app
For lower cost (faster):
TRIAGE_MODEL=claude-3-5-haiku-20241022 python -m uvicorn app.main:app
Add Database Persistence
Switch from SQLite to PostgreSQL:
pip install psycopg2-binary
export DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/triage
python -m alembic upgrade headTesting
Run Unit Tests
Test Triage Agent Locally
python -m app.agents.triage_agent --email-from "customer@example.com" --subject "Payment failed" --body "We can't process payments today"
Mock Email Webhook
python scripts/test_email_webhook.py
Deployment
Docker Compose
See docker-compose.yml for production config (PostgreSQL, environment variables).
Heroku
git push heroku main heroku config:set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... heroku config:set LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_...
AWS Lambda
pip install aws-wsgi
# See Dockerfile.lambda for container image setupTroubleshooting
"Invalid Linear API Key"
- Verify token in Settings > API > Personal API Keys
- Ensure token has
readandwritescopes
"Claude rate limit exceeded"
- Upgrade Anthropic plan or implement request queueing
- Batch emails in peak hours
"Slack notification not sent"
- Verify
SLACK_WEBHOOK_URLis set and valid - Check Slack workspace webhook permissions
- Set
ENABLE_SLACK_NOTIFICATIONS=falseto skip errors
"Database connection error"
- For SQLite: ensure
triage.dbdirectory is writable - For PostgreSQL: verify host/port/credentials
- Run
python -c "from app.db import init_db; init_db()"to reinitialize
Performance Metrics
Typical performance on Sonnet 3.5:
- Email parsing: 50ms
- Claude triage: 2-4s (network + inference)
- Linear issue creation: 300-800ms
- Slack notification: 200-500ms
- Total end-to-end: 2.5-6s
License
MIT License — see LICENSE file for details.
Built with Pydantic AI, FastAPI, and Linear API.























