Cua Driver vs Linear MCP Server

A side-by-side comparison of two Productivity servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	Cua Driver Background computer-use MCP server that drives native macOS, Windows, and Linux desktop apps without stealing focus. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Rust	Linear MCP Server Let LLMs create, search, update, and comment on Linear issues through the Model Context Protocol. Unverified stdio (local) API key Stale JavaScript
Category	Productivity	Productivity
Language	Rust	JavaScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	API key
GitHub stars	19k	344
Last commit	1 month ago	1 year ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/cua-driver/scripts/install.sh)"`	`npx @smithery/cli install linear-mcp-server --client claude`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Cua Driver if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want zero-setup with no API key.

Pick Linear MCP Server if you prefer its approach (let llms create, search, update, and comment on linear issues through the model context protocol).

Add Cua Driver

Install / run

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/cua-driver/scripts/install.sh)"

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cua-driver": {
      "command": "cua-driver",
      "args": [
        "mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add Linear MCP Server

Install / run

npx @smithery/cli install linear-mcp-server --client claude

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "linear-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_KEY": "your_linear_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Cua Driver or Linear MCP Server — which is better?

Pick Cua Driver if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want zero-setup with no API key. Pick Linear MCP Server if you prefer its approach (let llms create, search, update, and comment on linear issues through the model context protocol).

Can I use both Cua Driver and Linear MCP Server?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do Cua Driver and Linear MCP Server work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Cua Driver →View Linear MCP Server →More comparisons →